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High-end Computer Audio

 

Transform your work station into high-end audio nirvana.

If you spend a significant amount of time in front of your computer listening to small plastic speakers, we can dramatically improve the experience. Just add a Decco and a good pair of mini-monitors. Since the Decco was designed with era speakers, we recommend trying the era D4’s or D5’s.

You’ll be amazed at the performance that even mp3 recordings can deliver through your computer and the Decco. Internet radio content is almost limitless, and until now sounded flat and uninvolving. Plug your computer into the Decco via a USB cable, and even internet radio sounds full and dynamic and best of all, most of the content is free! We love Pandora.com. Try it for yourself and get music stations that actually play only what you like.  When you feel the urge to listen, but the environment won’t allow, just plug in a set of headphones and the speakers automatically mute.

The iPod has become a universal audio source for many home music systems, but if you’re listening to it through a docking station, its sound quality is severely limited by the dock’s analog outputs. The good news is that if the music is on your iPod, it’s also on your computer, a much better device for delivering high resolution audio.  

With the decco you can unleash the potential of your digital music because for the first time, you can take a pure digital signal from iTunes, Windows Media, Front Row or any other music management system on your computer before it goes through the sound card. Just hook up a 2.0 USB cable between your computer and the Decco and no other sound card is required.    

The decco includes a high-quality D/A converter to accept the digital signal directly from your computer. The signal is then routed thru a tube preamp, smoothing out digital artifacts and then passing thru a high current amplifier allowing you to enjoy this medium as a true high-end music source. Now all of the time, effort and money you’ve spent ripping CDs and downloading music is rewarded with truly incredible sound. The need for buying and installing an upgraded sound card is now a thing of the past.   

If you want to see ways this music can be delivered to any other room in the house, see the Sonos  and Squeezebox page.




Mac hookup via USB:
  1. With Decco and computer in the off position, connect the USB cable to the computer.
  2. Turn on the Decco.
  3. Turn on computer. (these sequences may or may not always matter, but we’ve found this to be the safest order.)
  4. At the bottom right of your Mac screen, select system preferences (light switch icon) .
  5. Select “Hardware”, select “speaker icon”
  6. In the sounds window select “output"Select USB Audio Dac. Click OK.
  7. Launch iTunes, Foobar, or whatever music server program you use.

Do not resist the urge to smile and enjoy your music.

Notes:

If possible, leave the Decco on. It doesn’t draw much energy and when you turn it off it will drop the music program and you may have to follow steps above again or reboot your computer. Once you get good at steps 1-3 above it’s a snap if you want to turn off the Decco.

Music server programs like iTunes and Windows Media player sometimes have a mind of their own. If you’re locked on to the USB Audio DAC signal but get no sound it almost always means your music server program dropped the signal and  you have to reboot the program.

Keep in mind we’re dealing with computers. You might get a signal dropout on a rare occasion or you might pick up a brief spurious noise from the computer’s processor or power supply; but these should be pretty easy to deal with. We’ll try to put more helpful hints on our website soon.

More information about Computer Audio on our website :: decco

 
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