We could go a step further and decide that there's enough audio gear on the planet for current and future generations. But we're audiophiles, insatiable gear-craving creatures...
Looks interesting. I know the Opus 21 well enough but had never heard of this. Ideally it would have an SACD drive but if the CD layer is good enough it's not an issue. I'd also ideally want BNC coax in but perhaps that can be configured. I guess my, perhaps unfounded, reservations compared to dCS would be support/longevity and resale value (particularly if buying new). Are any PFM members owners of this..?
Yes, perhaps the only issue for an end-game DAC purchase could be long-term support for its digital interface.... If a DAC works & you like how it sounds then you only need to change it if it stops working. Streamers are slightly different but most reputable manufacturers update the software continuously. ...
If the digital hardware parts of streaming systems are changing fast and the market moves away from supporting today's digital interfaces, then a great DAC may eventually remain functional but not usable if hardware has to be changed. However, I think this is not likely to be a short-term problem when compared to changes in streaming protocols, applications and services.
I am not an expert on the latest codecs but my current set up seems to be ok with all of that & Innuos have started to support MQA as I understand it. Roon, not a clue so others will need to comment. The market for hi-res is probably quite small but I seem to recall this being discussed 20 plus years ago so I would expect a lot of elderly equipment to cope ok.I agree if you are just listening to CD or 16bit/44K files, but what about if someone wants to listen to DSD recordings, or MQA, or Roon and your DAC isn't capable of decoding this data? There are some excellent 16bit DACs still about. I just spent about £4K upgrading my first Tron Seven TDA1541 based DAC I built about 15 years ago and the performance from it now is incredible.
Probably the wrong question but Linn have certainly been offering software updates for many years on their DSM type gear. How long has the Bluesound Node been out? My Sonos 3 still does what I want it to. I don’t think obsolescence is as big a thing anymore.Really not my area (I have no interest in anything beyond YouTube!) so I’m happy to be corrected. Can you connect a 20+ year old Linn streaming interface to Apple Music, Spotify, Tidal, Qoboz etc? I’d have thought the OS and processor technology would be hopelessly outdated by now, kind of like trying to browse the current internet on an iPhone 3.
I suspect it will be an exceptionally slow process. The fundamentals of digital recording and replay are firmly in the ‘mature technology’ category now which is why to my mind it always makes sense to split the DAC aspect from everything to do with streaming. The basic digital formats are studio standards, e.g. 16/44, 16/92, 24/192 etc, and are all well locked down.
It is thankfully exceptionally rare something like MQA comes along, and as the endless threads on the subject suggest it is arguably of debatable integrity and can possibly be viewed as merely a monetisation or DRM mechanism. Everything else that changes can almost certainly be decoded as part of the streaming interface, e.g. a Raspberry Pi and appropriate ‘hat’ should get my 15 year old DPA DAC happily playing future high-res from Spotify, Tidal or whatever as it does (IIRC) support the underlying digital resolutions. A lot of this stuff has been around since the days of ADATs, DA88s and other early studio recording technology and is now so baked-into stuff like ProTools, Logic and all manner of studio hardware I can’t see it changing fundamentally. I’d certainly be happy to see closed-source proprietary stuff like MQA fail if it hasn’t already.
To be honest I find the whole area remarkably uninteresting. It just works and there isn’t a lot worth fiddling with at this stage in the game. Digital audio is fit for purpose and has been for a very, very long time IMHO. I’m amazed just how good say a 20 year old ECM red book CD can sound. Anything that is ‘wrong’ with digital technology subjectively can almost always be parked at the door of poor mastering decisions.
On the first, people have different preferences so I won't comment.With respect to the Audial, I’m not really qualified to explain what these two really mean in tandem, I’m sure someone can:
● Non-oversampling, real multibit TDA1541A DAC
● Master USB device (“asynchronous USB”), operating up to 384 kHz
Probably the wrong question but Linn have certainly been offering software updates for many years on their DSM type gear. How long has the Bluesound Node been out? My Sonos 3 still does what I want it to. I don’t think obsolescence is as big a thing anymore.
Okay. So can you explain the relevance (primarily to the designer) of this: ‘Master USB device operating up to 384 kHz’? I’m a little confused as to why it matters with the 1541.The 1541 is 44.1/16 bits and will stay there. Philips/Sony engineers thought that was plenty enough, perfection was achieved back then with and they weren’t far off the truth.
Low level distortion was high though, we can do much better now.
The 1541 is 44.1/16 bits and will stay there. Philips/Sony engineers thought that was plenty enough, perfection was achieved back then with and they weren’t far off the truth.
Okay. So can you explain the relevance (primarily to the designer) of this: ‘Master USB device operating up to 384 kHz’? I’m a little confused as to why it matters with the 1541.
Admittedly I was listening to a Shostakovich string quartet which sound wise is mean’t to be a bit “on the edge”.