[azteca x]

  Here's hoping Yggdrasil actually makes a noticeable improvement and doesn't end up being different just for the sake of being different. Anyways congratulations to everyone at Schiit, It must be a great joy/relief to see these products come to fruition for people to enjoy.  

If they built a prototype and thought it didn't sound any different do you think they'd waste their time and money on building a super-complex high end product with a small market? Especially as a company who is hugely dependent on word-of-mouth/street cred?

 

[Ableza]

  Noticeable difference compared to what?  Jeezus.

Compared to a banana I would bet yes, there is. 

 

[jacal01]

Well, let's see... Let's start with a single bit delta-sigma IC DAC with onchip filter, followed by outboard FPGA filtering and still delta-sigmaing along...  And that's not counting USB input conversion and other sundry I/O format implementations....
 
Nope, still yet just another also ran. Nothing to see here Johnny, move along...    'Cept maybe a post padding noobR2.

 

[514077]

As a sidetrip:  Reading about the diferences between 16 and 20 bits, wouldn't HDCD then have made a noticable improvement in SQ?

 

[jacal01]

Quote:

  Uh, no.  You get to pay licensing fees for the rights to use HDMI.  The cost of the connector is insignificant in the greater scheme of things.

 
The HDMI I2S board DIY HeadFier I referred to earlier is of the opinion that, after the HDMI org non-response to his email, as long as you don't claim your product to be HDMI protocol compatible, they couldn't care less.  That it's tantamount to free advertisement ("HDMI I2S"), and they'd be making money off increased connector and cable sales.
 
Interesting perspective, and "best of possible worlds" if true.

 

[Ableza]

  Quote:
 
The HDMI I2S board DIY HeadFier I referred to earlier is of the opinion that, after the HDMI org non-response to his email, as long as you don't claim your product to be HDMI protocol compatible, they couldn't care less.  That it's tantamount to free advertisement ("HDMI I2S"), and they'd be making money off increased connector and cable sales.
 
Interesting perspective, and "best of possible worlds" if true.

I would be very surprised if that remained true in a commercial product.  "HDMI" is trademarked.

 

[jacal01]

That can be easily verified, since there are now multiple commercial products out there.  Hmmm... I can ask.

 

[money4me247]

  Uh, no.  You get to pay licensing fees for the rights to use HDMI.  The cost of the connector is insignificant in the greater scheme of things.

lol I feel like the "licensing fees" can't be that expensive. considering you can get cables for peanuts, I doubt it adds much to the cost.

 

[atubbs]

  lol I feel like the "licensing fees" can't be that expensive. considering you can get cables for peanuts, I doubt it adds much to the cost.

 
I wouldn't take this as canonical either, but check out http://www.hdmi.org/manufacturer/terms.aspx -- $10,000 annually (less under small-manufacturer conditions, not specified) + a royalty (cents) per product. If product markup is 300% it may be NBD. If margins are relatively conservative and/or the volume of production is low, that starts to add up.

 

[Wildcatsare1]

  Noticeable difference compared to what?  Jeezus.

Felt the mighty wind from that head slap here in Nashville!

 

[Sarvasaha]

Re: Business Cases, Standards, Licensing, and Assorted Fun
 
 
I have had endless problems in my home studio getting Firewire interfaces to work.
Its like voodoo. Until recently they were the only issues I really had.
Firewire problem solving:
 
1st magic trick: find an interface card or Motherboard with the Texas Instruments chipset.
2nd magic trick: Set the default config in Windows to 800 not 400. (edit the registry for this!)
3rd magic trick: Install the "Legacy" drivers (ie the ones that work)
4th Magic trick: Find all of the obsolete audio drivers from the registry, because you can only have 8 defined.
Note: If the vendor slightly changes the name of the driver it increases the list.
Note: So you install a new driver and the device stops working.
 
If it wasn't for the Internet, most Firewire devices would not work on PCs most of the time.
Is it only coincidence that the interface was an Apple idea. (probably)
 
Until: I buy a new Mytek ADC which only has SPDIF output.
Simple, just connect to the SPDIF in on the Echo Audiofire 8 and it will work. Just need to buy good 75 ohm co-ax cable.
How could I be so naive?
There are 3 options for the master clock:
(1)Mytek is master using wordclock;
(2) AF 8 is master using wordclock;
(3) AF8 derives clock from SPDIF in.
 
Try recording using 1 & 2 and there are regular dropouts. Can see vertical lines in the waveform = NOISE.
Its not synching!
Try 3 - you too can hear the sound of sandpaper being rubbed over your microphone, only its only someone singing.
 
Standards! Best left to Jazz musicians as far as I can tell.
 
And now the good news.
Connect the Gungnir DAC to the AF8 SPDIF out and it just works, even in the 3 cases above where clock synch is a bit dodgy. PLUS the sound is way better. Everything is more focussed/tighter. Bass notes have a shape - its not just like a low frequency fart.And the whole spectrum has more delicacy - Its just basically more musical.
 
To sum up "Standards, don't talk to me about ******** standards"
Ps. Still praying for a SChiit PCIE SPDIF (in & out). Yes I know, dream on.....

 

[David Aldrich]

  Re: Business Cases, Standards, Licensing, and Assorted Fun
 
 
I have had endless problems in my home studio getting Firewire interfaces to work.
Its like voodoo.

 
I've had next to no issues with multiple FireWire interfaces on OS X.

 

[Soul_Est]

   
I've had next to no issues with multiple FireWire interfaces on OS X.

 
Sarvasaha was talking about trying to use FireWire devices on a computer running Windows.

 

[Sarvasaha]

   
Sarvasaha was talking about trying to use FireWire devices on a computer running Windows.

I think David was suggesting it was my own fault for using a PC.
But then I like to "Roll (build) my own" and I hate being fashionable.
 
Perhaps the Standard was not tight enough.

 

[Soul_Est]

  I think David was suggesting it was my own fault for using a PC.
But then I like to "Roll (build) my own" and I hate being fashionable.
 
Perhaps the Standard was not tight enough.

 
I use Arch Linux on every non-Mac computer I own so I know what you mean. Then you have to deal with either oblivious, willfully ignorant, or trolling people.