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Going from analogue to digital

ks.234 said:
Can you say a bit more about the minidsp shd?
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It is a dac and adc (very respectable performnace) with built in dirac correction and licence. It has 4 channels and can do 2.2. It also has a built in streamer which will run volumio natively and squeezelite with a tiny bit of faffing* via wifi or ethernet.
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...sp-shd-review-updated-dsp-dac-streamer.18681/
I find it very neat as a preamp dac , dirac device and streamer. Aside from playing music from my nas under the stairs via wifi it also takes an anlogue input from my turntable> phono preamp.
There is also a version with no analogue outputs so you can use the dac of your choice.
Of course there are plenty of other solutions, but it's pretty neat and well engineered. It's about £1500 in the UK though.

*unfortunately the version of squeezelite which comes with minidsp's own version of volumio doesn't work, but there is an informal work around via ssh, and it's irrelevant if you use volumio itself, or just connect your pi via usb or s/pdif.
 
I've been very wary of buying amps with the digital gubbins built in. dac implementation and optimisation have been evolving pretty quickly over the past decade that obsolescence is the enemy of your fancy kit, unless you choose to take hits on new gear and move it on fairly frequently. You don't seem to me to be that person ks if you've kept a nice TT over the years...

I have a WT Amadeus, the Simplex is sonically much the same, shove a good DV cartridge on there (or perhaps a Hana) and enjoy at your leisure.
 
adamdea said:
It is a dac and adc (very respectable performnace) with built in dirac correction and licence. It has 4 channels and can do 2.2. It also has a built in streamer which will run volumio natively and squeezelite with a tiny bit of faffing* via wifi or ethernet.
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...sp-shd-review-updated-dsp-dac-streamer.18681/
I find it very neat as a preamp dac , dirac device and streamer. Aside from playing music from my nas under the stairs via wifi it also takes an anlogue input from my turntable> phono preamp.
There is also a version with no analogue outputs so you can use the dac of your choice.
Of course there are plenty of other solutions, but it's pretty neat and well engineered. It's about £1500 in the UK though.

*unfortunately the version of squeezelite which comes with minidsp's own version of volumio doesn't work, but there is an informal work around via ssh, and it's irrelevant if you use volumio itself, or just connect your pi via usb or s/pdif.
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It’s worth noting that the SHD doesn’t have a headphone amp but the digital only variant (SHD Studio) does. I have the SHD but I’m only using for room correction at the moment and still using a Benchmark for DAC, volume control and headphone duty. I have thought about selling the latter but then I’d need to buy a headphone amp and I’d lose the auto mute of speakers functionality.
 
You don't need to sell the LP12 as your digital setup is fine so not sure I understand the question :)

All music is analogue when it hits your ears.

Tim
 
SteveH said:
I was where you were, using Shahinian Arcs, then Obelisks, Naim and pretty much the same LP12. I flogged the lot after some demos of what is around now.
IMHO, your weakness is the speakers: I replaced my Obelisks with Kii3 actives, and the result stopped upgraditis in its tracks.
Your pi/digione/shanti is a fabulous front end - that I what I am using now. Don't be fooled by the fact it's "cheap". It's not cheap-sounding.
So, I would flog the LP12, but also flog the amps and speakers, and get some Kiis or D&D8c. You move from passive to active (a big upgrade in itself), take care of your room problems via cardioid, and keep your digital front end. Would prob be cost-neutral if ex-dem etc.
At least get a demo of what it sounds like in your room - plenty around who will do that for you.
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What you say here makes a great deal of sense around what I’m trying to achieve, though I don’t understand why going from passive to active will be an upgrade on it’s own. Is not an active system just speakers with amps built in?
 
ks.234 said:
What you say here makes a great deal of sense around what I’m trying to achieve, though I don’t understand why going from passive to active will be an upgrade on it’s own. Is not an active system just speakers with amps built in?
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It's all about the crossover. The argument is that it's better to separate the signal at a low level and then amplify it, rather than amplifying it first. Also, an active setup can more easily be optimized for the specific speaker, and as we all know, the speaker is the main source of distortion.

Tim
 
ks.234 said:
What you say here makes a great deal of sense around what I’m trying to achieve, though I don’t understand why going from passive to active will be an upgrade on it’s own. Is not an active system just speakers with amps built in?
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Contemporary designs allow you to adjust bass output, delay, they may be cardioid, completely full range and have built in PEQ to eradicate any ‘boom’.
Keith
 
:)ks. 234

I think you need to trust your own judgement a bit more.
I’m pretty sure you didn’t buy your turntable, amps and speakers as a job lot. You most likely upgraded stepwise, over time, auditioning at each step. If I recall, you have had other Shahinian speakers in the past and know something of the strengths and weaknesses of your current ones compared to others. You know how good your setup is, so why would you trust the judgement of someone who’s never heard it, telling you to ditch the lot in favour of something else?

I can’t offer advice on improving your digital setup, but from reading the comments above, some are saying it’s already pretty good and you may not gain much.

