tof
pfm Member
Digital speakers with DSP then
BTW, what is the difference with the range of digital speakers that Meridian (and may be others) has (have) been manufacturing for several years now?
JC
Linn website : DS was only the beginning?
- Thread starter kristoffer
- Start date
BTW, what is the difference with the range of digital speakers that Meridian (and may be others) has (have) been manufacturing for several years now?
JC
david ellwood
Kirabosi Kognoscente
It will be interesting to see if the new exakt supports older linn designs?
russel
./_dazed_and_confused
I expect recycled old rope is used as well and AVI fanbois will be claiming they were there first or something. For people with more money than sense IMV, may as well call it the Linn Krass and have done with it.
kristoffer
Danish Hi Fi NERD
Kind of a letdown. I was hoping for a cheaper streamer.
Ian Hughes
pfm Member
Apparently there are plans to support older designs. I was with the designer last night, and even the Isobarik was mentioned as potentially being on the list. With a whole slew of previous generation Linn speakers to be considered, I would imagine a roadmap of some kind extending over the next year or so. All will no doubt become clearer over time.
Ian Hughes
pfm Member
vln
Shuns mooks. And MQA.
What I don't get with the whole Exakt approach is why they didn't put the whole DS part into the speakers? Why does Exakt still need a box? (and in the case of Klimax Exakt, a box that doesn't even have any buttons and a display so small that it cannot show an awful lot of information anyway)
I understand that the Exakt box corresponds to the preamplifier in a conventional system, so it makes it easier for people with a lot of sources, but are there still many of those people around in 2014, with CDPs, TTs, tuners, cassette decks, MD decks, DVD players etc.?
And even for those people, why not make an Exakt ADC preamplifier that outputs an Exakt Link signal to the speakers (or the master speaker), and for everybody else, offer the possibility to get away with the most minimalist system possible - just two speakers, connected to the LAN, and connected between themselves via Exakt link.
*That* would have been cool - as it stands now, it's just a slightly more sophisticated Meridian system...
Cheers,
Samuel
I understand that the Exakt box corresponds to the preamplifier in a conventional system, so it makes it easier for people with a lot of sources, but are there still many of those people around in 2014, with CDPs, TTs, tuners, cassette decks, MD decks, DVD players etc.?
And even for those people, why not make an Exakt ADC preamplifier that outputs an Exakt Link signal to the speakers (or the master speaker), and for everybody else, offer the possibility to get away with the most minimalist system possible - just two speakers, connected to the LAN, and connected between themselves via Exakt link.
*That* would have been cool - as it stands now, it's just a slightly more sophisticated Meridian system...
Cheers,
Samuel
Warren Day
pfm Member
Several reasons:
* 2 speakers, 1 source
* inputs for other sources, turntable for example, want interconnect to be reasonably short and why tie sources to being near a speaker
* source has display
* also allows for having Exakt active crossover boxes so one can have external power amps
* 2 speakers, 1 source
* inputs for other sources, turntable for example, want interconnect to be reasonably short and why tie sources to being near a speaker
* source has display
* also allows for having Exakt active crossover boxes so one can have external power amps
vln
Shuns mooks. And MQA.
Warren,
* 2 speakers, 1 source
Que? I thought "The source is in the speaker"?
* inputs for other sources, turntable for example, want interconnect to be reasonably short and why tie sources to being near a speaker
I've already covered this in my post - for those people offer a preamp with a digital/network/Exakt link output; however I cannot imagine that the average Exakt buyer has a lot of sources left
* source has display
So has your laptop, iPad, iPhone etc. except that their display is bigger and thus can show more information
* also allows for having Exakt active crossover boxes so one can have external power amps[/QUOTE]
Probably not a lot of people are going to do that - certainly not the average Exakt buyer who doesn't strike me as the "box collector" type; anyway, one could imagine a setup that would still allow both options
Be it as it may, it still strikes me as a missed opportunity, but perhaps in 5 years we will be there...
* 2 speakers, 1 source
Que? I thought "The source is in the speaker"?
* inputs for other sources, turntable for example, want interconnect to be reasonably short and why tie sources to being near a speaker
I've already covered this in my post - for those people offer a preamp with a digital/network/Exakt link output; however I cannot imagine that the average Exakt buyer has a lot of sources left
* source has display
So has your laptop, iPad, iPhone etc. except that their display is bigger and thus can show more information
* also allows for having Exakt active crossover boxes so one can have external power amps[/QUOTE]
Probably not a lot of people are going to do that - certainly not the average Exakt buyer who doesn't strike me as the "box collector" type; anyway, one could imagine a setup that would still allow both options
Be it as it may, it still strikes me as a missed opportunity, but perhaps in 5 years we will be there...
