[Timster]

For those in an IOS environment, does anyone know if any music services ( with download capability) can take advantage of the new capabilities in IOS 13 of connecting external drives? That would be awesome for me traveling with my Oppo HA 2SE and a small portable drive.

Not sure how this would work in practice. If there is drive connected to your iOS device, how would you also connect the Oppo HA2?
I have both iOS and HA2 myself, and I either use Spotify or tunes pre-loaded on the phone.

 

[jmimac351]

Yes, that's part of what we're working on. But it's best not to think of it as a Schiit Raspberry Pi, because it will never be sold separately--it's just an engine to enable much higher signal processing capability, upgradability, and modularity. It'll always be internal, hidden in a product--and the news won't be about the SPi, it'll be about the product.

The music server / "endpoint" market needs a swift kick in the Jimmy. A decent music server is over $1,000 and most are many thousands. A basic Sonos Port endpoint with AirPlay is $400. The latest Apple TV units only have HDMI output. Give me something I can stream to.

 

[Ableza]

The music server / "endpoint" market needs a swift kick in the Jimmy. A decent music server is over $1,000 and most are many thousands. A basic Sonos Port endpoint with AirPlay is $400. The latest Apple TV units only have HDMI output. Give me something I can stream to.

There are lower cost solutions including DIY, but for good performance you are going to pay for it. $400 for an endpoint ain’t bad.

 

[jmimac351]

There are lower cost solutions including DIY, but for good performance you are going to pay for it. $400 for an endpoint ain’t bad.

$400 ain't bad? Maybe given what's currently available. I want 3 of them. $1200? How much would a Schiit version cost? I have a Raspberry Pi as a cheap garage computer. That's fine. For this I want to click a button for something I know has been fully sorted by people who know more.

 

[Ableza]

It’s all a matter of perspective I suppose. I have four Roon endpoint streamers in my house and the cheapest one was twice $400.

 

[Ripper2860]

I agree. The consumer / non-DIY music streamer market is crazy expensive and ripe for a revolutionary company to come in and play the role of disruptor. I know Jason has stated that Schiit would not be in the program dev / UI biz, but damn someone needs to just give that market space a swift kick in the ass!!

 

[valiant66]

Not to be a boor or anything but that's like nothing compared to these. Just stick 'em anywhere in the room, and all your Schiit will instantly become Super Schiit:

http://madscientist-audio.com/blackdiscusreg.html



I haven't tried them and I know it's bad form to make fun of something you haven't tried, but sometimes it's just too hard to resist. To be fair, their graphene contact enhancer does make a difference when used in the right spots in the right quantity, but at least that has a reasonably plausible explanation.

Um.

Madscientist-audio dot com

Cupcake black discus

"The Doctor Explanation : BlackDiscus use a simplified form of the technology employed by the time lords which we call "Relative Dimension in Space" RDIS, which means that they are considerably bigger inside than out. Not only bigger, but heavier as well, as they are filled with lead. This means that they make excellent mass-dampers, even though they only weigh a few grams. Also note that the lead has been pushed back in time/to another dimension, so this means that BlackDiscus are fully RoHS compliant. "

This is a beautifully-executed leg-pull.

I love it.

And I hope the sarcastic bastards* behind it makes some money from it.

Just not from us.


*and I mean that in a good way
.

 

[Ripper2860]

Not to be a boor or anything but that's like nothing compared to these. Just stick 'em anywhere in the room, and all your Schiit will instantly become Super Schiit:

http://madscientist-audio.com/blackdiscusreg.html



I haven't tried them and I know it's bad form to make fun of something you haven't tried, but sometimes it's just too hard to resist. To be fair, their graphene contact enhancer does make a difference when used in the right spots in the right quantity, but at least that has a reasonably plausible explanation.

I just tried strategically placing a couple of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups on my power cables for Bifrost and Lyr 3 and OMG!!!!




