Transcoding flac:wav odd sound

[DavidHB]

(23-12-2013 16:26)Foxman50 Wrote:  I think i was so surprised at the lack of detail coming from the flac:wav setting ... i just presumed both servers would sound identical.

We need to be careful here, I think. In my opinion (there are users on the forum who would disagree), servers don't 'sound' at all. It is the renderers supplied by the server that do the sounding. While certain interactions between the server, the renderer and the network that connects them may have an effect on perceived sound quality (though whether and how this happens is, except in the case of obvious malfunctions, somewhat difficult to determine), I'd say that sound quality is primarily driven by the renderer, including the DAC and the analogue chain of sound reproduction.

In part I say this because I do make a distinction between serving and transcoding functions. The server is, for present purposes, the device (Hardware/OS/MinimServer) which implements the provider end of the UPnP AV protocol, which is device and format independent. So the server, which simply (!) provides data, is rather unlikely to have any sound quality of its own. Transcoding, on the other hand, is typically done for reasons of sound quality. I think that you were comparing the output of different transcoders, rather than different servers.

With that in mind, it is not surprising that you had different results from different levels of transcoding (did you by any chance compare the results of transcoding with the output when transcoding is switched off?). I assume that your Naim can render 24 bit streams; if so, you ought to get the best results from MinimStreamer at the 24 bit setting, and, from what you say, this is indeed what happens.

In case it is of interest, I tried A/B tests playing the same tracks through my DNLA Server (ReadyDNLA, which is essentially the same as miniDNLA) providing a FLAC file, and MinimServer/MinimStreamer with flac:wav24 transcoding enabled. The differences were subtle but insistent; the MinimStreamer presentation was, to my ears, clearer, better balanced and more spacious. Comparing this result with other reports on this forum, I'd attribute the difference entirely to the effects of transcoding.

If you are as happy with MinimStreamer at the wav24 setting as you were with the Synology Server, it makes sense to stick with MinimStreamer/MinimServer, because, from what you say, it has much better future proofing than the Synology. My experience also suggests that you could well come to value some of the features that are currently of little interest.

David