Perhaps, until you read the test data on jitter, sonics, etc.
Mcintosh C48
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In my opinion - not even close, at least when it comes to dedicated 2 channel performance.
I just looked at the picture on the Mcintosh website. The display is dot matrix vacuum fluorescent. Older displays were vacuum fluorescent but they had independent character positions.
Chuck Hinton agrees with you.
:thmbsp:They work great. Just finished some reassignment of inputs on the MA6600, which was easy.
HiFiGuy528
Super Member
I like the old display readout better. Easier to read from far.
thrangster
New Member
I'm about to bring home a C48 today for evaluation, but this is the first I'm hearing of an issue with a firmware update.
What exactly is not working, and what is McIntosh saying the fix is? My scenario will be almost exclusively Apple Lossless music ripped at 16/44, played from a Mac Mini connected to the USB DAC on the 48. Does this issue affect that scenario?
Thanks
thrangster
New Member
So I've been listening to the c48 for several hours tonight, and it's running a close second to the Cary 05, though the price and feature set differential will likely reverse that ranking
However I am having a troublesome issue with the USB dac playing apple lossless files from any computer (16/44) - there are random clicks/ pops.
If I use my external hrt streamer ii+ USB dac and go analog in, the are no pops from the same computers, same files.
Playing from cd or aiff file on the Mac via the c48 dac seems to be ok...curious if anyone else has apple lossless rips and has any feedback on this issue. I've got a lot ripped in apple lossless...
I also dislike the ht bypass method - with all the remote functionality and processing power, why couldn't macintosh simply put a bypass button on the unit??? The 12 volt trigger doesn't let me power my avr on (say, to watch sports on tv with the volume down) and listen to music at the same time. I also must turn the avr off to get out of bypass mode, but that shuts the c48 down also (and requiring me to shut down the avr to get out of ht bypass also triggers my external amp to shut down, so to switch between options is more complex than necessary)
Unless there are other ways I am unaware of...I wonder if a firmware upgrade could offer an alternative way to enble bypass, especially with an ir code that could be built into a activity based macro.
However I am having a troublesome issue with the USB dac playing apple lossless files from any computer (16/44) - there are random clicks/ pops.
If I use my external hrt streamer ii+ USB dac and go analog in, the are no pops from the same computers, same files.
Playing from cd or aiff file on the Mac via the c48 dac seems to be ok...curious if anyone else has apple lossless rips and has any feedback on this issue. I've got a lot ripped in apple lossless...
I also dislike the ht bypass method - with all the remote functionality and processing power, why couldn't macintosh simply put a bypass button on the unit??? The 12 volt trigger doesn't let me power my avr on (say, to watch sports on tv with the volume down) and listen to music at the same time. I also must turn the avr off to get out of bypass mode, but that shuts the c48 down also (and requiring me to shut down the avr to get out of ht bypass also triggers my external amp to shut down, so to switch between options is more complex than necessary)
Unless there are other ways I am unaware of...I wonder if a firmware upgrade could offer an alternative way to enble bypass, especially with an ir code that could be built into a activity based macro.
ron-c
Addicted Member
If you have clicks and pops then your hardware buffer size may be incorrect on your computer USB output. I would suggest 100 milliseconds.
Pass through is designed so your C48 will slave to your HT receiver or processor. On the other hand you can just run the system as a stereo with C48.
If you want to listen to music while watching TV I would suggest you just use manual pass through.
Decide which input you will use when combining C48 with your HT. Change to this input on C48 and then set the volume control at unity gain, 80 or what ever level you want. It is important to calibrate the HT level side at a set volume so always use this same volume so the channels are balanced.
Thanks,
Ron-C
Pass through is designed so your C48 will slave to your HT receiver or processor. On the other hand you can just run the system as a stereo with C48.
If you want to listen to music while watching TV I would suggest you just use manual pass through.
Decide which input you will use when combining C48 with your HT. Change to this input on C48 and then set the volume control at unity gain, 80 or what ever level you want. It is important to calibrate the HT level side at a set volume so always use this same volume so the channels are balanced.
Thanks,
Ron-C
thrangster
New Member
Thanks Ron - on a Mac/os x computer I wouldn't begin to know about USB buffers...is something one can control? But it is odd that the clicks/pops do not happens with the same apple lossless files on an asynchronous external dac...