Maybe move your turntable and a box of records next to your listening chair to gain some of the convenience of digital.:)

regards

Kevin
 
adamdea said:
It is a dac and adc (very respectable performnace) with built in dirac correction and licence. It has 4 channels and can do 2.2. It also has a built in streamer which will run volumio natively and squeezelite with a tiny bit of faffing* via wifi or ethernet.
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...sp-shd-review-updated-dsp-dac-streamer.18681/
I find it very neat as a preamp dac , dirac device and streamer. Aside from playing music from my nas under the stairs via wifi it also takes an anlogue input from my turntable> phono preamp.
There is also a version with no analogue outputs so you can use the dac of your choice.
Of course there are plenty of other solutions, but it's pretty neat and well engineered. It's about £1500 in the UK though.

*unfortunately the version of squeezelite which comes with minidsp's own version of volumio doesn't work, but there is an informal work around via ssh, and it's irrelevant if you use volumio itself, or just connect your pi via usb or s/pdif.
Click to expand...

This looks like an interesting option, and perhaps a way of mitigating the obsolescence that most integrated streaming units will experience (for example, the Naim ND5 XS won't support Qobuz or Roon), and I would be concerned about whether a more modern unit with better software (e.g. a Naim Uniti Nova, or Linn Selekt) would itself be superseded by new software and technology in the next 5-10 years. I wonder if this miniDSP unit would work well with ATC active speakers, which could serve for the long term, even if the front end needs to be replaced every few years?
 
Many of the people who get rid of their vinyl regret it. I know there have been times when I hardly played any and listened to CD all the time but it swings back. All it takes is a little upgrade to the LP12 and it'll remind you why you loved it so much in the first place.
 
With really well produced albums my pretty expensive turntable (SME 20/Koetsu cart/Tron 7) set-up generally sounds better than my streaming solution (laptop with amazon hd/ultra hd/schiit modi 3). But, for not much (laptop plus schiit modi), the sound is really quite superb. So good in fact that I wouldn't pump a load more cash in to any turntable set-up (unless the expense was irrelevant), and I personally think diminishing returns kick in much lower down the cost scale in digital set ups....
 
webster said:
Why?
Even if they did they'd be replaced by another provider - streaming is here to stay.
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Pretty obvious really...

There has been a lot of talk and rumours about whether hi-res streaming pays, as well as the viability in these two streaming providers. Your right in that streaming is here to stay, but not necessarily anything over MP3, which in most Audiophiles book is not High Fidelity.
 
G T Audio said:
Pretty obvious really...

There has been a lot of talk and rumours about whether hi-res streaming pays, as well as the viability in these two streaming providers. Your right in that streaming is here to stay, but not necessarily anything over MP3, which in most Audiophiles book is not High Fidelity.
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You're in the trade so naturally I bow to your superior knowledge on the subject whilst hoping that lossless streaming remains available in the long term.
I took a monthly subscription with Qobuz after the InnuOS sense 2.0 app was released and really enjoy it.
 
webster said:
You're in the trade so naturally I bow to your superior knowledge on the subject whilst hoping that lossless streaming remains available in the long term.
I took a monthly subscription with Qobuz after the InnuOS sense 2.0 app was released and really enjoy it.
Click to expand...

Let's hope that lossless streaming continues otherwise I would expect many would feel pretty let down, especially if they had already got rid of their CD music collection.
 
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Streaming's not for me tbh. I do download stuff, but I almost view it in the same way as the physical product; I have a bunch of stuff sitting on the SSD in the Auralic & I can share that with the Squeezebox touch upstairs too. I'm happy playing CDs & have no plan to rip any of them; Spotify gives me most of the other stuff that isn't available anywhere else.
 
I gave up on vinyl about 1990 and never regretted it although I still have my old tt tucked away somewhere. My main musical diet is classical though, for which digital was a godsend.

As for spending on digital, a little goes a long way and beyond the quality of, say, a Benchmark DAC requires a heavy investment which for many won’t be needed. Personally, I’ve found a Chord DAC with m-scaler very worthwhile but at a price which doesn’t really compute on a value for money point of view but does on a quality of listening point of view!

Proceed with caution in my opinion, and if you do upgrade your digital side take plenty of time to audition components at home to hear if they are of value to you.
 
I am still quite disappointed that I got rid of all the jewel cases for my CD collection (18 years ago!) even though I still have the discs and booklets. There was a rather brief period where I didn't have the space for them, and that was the end.

Although I would say streaming via Qobuz has changed the game dramatically for me, every now and then I put a CD into my relatively older Arcam player and am reminded that the format can be quite good and the playing experience enjoyable in a way that selecting a release on my iPad isn't. Playing a CD feels like a middle ground between the highly tactile experience of vinyl and whatever we might label streaming.

As for the very high resolution trend... am not seeing much value added over 16/44.1 but perhaps I'm just getting old. :confused:
 
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