[Derrick Swart]

re: CDs. I can maybe hear a slight difference between playback of some CDs and the same track from the same CD that has been ripped to my server. But not enough of a difference to make me want to give up the convenience of the server. In most cases I can hear no difference whatever. YMMV.

re: CD and the world wide web. I use my mac and the standard Apple software for playback and clearly hear difference between the albums on my HD (ripped or bought from Bandcamp) and those that go via the ethernetz. When I compared CD player with ripped CDs my conclusion was that it was louder and therefore preferred but convenience took over big time. Spotify sounds worse but my wife did a family package and I use it more than the 10K plus songs on the Mac ...

 

[Charente]

Focus is North-America.

They haven't stated that officially although It appears to be so ... however they will readily accept new orders directly from customers outside the USA... with no local support,

 

[Luckyleo]

I got the impression from their video's that they would love to setup a robust European distribution network. However, they are just starting to catch-up with demand from USA. Europe is something that would be nice, but sometimes, aspirations must take a back seat to practicality.

Leo

 

[Charente]

I got the impression from their video's that they would love to setup a robust European distribution network. However, they are just starting to catch-up with demand from USA. Europe is something that would be nice, but sometimes, aspirations must take a back seat to practicality.

Leo

Yes, I get that. They have had two distributors/support in Europe for a while ... it's where I got my existing Schiit from originally.

 

[OldRoadToad]

New amp day!

HUZZAH! Well done indeed, sir!

ORT

 

[Erratic Gravy]

Cd's versus rips versus streams - in my experience all can sound either wonderful , acceptable , poor or downright awful - it depends on the origin of the master source and care used in the final mastering by the engineer as far as I can tell - Steven Wilson has a deft touch on the mixing desk for instance , some of my early purchase CD's are just plain poor but when ripped carefully and in a lossless format some sparkle is restored ? I suspect its due to the way the data is read and stored but Digital is weird at the best of times!

 

[Bonehead7171]

Optical versus RCA, there you have it.
For me optical always sucks. Or like Mike would say it: sounds like a$$.

Can't say I have an opinion about that, but the Xbox is on optical (CD that sounds better) and BluOS (Steaming) is on RCA.

 

[Paladin79]

Hi Paladin - ah you fall into my notion of a music lover -perhaps a new group maybe I will call it - The Kit custodians - my first Tube amp was a Rogers Cadet 3 bought in a junk store for £5.00 in1985 - had it for years with a pair of AR18 spkrs - and my dads old AR XB1 turntable - not loud but lovely !!!

I had AR speakers years ago but do not recall the models.

Some of my own builds were based on tube gear I heard many years ago when amps were lower wattage and you needed efficient speakers. I spent my career in electronics but now I am more interested in woodworking along with SQ.

 

[GearMe]

Interestingly this is also the reason I liquidated my (at the time rather large) vinyl collection. Ease of use in exchange for marginal quality difference wins in my book.

Same here...much more functionality -- especially nowadays compared to when it was just CDs replacing albums. But even way back then, it was a no brainer for me.


That said, I do miss the Interior Design touch of all my Peaches crates!

Not to mention live appearances/record signings/etc. Who could resist a store visit by John Travolta?

 

[Paladin79]

I always use glass. I too am curious of your preference.

Glass when I do use optical but that usage is pretty rare.

 

[Charente]

Glass when I do use optical but that usage is pretty rare.

Optical on my Schiit Gungnir is not the best (I use BNC), however on Chord DACs it's actually preferable IMO.

 

[tincanear]

Cd's versus rips versus streams - in my experience all can sound either wonderful , acceptable , poor or downright awful - it depends on the origin of the master source and care used in the final mastering by the engineer as far as I can tell - Steven Wilson has a deft touch on the mixing desk for instance , some of my early purchase CD's are just plain poor but when ripped carefully and in a lossless format some sparkle is restored ? I suspect its due to the way the data is read and stored but Digital is weird at the best of times!

IIRC, at one time Sony intentionally added digital errors to its CD’s to help prevent illegal copying

 

[Paladin79]

Optical on my Schiit Gungnir is not the best (I use BNC), however on Chord DACs it's actually preferable IMO.

I believe we had a Chord Hugo 2 in a DAC test I was involved in. It finished number three ahead of DAC's costing twice as much. I am fortunate to have friends who have a wide assortment of audio gear that we can compare at any given time. Usually it is blind listening and there are engineers working behind the scenes so I do not always see the setup especially if I am on the listening side.

 

[Ripper2860]

Quite a few years ago, Sony also installed a hidden rootkit to Windows if their CDs were played on a Windows computer. It acted as a form of DRM and prevent ripping and fingerprinting copies, IIRC. This was unceremoniously stopped and a removal program issued after they were exposed and faced public backlash.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sony_BMG_copy_protection_rootkit_scandal


I guess that's better than UMG's attempt at preventing ripping.

https://www.billboard.com/music/pop/janet-jackson-rhythm-nation-crashes-old-laptops-1235130134/

(Actually happened, but it was not a DRM attempt)

** As an aside. The Rhythm Nation issue was resolved by introducing a steep 90Hz notch filter in all laptops (and possibly all computers) to prevent this. Whether that filter remains, I don't know. Hopefully not.

 

[Charente]

I believe we had a Chord Hugo 2 in a DAC test I was involved in. It finished number three ahead of DAC's costing twice as much. I am fortunate to have friends who have a wide assortment of audio gear that we can compare at any given time. Usually it is blind listening and there are engineers working behind the scenes so I do not always see the setup especially if I am on the listening side.

Fortunate indeed !! ... no such mates here. They think I'm crazy with my gear !!