Can you tell me a little more about the manual bypass? What is the unit gain setting on the c48? The concern I have is the volume mismatch when switching back to a c48 source if the gains are too different - this was the challenge I had with a Cary slp03, which required a unity gain setting of 63 while most music listening was around 15-20 - one mistake and my speakers and ears would be toners...
When you say it's important to set the ht side at a set volume, are you talking about the channel level controls in the processor? I would still be able to change overall volume, correct?
Thanks
ron-c
Addicted Member
Unfortunately I have a PC and not a MAC and I am not a computer expert. If you are going for best sound quality you may want to supplant iTunes with a third party music system. Pure Music is mentioned as a way to operate iTunes with higher sound quality since this bypasses the internal computer audio stuff and goes straight to USB. C48 USB is asynchronous by the way.
I have found a specialized site like computeraudiophile.com has a wealth of information on these questions.
If you decide to do a manual pass through on C48 you will need to set the volume the same each time. 50% will maybe be safe then balance the system with the test tones from your HT processor and then using its volume control.
A setting of 80 is unity gain on C48 and yes this will be essentially full volume if you switch sources. This possibility is why pass through makes sense as a safe way of combining without the chance of a volume source switch mess up.
Thanks again,
Ron-C
I have found a specialized site like computeraudiophile.com has a wealth of information on these questions.
If you decide to do a manual pass through on C48 you will need to set the volume the same each time. 50% will maybe be safe then balance the system with the test tones from your HT processor and then using its volume control.
A setting of 80 is unity gain on C48 and yes this will be essentially full volume if you switch sources. This possibility is why pass through makes sense as a safe way of combining without the chance of a volume source switch mess up.
Thanks again,
Ron-C
Just a point of reference: I have been having the same issue with my C48 playing WAV files through the USB input. I did not have the issue using several other USB DACs (Benchmark, Wavelength Cosecant, Ayre QB-9). The issue goes away when I use the Toslink input.
-Steve
ron-c
Addicted Member
The MACs we have been connecting to C48/C50 USB input all work. So either you have a bad USB cable or USB output timing issue with your computer. You can always just use toslink or coax if your computer has these as SPIDF connections do not have timing and latency variables like USB does.
I have WAV and FLAC files on my laptop and they all play without issue.
Thanks,
Ron-C
I have WAV and FLAC files on my laptop and they all play without issue.
Thanks,
Ron-C
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thrangster
New Member
I tried with newly ripped aiff files - the issue is less frequent, but stil occurs every two or three minutes via the 48 USB connection...
I'm still awaiting a call back from chuck hinton, who was going to speak with the product engineers.
He did say they are at least two months away from the final custom USB drivers (they needed to outsource this apparently, given the complexity) for the 48/50, and the units currently have generic drivers. While this update is ostensibly for the high bit/sample rate support, he speculated there may issues connected to what I'm (and you are) experiencing.
Chuck did come up with a slightly better ht bypass, using a trigger on my avr mapped to zone 2. So once I program my harmony, it should be better, though I still can't go from tv listening to musc without the c48 shutting down since exiting the bypass forces the 48 to turn off...
I don't know if it matters, but my computer is a 1.42 ghz PowerPC macmini, 512 mb ram, with files stored on a usb2 hard drive. The computer is running nothing else, and is just dedicated for this purpose.
thrangster
New Member
Thanks Ron, but part of the point for me to consider the 48 is the built in USB dac...
It also doesn't explain why the hrt streamer ii dac plays back the same files off the same computer with the same cable without the drops/ distortion... What could one even do on a Mac computer to adjust the timing you refer to?
Thanks
thrangster
New Member
What is the USB speed on the 48/50?
When I check the apple system info, the Mac c48 USB dac shows as a USB 1 device (up to 12 Mb/sec). My external hard drive shows up fine as a USB 2.0 device (up to 480 Mb/sec)
That can't be correct, right?
When I check the apple system info, the Mac c48 USB dac shows as a USB 1 device (up to 12 Mb/sec). My external hard drive shows up fine as a USB 2.0 device (up to 480 Mb/sec)
That can't be correct, right?
thrangster
New Member
It's about 11 years old, with USB 2.0 - hard drive shows up as 2.0
http://www.everymac.com/systems/apple/mac_mini/stats/mac_mini_g4_1.42.html
Thanks
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