OK -- they didn't do anything for the sound, but at least they were quite tasty to eat after it was determined to be useless.

 

[Alexnova]

"Some people" need to temper their impressions with a disclaimer: "In my system, based on my experience, XYZ is slightly more (dry, euphonic, etc) than ABC."

I agree with everything you wrote Jason, but to add to this I think people read too much into impressions from others on the internet and expect this HUGE difference, when the truth is DACs marginally make that much of a difference. I mean there is a $$ limit to where one is just chasing the last 5% of performance.

Take every impression/review with a huge grain of salt. Cause what may be significant in someone's setup may not even be audible in yours. Seen too many people burn a lot of cash to only squeeze maybe a 4% difference in performance. DACs especially are diminish returns IMO, but I know there are those who have turned DACs into a religion of sorts.

 

[valiant66]

I just tried strategically placing a couple of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups on my power cables for Bifrost and Lyr 3 and OMG!!!!


OK -- they didn't do anything for the sound, but at least they were quite tasty to eat after it was determined to be useless.

What!? They didn't melt and provide a chewier, darker perspective?
.

 

[treecloud]

Lol, thanks. I wish I could post more, but I don't have the patience/money to try out lots of equipment and contribute anything productive. I just hear steady improvements as I gradually upgrade my chain over many years. I'm pumped about hooking up a high-quality amp to my Boenickes (which I'm proud I got for 2/3 price... demo units!), but I'm hesitant before I jump and spend the money. Part of the reason I lurk here is to guess some insight about what my next step should be without needing to compare a bunch of gear.

I have an OG Modi/Vali stack for my Mad Dogs, and I heard a Yggdrasil/Ragnarok combo on HE-1000s at a meet a few years ago, so I have high hopes for a Schiit speaker amp. I love the design/ethic of Schiit too. (Design and aesthetics are under-appreciated in Audiophileland IMO.)

Boenickes Is new to me, looked at the website, extraordinary attention to detail, very impressive!

 

[earnmyturns]

The music server / "endpoint" market needs a swift kick in the Jimmy. A decent music server is over $1,000 and most are many thousands. A basic Sonos Port endpoint with AirPlay is $400. The latest Apple TV units only have HDMI output. Give me something I can stream to.

Not really. I built a very nice server with a Pi 3, PiTouch screen, Pi 2 Designs 502DAC, and an Audiophonics LPS, running MoOde currently, for around $300. S/PDIF and AES outputs. You can get a pre-packaged analog from Audiophonics for just a bit more. I needed a screen because I run it stand-alone at work, but it would be even cheaper without. TL;DR there are multiple good options, DIY or pre-packaged all under $500.

 

[earnmyturns]

I agree. The music streamer market is crazy expensive and ripe for a revolutionary company to come in and play the role of disruptor. I know Jason has stated that Schiit would not be in the program dev / UI biz, but damn someone needs to just give that market space a swift kick in the ass!!

The main problem is that digital electronics with complex software have very high development and support costs, so they are relatively expensive unless they are mass produced and have a very large market. Why do you think Google discontinued the Chromecast Audio? Great for the price, although not as good as the $300-$500 endpoints we discussed, but very few people who cared about lossless audio were sufficiently price-sensitive to go for one instead of a higher-priced "hi-fi" endpoint. From recent non-public market research on digital audio, I doubt there's a profitable technical and business path to low-cost stand-alone lossless endpoints (as opposed to increasingly capable smart speakers, for instance).

 

[A Jedi]

Can someone (or @Jason Stoddard) tell me what the current output is on the Vidar and Aegir please?

 

[purehifi192]

$400 ain't bad? Maybe given what's currently available. I want 3 of them. $1200? How much would a Schiit version cost? I have a Raspberry Pi as a cheap garage computer. That's fine. For this I want to click a button for something I know has been fully sorted by people who know more.

Have you looked at Allo's Roon ready streamers? Depending on which OS you use you can add Airplay and most anything except Sonos.