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MDAC First Listen (part 00110111)

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adamdea said:
I note that you say the first 100 boards will be delivered within 2 weeks of the P & P machine which is on 6 weeks delivery from order.

So where does that place delivery of the detox and delivery of the Mdac2?

Are you still proposing to change the price of the detox and Mdac2 depending on whether people buy this board, or has that been dropped?
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For those who dont help sponsor the PnP machine, then PCB Assembly will be charged at industry standard rate - the rate quoted by our normal SMT vendor.

The Detox will be the next PCB built on the SMD line after the steamer PCB.

Within 6 weeks or so, the MDAC2 mainboard should be nearing completion so will follow Detox.
 
Hello John

The link you have provided for the Streamer seems to be £185 option only - is this correct?

Thanks
 
ti33er said:
Hello John

The link you have provided for the Streamer seems to be £185 option only - is this correct?

Thanks
Click to expand...

The DEVDAC payment option will be added later once we have completed the designed and issued the PCB.

I'm just leaving to collect the streamer PCB so I'm "OK" to charge for a design I known has been completed :)
 
I'm struggling with justifying the need for the streamer board. Maybe someone can explain the advantage over what my current setup is.

I currently have all my music on my HP Microserver and it's runing LMS under Windows Home Server. I have 2 Logitech Boom's and a Logitech Transporter. The Booms are just standalone around the house to easily listen to some music where it's needed. The Transporter is currently connected to my MDAC (have had it directly connected to my amp in the past) as I'm comparing it with a RPi. I have the RPi connected to the MDAc by USB, and I have to say it's pretty difficult to tell the RPi and Transporter apart. I was going to leave the setup like this until I got a Detox to see what difference it made.

So, the MDAC streamer board, what does it give me? My choices are:

It'll run LMS with my music attached to it by USB hard drive. This is fine but I then don't get my music backed up to my Home Server. This will make my Transporter and RPi redundant and there is no need to use a Detox.

It'll run LMS but I leave the music on the Home Server and the MDAC streamer pulls the music from the Home Server so the music can still be backed up. This will also make my Transporter and RPi redundant and there is no need to use a Detox.

Are these the options or have I misinterpreted something?
 
JohnW said:
For those who don't help sponsor the PnP machine, then PCB Assembly will be charged at industry standard rate - the rate quoted by our normal SMT vendor.

The Detox will be the next PCB built on the SMD line after the steamer PCB.

Within 6 weeks or so, the MDAC2 mainboard should be nearing completion so will follow Detox.
Click to expand...

JohnW,
Don't forget to provide different sponsorship options for those who don't want/need the streamer board.
 
John
My audio chain is like this:
Source > 2 x miniDSP OpenDRC DI units > 2 x stereo DACs > 4 channel Bruno Putzey volume controller > 4 x monoblock power amps > speakers

The miniDSP units perform crossover duties. They only have Toslink / RCA SPDIF /XLR AES EBU inputs. Is there any way the streamer could act as a source for them (given that it only has USB outputs as I understand it) ?
 
John,
The streamer board has the potential to be a big hit with DIY DAC builders.

Just look at how long the DDDAC 1794 NOS DAC thread and how much money some spend on tweaking their build.
And many of them are also experimenting with different SOC boards and I think none of those boards comes close to the LakeWest steramer.

If it work with this DAC then there should be more potential customers for the streamer.

Do you think it would be a good match for the DDDAC?
 
JohnW said:
For those who dont help sponsor the PnP machine, then PCB Assembly will be charged at industry standard rate - the rate quoted by our normal SMT vendor.

The Detox will be the next PCB built on the SMD line after the steamer PCB.

Within 6 weeks or so, the MDAC2 mainboard should be nearing completion so will follow Detox.
Click to expand...
I see so
a. it's still a case of "give me some more money, or your Mdac2 will now be sold at a profit not at cost."
b. the mdac2 will be complete by Munich has gently shifted

I'm not wild on it. Funnily enough I probably would want my mdac2 with a streamer board. But I can't see the point in paying up front for an accessory to go with the thing I still don't have. Still I don't spose it matters much since I appear to be the only person who has any reservations about this.
 
