Album information will be imported automatically once connected to the Internet. Albums can be saved as WAV- or FLAC-files and FLAC compression levels are changeable from No- (uncompressed), Low- (flac 0), Standard- (flac 5) to High-compression (flac 8).
IMHO SQ-wise things like (ethernet- & usb-) isolation, audio grade ultra-low jitter internal data clock, high data integrity and precision low jitter clock buffer are of much more importance than the use of SSD vs HD in floating cradle/mounter.
Mconnect works with the Bridge, not USB as far as I know. Connect your Bridge to your home network and you should be able to access your Tidal account in mconnect. iTunes does not work with the Bridge because iTunes is not UPnP. You would need server software on your Mac, like minimserver or JRiver MC, to play your ripped tunes using the Bridge. You could also just use iTunes/Bitperfect to play your tunes over USB and mconnect for Tidal. Or you can play Tidal over USB using the Mac Tidal app.
When the “face” screen for mControl comes up it will from the top be broken down into three categories. Internet music services, Cloud, and local servers. Click on Tidal and sign in and play from there. Also do internet radio from vTuner the same way. Your Mac laptop should show up under local servers and give you access to music stored on your hard drive. With all that is on Tidal not sure what you would need from iTunes. As Steven said no use for the USB cable.
From what I can see in this thread, you need to just keep doing what you are comfortable with. It maybe because you are not comfortable with new to you computer paradigms.
You are currently using your MacBook as the server (data storage) and iTunes as the media controller. You transmit the data to your DSJ via the USB connection.
Your current system can be improved several ways:
You can check your output settings in iTunes to make sure you are sending the highest quality data to your DSJ. iTunes does not make it easy to send a high resolution signal, and if you are buying your music from iTunes, you have to be careful to get higher resolution, non Mp3 versions of the music.
By using an external data storage and cpu, you are not sharing resources, and all the server’s capabilities can be dedicated to quality music. As has been discussed the music files on your computer still need to be processed before being sent to the output stage of your computer and on to the DSJ.
You can set up an iTunes server on an external NAS and use a control program (remote) on your MacBook. It will act much like it does now, but you will not be sending the data from your MacBook.
The USB is a very good output, if everything is working properly. It is also the most likely output to have issues. An external server will have a high quality Digital out that will work much better, and more consistently, via coax or balanced connection. The optical outputs should be your last resort as they have the lowest output bandwidth.
Most of the folks on PS Audio forums who use Apple computers add a program to improve the output quality. You can search the forums to find out what it is, I am not an Apple computer expert. Paul has(d) an Apple computer set up as his music server. The key to highest quality sound is to only have the server doing your music, if you are multi tasking with it you are compromising sound quality because you are sharing resources.
If you want to switch to an external server (data storage) you will need to move your data to another storage device, most people on this thread talk about an external Network Attached Storage (NAS) device. The NAS would also have a media program, to process the data and send it to your DSJ. By using a external NAS, you open up the possibility of using the Bridge II over your network. I would only recommend this if you hard wire it.
I hope this helps, I tried to speak english, not computer.
Having first tried desktop Mac and headless Mac mini running BitPerfect and Audirvana+, both with USB output and controlled from the Mac with virtual desktop, I then switched to a NAS running Minimserver controlled by BubbleUPnP on an Android tablet. Very much simpler and equally good sound quality.
If you have a solid wireless network this can be preferable to wired ethernet as it provides isolation from the NAS and any computers you have on your network.
Sorry, don’t see that. It seems to partially recognize the DSJ and at times can adjust the volume output of the DSJ, but only get music from the iPhone.
From the first screen that pops up I see:
a gear; top left
my name and iPhone; top middle
a lower case italicized letter i in a circle; top right
an apparent linear time gauge (inoperative); just below the first 3
a blue repeat button; upper left
a blue shuffle button; upper right
the bulk of the screen shows a vinyl pulled part way out of a sleeve with the mcontrol logo
just below that rewind, play, stop, and fast forward buttons (they do nothing)
just below that mute/linear volume control (which sometimes has worked on the DSJ)
at bottom left a button with right arrow head and the word “player” light up (does nothing)
across the bottom queue, favorites, browser, and play to buttons
Tapping on queue and favorites brings up almost totally blank screens. Tapping on browser brings up library with internet options (including my Tidal which I apparently signed into); cloud (I have no cloud accounts that I’m aware of); and local server (which only shows my iPhone - I have no music on it, repeated searches does not add my MacBook). Tapping on the play To button shows my iPhone and DSJ.
Please help. Is this supposed to work with my iTunes library and my Tidal account?
All iTunes files were ripped from CDs using losslessly compressed ALAC. I checked iTunes and didn’t see output settings.
As stated previously Small Green Computer (a music specific NAS I suppose)/Roon/ethernet cable into DSJ didn’t sound any better than my general use MacBook Air/iTunes/10 ft USB cable, so the premise of a dedicated purpose built music server doesn’t make sense to me (without magic fairy dust - stuff I have limited appreciation for.)
Thanks, guess I wasn’t hitting the right buttons in the right order. Can disconnect the USB cable, but not as handy as using the MacBook. Sound quality is no different.
Now, how can I access my iTunes library that is stored on my MacBook?
Don’t use iTunes/MacBook myself, but sharing you iTunes folder or setup your MacBook as a server (https://www.apple.com/macos/server/) should do the trick…