TPA
Trade: Tiger Paw
There's a lot more to this technology than meets the eye, in fact it's very impressive engineering across several disciplines. In some ways, the 'the source is in the speaker' is a slight misnomer for some, but in reality, that's where the DA takes place so I guess say a studio master file (source) gets transmitted directly to the speaker, or rather, each drive unit. The box is an interface/hub for incoming streams, master clocking, and obviously alternative source switching. I'm sure when they release an ADC/RIAA input that will cause consternation amongst the analogistas but it opens up interesting possibilities for cartridge matching etc.. In terms of sound quality that's something for the customer to judge but for anyone still stuck in the analogue vs digital or all dacs sound the same camp, this is a good indication of what happens when you actually turn digital on it's head, and rather than just replay it, actually seek to use the benefits.
I think "Exakt" is a good idea, but the problem with the current Linn iteration of it is that is sounds nothing like £50,000-worth of equipment. I believe the poor sound quality comes from the speakers they are using, the old 350As. I spent some time discussing this with a Linn employee, but he didn't seem at all interested in listening to my opinion, and actually became quite angry with me.
Meridian are doing something similar - the Meridian Special Edition DSP Digital Active Loudspeakers. How do you think they'll stack up against the Exakt stuff?
I reckon it's naim's turn next to produce active digital crossover speakers. They've put the work in with Bentley and the Muso - all they need to do is take it up the range. The Muso has 6 x 75W amplifiers on a fairly small board and and DSP - wouldn't be too hard to put that into some bigger speakers. Interesting times. Wonder if ATC will go digital active. PMC have.
vln
Shuns mooks. And MQA.
WRT naim, probably.
As for ATC, they probably don't have the clout to come up with something unique, designed from the ground up by themselves, but it would have to be put together by off the shelf parts, as I don't think they have much a of an R&D department when it comes to DSP. However, this doesn't mean the outcome needs to be bad.
As for implementation, ATC's 50/100/150 seem relatively modular - over at the ATC forum there is one guy who converted his passive 50ies to active by just removing the back plate with the passive XO and replacing it with the amp pack.
Thus I'm sure there is enough room to put together an amp pack with some extended functionality, including an XO operating in the digital domain followed by a DAC connected to the amplifiers, and perhaps even a network input for streaming.
Sadly, all we got from them in the last 1-2 years is a CDP/Pre and CDP/IntAmp - cutting edge technology.
Warren Day
pfm Member
>Que? I thought "The source is in the speaker"?
The DS digital source is in the speaker, in the active crossover, to be accurate.
>I've already covered this in my post - for those people offer a preamp with a digital/network/Exakt link output; however I cannot imagine that the average Exakt buyer has a lot of sources left
Only need 1, and LP12 is popular enough.
Also if both speakers had "source" in might be difficult to sync between them.
If 1 speaker had DS then it would have different psu requirements and performance.
>* also allows for having Exakt active crossover boxes so one can have external power amps[/QUOTE]
>Probably not a lot of people are going to do that
Some are (I know of at least one customer who has) and more will, no point in restricting market.
The DS digital source is in the speaker, in the active crossover, to be accurate.
>I've already covered this in my post - for those people offer a preamp with a digital/network/Exakt link output; however I cannot imagine that the average Exakt buyer has a lot of sources left
Only need 1, and LP12 is popular enough.
Also if both speakers had "source" in might be difficult to sync between them.
If 1 speaker had DS then it would have different psu requirements and performance.
>* also allows for having Exakt active crossover boxes so one can have external power amps[/QUOTE]
>Probably not a lot of people are going to do that
Some are (I know of at least one customer who has) and more will, no point in restricting market.
Warren Day
pfm Member
I heard a standard Exakt system at the Melbourne show complete trash a 4 box dCS Vivaldi into pre-monoblock with Wilson Audio speakers. Mileage may vary, ya-da-ya-da-ya-da.
For me the weakest-link is in the Akurate calibre amps. Very good, but prefer with Twins or Solos, and passive if need be to do that.
Here's looking forward to hearing the rest of the Exakt range, Akurate soon, plus Isobarik, Keltik etc on the way.
I can't comment on what you've heard, however unlikely it seems!