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FLAC On A Mac

Forgive me if this subject has been discussed on this forum before, but I don't do much PC Audio and I get very confused.
I have downloaded some High Res content from HDTracks to my Macbook. These are all FLAC files. I tried transferring them to a flash drive to be played in two devices that are supposed to be FLAC compatible (most recently, the Marantz NA 7004 Network Music Player). These files won't play on either device.
They also won't play using the MacBook as the source, although I anticipated that.
Do I need some sort of a music management player to play these files? When I surf the net looking for conversion programs, most of them aim to change flac to mp3, which would defeat the purpose of trying to get a High Res file.
richardfinegold

Showing 4 responses by richardfinegold

richardfinegold OP
196 posts
 
Achilles

The track I downloaded was a Reference Recording, Exotic Dances from the Opera, which is listed on the HDTracks site as 24 bit/96kHz.
The Marantz won't play it.
Shouldn't I be able to download a flac file on a mac as a flac file and then
copy it to a flash drive and still have it be a flac file? Or does passing through the mac environment corrupt the file? Keep in mind that I am not attempting to play the file from the Mac itself.
richardfinegold OP
196 posts
 
I downloaded Decibel and it it was easy to use and now I can play the files, but not on the Marantz.
The display in the Marantz seems to be telling me that it will output only 44.1 khz. The Marantz is on loan to me from a dealer. I suspect that it may need a firmware upgrade( which is not free) to output 96 khz but when I called the dealer they were clueless and unwilling to let me make the upgrade (they had to borrow the piece themselves from another store). The Marantz also isn't capable of Air Play without the upgrade, so I can't test that feature. This is a real problem, as I otherwise am not very impressed by this piece. It sounds very laid back and uninsightful, no match for the firewire DAC that I use with my Mac Book in my home theatre system or for my PS Audio Digital Link 3 that I use in my two channel system.
Re: your car: I suspect that the USB will only play mp3 files or the equivalent
richardfinegold OP
196 posts
 
Update: after I did a firmware update that i didn't have to pay for on the Marantz, it is now playing my flash drive with the flac files. It seems to be outputting them in 96 khz.
Previously, I wasn't to impressed with the Marantz, but now I will reserve judgement until I have tried a few more High Rez files.
richardfinegold OP
196 posts
 
Achilles: you had asked about the Marantz NA 7004 player a few months ago on this thread and I just saw it now. I had discussed it on some other threads in the "Digital" forum.
It turned that my original model was defective. After obtaining an exchange, I'd give it a big thumbs up for sound. It uses the same cirrhus logic chip that the 803 and 804 SACD/CD players use . If you have familiarity with those players you will know what to expect.
It is a very versatile piece. I had originally purchased it with High Rez
Downloads in mind but have wound up playing standard Rez material from my MacBook and Internet radio at least as much.
It's has a couple of major weaknesses: the first is the interface, which is terrible and mandates that you use another device such as an iPad to control it. The iPad app is less than perfect, to say the least. The second problem is that the device itself is buggy. For example, the iPod/USB input will frequently give "no compatibility" indication, even when the same track has been played on the player before, and requires multiple overrides to work.
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