[Ableza]

So that looks like an integrated amp. Power, specs, sinad?

Pass designed JFET preamp buffer, ALPS pot, my design power supply, Hypex-based output module @ about 24 WPC with the voltage I was supplying. SNR was about 88db as I recall. Sounded pretty good but ultimately put aside. It was an experiment, just me with too much spare time between projects and playing around. The point I was making was not to promote the amp (there are much better ones promoted elsewhere in this thread) but simply to mention that DIY can take all forms and you do not have to buy a pre-made case for your projects.

 

[AstronomerXI]

*sigh* This is what happens when you are AFK for three weekends in a given month. I am replying on Dec 27 to something from the 14th...

A hackintosh is a home-built PC with a hacked BIOS that can run MacOS instead of Windows.

Not supported by Apple in any way, but I was able to build a beast that outperformed any Mac anywhere near its price point.

Then Apple came out with the M1 Mac Mini and I was left crying in my (spilt) beer...
.

Yup. I gave up on my Hackintoshes at that point and bought an M1 Mini, then a Studio Max when they were released.

 

[golfbravobravo]

I'd personally rather just do a streamer. If we're going to go through the trouble, might as well make it worth making. And no, we are not doing a streamer.

You hit on the low points of this: try to accommodate a wide variety of stuff? Nightmare. And what about the new stuff? And what about stuff that doesn't quite fit? Suddenly all of those are your problems. What about taking something back after it didn't quite fit? Another nightmare. Dealing with people complaining you're selling an overpriced box because you can't sell it for the same price as the LLOURTSHAN-brand direct-from-China Amazon specials selling 5 different color boxes for $5.99? (And no I'm not crapping on them, there's a place for that, **** you Apple for wanting $100 for a fabric watch band that lasts less than a year.) But yeah, more nightmares, not for us.

Best to just get a Mac Mini.

How about just the hardware (HAT) that sits on a RaspberryPi? No need for software, that's all on the Pi. But the market out there is dire for a good HAT with the various outputs - including XLR.

 

[dreed]

How about just the hardware (HAT) that sits on a RaspberryPi? No need for software, that's all on the Pi. But the market out there is dire for a good HAT with the various outputs - including XLR.

For an endpoint, those are great. But if you want to have all the music stored there and have multi zones and EQ and DSP, then a Mac mini is where it’s at.

 

[PioBeer]

@Jason Stoddard what do you think about a smaller form factor CD Player that is a top loader and cheaper than the URD?
Just love watching those discs spin...

 

[Ableza]

@Jason Stoddard what do you think about a smaller form factor CD Player that is a top loader and cheaper than the URD?
Just love watching those discs spin...

I could be wrong but I suspect a top loader would be more expensive.

 

[Jason Stoddard]

@Jason Stoddard what do you think about a smaller form factor CD Player that is a top loader and cheaper than the URD?
Just love watching those discs spin...

Cost on the drives is about a wash, if you want a real drive made by a reputable company, that is.

Metal you save some on due to size. However, a fancy/complex cover might kill that advantage.

Leave off the USB side and you save more.

Form factor won't match Bifrost 2/64--needs more depth.

And still gonna be $800. I'm afraid I don't see the value in it.

 

[Jason Stoddard]

How about just the hardware (HAT) that sits on a RaspberryPi? No need for software, that's all on the Pi. But the market out there is dire for a good HAT with the various outputs - including XLR.

I thought there were plenty of those.

Again, not for us. Problem with Pi board = now our problem. Product with ribbons, cables, connectors = now our problem. Problem with external display = now our problem. Problem with streaming software = now our problem. Plus problems with our boards, of course, but then we have to sort the preceding out first.

Fun fact, somewhat tangentially related: does anyone remember where ARM came from, what problem it was intended to solve, what high-profile failure first used it, or what it stands for?

 

[artur9]

I don't even know what it is and I'm already experiencing FOMO.

Well, he did say "bigger" and "shockwaves" so I'm guessing the famed Schitt Rotary Subwoofer.

 

[AndreYew]

How about just the hardware (HAT) that sits on a RaspberryPi? No need for software, that's all on the Pi. But the market out there is dire for a good HAT with the various outputs - including XLR.

I'm not sure what Schiit (or anyone else) can do that's meaningfully different from a Pi2AES. The enclosure will be an issue as well as the power supply, not to mention the software issues that will inevitably come up even if you make it compatible with an existing hat (like the Pi2AES is). You just need to look at the other forum's Pi2AES thread to see all the issues that come up.

Pi2AES is made offshore, so there's something there, but could you make it cheaper? Probably not meaningfully so.

 

[sam6550a]

*sigh* This is what happens when you are AFK for three weekends in a given month. I am replying on Dec 27 to something from the 14th...

A hackintosh is a home-built PC with a hacked BIOS that can run MacOS instead of Windows.

Not supported by Apple in any way, but I was able to build a beast that outperformed any Mac anywhere near its price point.

Then Apple came out with the M1 Mac Mini and I was left crying in my (spilt) beer...
.

Thanks! When you are a retired analog engineer and not familiar with Apple operating systems and hardware, some of the terminology is not self evident,

 

[Clemmaster]

So… a tube Kara, heh? Count me in!

 

[AndreYew]

Fun fact, somewhat tangentially related: does anyone remember where ARM came from, what problem it was intended to solve, what high-profile failure first used it, or what it stands for?

Consumer home computing, Apple Newton, Acorn RISC Machine.

edit:I just looked it up: 2/3. It was meant for business computing inspired by the IBM PC.

 

[Jason Stoddard]

So… a tube Kara, heh? Count me in!

That's called Freya+.

Seriously, though, we have contemplated many upgrades for Freya, and it's a tough row. Make it like Lyr+ with SS/tube? Wow, the control systems for that are nightmarish, including powering down the HV rail on every mode switch, managing different allowable modes based on installed tubes, etc. Would be a lot more expensive. And I'm not convinced anyone really wants such a beast. Perhaps best to just improve the tube stage on Freya, but that's a game of better parts, etc, which is also more cost, and we already have relay ladder volume, Vishay resistors, Wima caps, dual transformers, etc. Maybe worth doing? Maybe not?

As above with the CD player example, the reason I can answer these what-ifs in such detail is we do a lot of what-ifs, a lot of prototypes, a lot of mockups, a lot of experimentation. So, hopefully, when we find something interesting to do, it can be really interesting, and not a party trick or an add-on or a part-upgrade.

But it's fun to talk about. And if enough people talk to me about something or other, it'll at least be looked at, even if it doesn't go anywhere, or sits for a bit while we contemplate how to use it.

 

[Jason Stoddard]

Consumer home computing, Apple Newton, Acorn RISC Machine.

BINGO. It was a fairly lame little device that just happened to be very very low power, so it was the ideal fit for the Apple Newton. Newtons were before the age of fancy lithium batteries, so those 4 AAA batteries had to last for a good long while. But it's definitely not a shining example of a successful product.

I always laugh a bit when I consider where ARM started, and all the stuff it's in today.

It's also a reminder that sometimes you gotta keep going...