GWM said:
Nice job John
I have come round to the idea of a streamer but would only want it on the FDAC like some others so would be happy to pay a development cost .u
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John,
I'm in almost the opposite position- I don't want or need the streamer, though I agree it's a nice job, but I do still want the AV bypass, and from what I remember there wasn't room for both inside the MDAC case. However, I am more than happy to pay a share of the dvelopment cost, as several people have now suggested (if the accounting doesn't get too complicated for you/Renate).
 
adamdea said:
Still I don't spose it matters much since I appear to be the only person who has any reservations about this.
Click to expand...

I'm sure there must be others who feel the same - and there are clearly many of us who have no use for a streamer, would be happy to contribute and will feel at a disadvantage if there is no way to do that.

John reckons that had he seen 'in house production' as feasible on day one then DETOX would have been delivered by now. Presumably the cost of funding the machinery (or a big chunk of it) would have been built into a down payment or stage payment much earlier, with a correspondingly smaller final 'production/delivery' one, so the net result would have been roughly the same.

As the MDAC2 spec has expanded to satisfy demand, costs have inevitably increased and some of those who signed up for a basic single board replacement may be feeling aggrieved at the escalation. Crowd funding a state-of-the-art project was always going to be a rocky road, and maybe 'riskier' than some imagined at the start.

On the plus side, I'm expecting it to be better than the original project and at less (perhaps way less) than the retail cost of similar performance from a bulk manufacturer.
 
John

Just paid for the streamer board. Can you please hang on to it and install it in my MDAC2 board when ready.

Best wishes

eddie
 
adamdea said:
I see so
a. it's still a case of "give me some more money, or your Mdac2 will now be sold at a profit not at cost."
b. the mdac2 will be complete by Munich has gently shifted

I'm not wild on it. Funnily enough I probably would want my mdac2 with a streamer board. But I can't see the point in paying up front for an accessory to go with the thing I still don't have. Still I don't spose it matters much since I appear to be the only person who has any reservations about this.
Click to expand...

I think I have made my position clear on this whole subject, so you are not alone!

I also do not see well over 100 contributors (assuming that would be over 50%) having agreed to it either.
 
I've lost confidence and consider that I need to get used to the idea of cutting my losses now. Not trying to be mean or disruptive, hope things work out but I can't justify giving away more money on promises given the reality of what is still to do and the experience we have had over the years. I've become apathetic to following and voicing concerns, but wish no hard feelings to John or the other more positive supporters.
 
ti33er said:
Is this true, no AV Bypass if the Streamer is inside
Click to expand...

AV Bypass was never on the MDAC2 feature list. If it is still the modular design with optional Streamer, ADC and FDAC slave interface then according to John it would be possible to fit an AV Bypass instead of the ADC option.
 
fusion5 said:
AV Bypass was never on the MDAC2 feature list. If it is still the modular design with optional Streamer, ADC and FDAC slave interface then according to John it would be possible to fit an AV Bypass instead of the ADC option.
Click to expand...

I am very confused here ...I thought just the ADC blanked out the AV Bypass on MDAC2?

If this is the case, I can only have an FDAC
 
davidjt said:
I'm sure there must be others who feel the same - and there are clearly many of us who have no use for a streamer, would be happy to contribute and will feel at a disadvantage if there is no way to do that.
Click to expand...
Yes. I would be perfectly happy to contribute a pro rata share of the cost of the PnP line in return for an agreed delivery date for the existing products. I do not accept that it is reasonable to increase the cost of paying for the Mdac2 or detox by any more than than pro rata share reflecting a cost of production. I think this is equally unreasonable whether you don't want a streamer, can't afford any more expense or don't fancy investing any more in an overdue product.

Unless an external manufacturer is in fact manufacturing the product (fine by me- they can provide a guaranteed delivery date) then the theoretical cost of manufacturing that way is not the cost of production.

Given that no one actually wants the streamer module (if they want it at all) before they get the Mdac 2, you have to ask yourself the question, why is the streamer module being manufactured before the Mdac2 or indeed the detox?
 
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