bosiemoncrieff said:

  For my 1000th post, let me say that I very much enjoyed last Sunday's festivities. As you all know, it was a momentous occasion, and I'm sure we all marked the 130th anniversary of the premiere of Verdi's Otello with critical listening sessions. In my case, I listened to Levine in the pit and Domingo in the title role. Really great stuff. In my view, the high point of Italian tragedy, perhaps all of Italian opera. I can't think of anything that exceeds it—you need to go back to the C17 and C18, and those are such different musical paradigms (and written largely by Austrians like Mozart and Germans like Handel) that I hardly think they bear comparison. Closer comparisons like Don Carlo come nowhere near the economy, poetry, and intensity of Otello. If you haven't listened recently, it's a quick listen. I keep meaning to listen to the Furtwangler and Toscanini, as those are perhaps the two best readings, but the sound is so bad that I need to get the HD600 out of storage (or buy the baby orpheus on the classifieds, which I'm trying hard not to do!)

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Since I missed it, who played Iago??

Scotto, Levine's favorite for a few years longer than her voice really warranted. 

OK, OK..............  I am still working on USB interfaces – BUT - from time to time I must speak my conscience.
 
Thirty years ago we had people with car-priced audio system hardware (that they were always dissatisfied with) with less than 10 Musically insipid but Audiophile quality LPs (that they were too musically lame to dislike).
 
Today we have music hoarders with hundreds of thousands of hours of audio content stream-able or on a storage device/computer (but they always want more or more better). They couldn't listen to it all in ten lifetimes. They then phuc up all this music they do not have the time to hear by running it through the snot coated lens of USB. They do this for convenience and they want it right away.
 
They have no idea that having a physical CD, playing it back on a real transport coupled with a proper interface which was designed for audio is the only digital way to fly. Period. Try it if you already sank into the dreams of computer audio.
 
I have steadily improved this unfortunate interface. I do so only because of its ubiquity. This interface suffers from unfortunate layers (with different OSes (or not)) which add sonic vomit to the audio information. This is whether or not AOIP is involved (different cataract-plagued layers). I am not enternaining myself by subscribing to any notions that any new USB (or AOIP) interface will ever beat physical CDs. I have always postured that USB as a sellout for convenience.
 
Further, audio progressives pronounce CDs as digital audio media dead. I view this prevailing attitude as a fantastic opportunity to buy a ton of software on the cheap. That audio opinion leaders are almost always myopic.
 
Here's the rub - who wants to make a transport? They break, they are hard to source for long life products, and they involve major OEM components which severely mess with supply chains. So until I make a transport, it is really tough to make a claim to a solution of the USB/AOIP cesspool problem.
 
Meanwhile, the relative unavailability of modern transports should keep the price of digital media low for a while longer, until we hit the inevitable inflation and then bubble.
 
Don't get me wrong – I will still endeavor to improve interfaces to beat any in the USB/AOIP arena. It makes sense for those who demand convenience over quality. One can argue a case for syphilis cures as being less consuming of resources than sexual partner reeducation camps. That reeducation curriculum is CDs rule – period.

 
 
 
 

...playing it back on a real transport...

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What's a real transport?

baldr said:

  ... They then phuc up all this music they do not have the time to hear by running it through the snot coated lens of USB. They do this for convenience and they want it right away.
 
They have no idea that having a physical CD, playing it back on a real transport coupled with a proper interface which was designed for audio is the only digital way to fly. Period. Try it if you already sank into the dreams of computer audio.
 
...

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I accept the challenge!  But...
 
Alls I have is a blu ray player.  HDMI out, Optical out, sadly no coax out.  So I can compare something I've ripped to the CD.
 
Do you think that will remove some of the snot from my music?  Or do I need an honest-to-god CD player?

tlainhart said:

What's a real transport?

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http://www.6moons.com/audioreviews/aplhifi/sidebar1.jpg

baldr said:

 
They have no idea that having a physical CD, playing it back on a real transport coupled with a proper interface which was designed for audio is the only digital way to fly. Period. Try it if you already sank into the dreams of computer audio.
 
