Sound quality comparison

[krutsch]

(25-08-2014 08:14)simoncn Wrote:  This should work. In the latest version of MinimStreamer, the settings are:

aac:wav24 to transcode ADTS files (.aac)
mp4:wav24 to transcode MPEG/AAC files (.mp4 and .m4a)
mp3:wav24 to transcode MP3 files (.mp3)

For all these, the stream.converter property must be set. If it isn't set, MinimStreamer will report an error when you add the transcoding setting.

After changing transcoding settings, you might need to restart MinimServer and/or the control point to clear previously cached information in the control point.

I have found that transcoding 320 kbps AAC improves sound quality and transcoding MP3 makes sound quality slightly worse.

OK, I was using just aac:wav24 before, but with m4a files, so that should explain what I was doing wrong. However, when I try to add mp4:wav24, I see this:

Incorrect source value 'mp4'; correct highlighted value and retry

When I remove the mp4 entry, leaving only alac and flac, the error clears and all is well. I am also able to add mp3:wav24 and aac:wav24 just fine.

I've verified that I am running the latest version (update-35/0.8.1). I am also running the latest FFmpeg (2.3.3 for Mac OS).

BTW, I can see how you get your interesting result of AAC better / MP3 worse. What I've learned with my Denon player is that there is wide variation with the quality of decoders in the embedded software and it's possible that your Linn DS is doing additional processing on MP3s that is skipped with AAC and WAV equivalents.