[kboe]

 
 
Has anyone else been following the 6moons article/system review on the new Emerald Physics/Spatial
system with. CS2.3
 
 
It has some wild and to me, kinda scary points about the future of audio.  Just wanted to see what everyone else was thinking.
 
 
LINK TO THE REVIEW/ARTICLE

 

[Ham Sandwich]

A downside to a system like that is that you are very tied to the computer and the software.  Very reliant on the custom computer software to be supported and updated for future OS versions.  Very reliant on the computer hardware being continually supported.  Will you still be able to use your $10,000 digital audio front end in 5 years?  Will it even be possible to get it working in 10 years?  My 30 year old CD player still works.  My 30 year old Apple ][ computer stuff is long dead and is only capable of seeing the present day in software emulation mode.  That Spatial system relies on FireWire to talk to the digital hardware.  Apple is not exactly staying enthusiastic about FireWire.  Apple removed FireWire from the low end laptops.  How long will it even continue to be available on the desktops?  Will the OS even support FireWire in 5 years?  This type of consumer computer gear integration is destined for the rapid consumer electronics upgrade/obsolescence cycle.  Not a good way to "invest" audio dollars.  Look at how fast iPhones are obsoleted.  Do you want your $10,000 digital audio front end obsoleted just as fast?
 
I'm a computer geek.  I'm a software engineer.  I'm not enthusiastic about integrating expansive digital gear with custom software running on a consumer computer.  It will work now.  Unlikely to continue working in just a few years.

 

[Uncle Erik]

Meh. Looks like someone ripped off Linkwitz. Again. You can build a Pluto or Orion system for far less.

You won't find 6 Moons-style masturbatory prose at Linkwitz' site, but you will find solid research and engineering.

 

[Landis]

Quote:

You won't find 6 Moons-style masturbatory prose at Linkwitz' site, but you will find solid research and engineering.

 
This sentence was delightful to read.

 

[marvin]

Is it just me, or does this just seem like a really lazy way to build a speaker system? No box or crossover design experience needed. Just toss a few open baffle compatible drivers between a couple of nicely finished pieces of wood, connect with rudimentary crossover, and use a lot of software magic to smooth over all the nasty issues that speaker designers have to correct with proper box/crossover design and a bit of trial and error.
 
Wouldn't say that they ripped off Linkwitz though. If they had done that, the crossover wouldn't look like something a first year electrical engineering student could have designed.

 

[kboe]

Quote:

A downside to a system like that is that you are very tied to the computer and the software.  Very reliant on the custom computer software to be supported and updated for future OS versions.  Very reliant on the computer hardware being continually supported.  Will you still be able to use your $10,000 digital audio front end in 5 years?  Will it even be possible to get it working in 10 years?  My 30 year old CD player still works.  My 30 year old Apple ][ computer stuff is long dead and is only capable of seeing the present day in software emulation mode.  That Spatial system relies on FireWire to talk to the digital hardware.  Apple is not exactly staying enthusiastic about FireWire.  Apple removed FireWire from the low end laptops.  How long will it even continue to be available on the desktops?  Will the OS even support FireWire in 5 years?  This type of consumer computer gear integration is destined for the rapid consumer electronics upgrade/obsolescence cycle.  Not a good way to "invest" audio dollars.  Look at how fast iPhones are obsoleted.  Do you want your $10,000 digital audio front end obsoleted just as fast?
 
I'm a computer geek.  I'm a software engineer.  I'm not enthusiastic about integrating expansive digital gear with custom software running on a consumer computer.  It will work now.  Unlikely to continue working in just a few years.

These were some of my concerns, plus I would think that a system like this might limit how I might change and shape the sound of my system.  Yes there are "tube" emulators and other setting one could change, but I just don't see hard core audiophiles ever going for a system like this.  

 

[Confispect]

Quote:

These were some of my concerns, plus I would think that a system like this might limit how I might change and shape the sound of my system.  Yes there are "tube" emulators and other setting one could change, but I just don't see hard core audiophiles ever going for a system like this.
 
 
 
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