 
 

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I couldn't agree more.  I have three different transports here, any one of which can be connected to my Gumby via SP/DIF

tlainhart said:

What's a real transport?

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Definition of:
 
 

A mechanical device which spins silver CDs for the purpose of providing an S/PDIF digital output.  Blue ray, DVD, or CD, any of them are preferable to USB and variants.  Coax preferred, TOS still way better than the alternative. 
 
It is possible that HiDef files may be better, according to the remastering; most of the time, if using a Schiit DAC, I would bet on the burrito filter.
 
I am sure that there will be differences between any batch of transports (and look forward to user input here), but it is true that unless it is broken, the worst transport should still beat the best computer interface.

baldr said:

Definition of:


A mechanical device which spins silver CDs for the purpose of providing an S/PDIF digital output.  Blue ray, DVD, or CD, any of them are preferable to USB and variants.  Coax preferred, TOS still way better than the alternative. 

It is possible that HiDef files may be better, according to the remastering; most of the time, if using a Schiit DAC, I would bet on the burrito filter.

I am sure that there will be differences between any batch of transports (and look forward to user input here), but it is true that unless it is broken, the worst transport should still beat the best computer interface.

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Thanks. I asked, as I'm ordering a Gungnir MB, and wondered if I needed to jump on a transport or, could I get away with my current 3 year old player that has coax and toslink outs. I think that I can stay there for now.

I wonder if it makes sense for Schitt to sell Pyst coax?

baldr said:

  A mechanical device which spins silver CDs for the purpose of providing an S/PDIF digital output.  Blue ray, DVD, or CD, any of them are preferable to USB and variants.  Coax preferred, TOS still way better than the alternative. 

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Much to my dismay, I agree (in general with your two latest posts, not just the quoted snippet). I don't have anywhere near your level of expertise or experience but through my own experimentation I've always found that to be the case.
 
This is coming from someone who is young enough to be the target audience of computer desktop oriented audio (I'm 27 and my wife who shares my passion for music [not so much for the gear used, thankfully or otherwise] is 31), where I grew up CDs were scarce and money to buy them even scarcer so like 95% of our listening is done through digital interfaces, be it my Modi MB + MJ2 connected to a bunch of different headphones or Devialet Phantoms through smartphone Tidal application. The only physical experience is the other modi MB + phono Jotunheim in the living room connected to a modest turntable which we have limited amount of vinyl records for (some of which belonged to our parents and some of which we have recently been acquiring/collecting)... it's just the way life is for us, and it saddens me that USB can't ever reach that standard at least within the foreseeable future.
 
I've not really messed with converters or cables or anything of the sort to improve upon USB as I've been made abundantly aware of its limitations, elsewhere as well as here.
 
In your opinion, Mike, would you say there may be salvation for computer based audio yet? As in will there ever be a way to fix the fact it is so lacklustre compared to actual transports and real analogue audio, would one have to ditch USB entirely? My motherboard actually has TOS and I have tried it with my modi MB but I haven't found the difference to be substantial when compared to USB, I'm assuming that has to do with the TOS interface being badly implemented (it's a "gaming oriented" motherboard).
 
I apologise as I'm sure you've spoke on the matter many times before but I've only just recently been following the thread and your insight is fascinating.

baldr said:

  Further, audio progressives pronounce CDs as digital audio media dead. I view this prevailing attitude as a fantastic opportunity to buy a ton of software on the cheap. That audio opinion leaders are almost always myopic.

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And to buy CDs on the cheap.

baldr said:

  So until I make a transport, it is really tough to make a claim to a solution of the USB/AOIP cesspool problem.
 
 
 
 
 
 

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I know this is probably a toss off comment, but if Schiit were to make a transport I would be one of the first to buy.  I'm currently using a Tascam CD200 with spdif out to a Mimby, and the music is wonderful.  And without the frustrations of cranky OS's, noisy USB, etc.  Thanks for the validation Mr Moffat!

I run an Oppo BDP-93 via coax to an Yggy. Impeccable. For the Hi Res stuff I've bought I burn DVD-A's for the Oppo, and get full 24/192 playback thru Yggy. 

I just get frustrated........   

wink said:

  I just get frustrated........   

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Do you need any portable heaters at the moment??