@GeorgeA's post(boldface type is my doing) led me to do a little research into Zappiti. Their previous moderate priced media players are soon to be joined by higher priced/higher end products such as the Zappiti Reference($1599) and Zappiti Signature($2999). Neither product has been released into the wild but they are both currently available for pre-orders. I don't know how soon those pre-orders will be shipping but my larger issue here is that neither product has been formally reviewed in print or online media (or in forums, for that matter).
I've also done a little quick online research into Zidoo(
https://www.zidoo.tv/Product/allProduct.html) and Dune HD(
https://www.dune-hd.com/collections/frontpage), which appear to be the main head to head competitors for the Zappiti units have for the Zappiti Reference. I could not find a review of the Dune HD Ultra Vision 4K unit which lists for $1499.00. Here is a link to an extensive review of the $1399 flagship Zidoo UHD3000:
http://forum.zidoo.tv/index.php?threads/practical-experiences-using-the-uhd3000.86061/
Yes, the price of entry is steep and my post is no endorsement of Zappiti, however, the descriptions and specs are impressive, and previous Zappiti media players have been well reviewed. Also, the Zappiti Reference is competitively priced with the Zidoo and Dune HD flagships, for people that amount of coin to spend. What I'm wondering is whether the new Zappiti, Zidoo or Dune HD media players might be the gold standards for linking audio and video media of virtually every variety for playback through an A16 and HDTV or 4K computer. They also purport to play multichannel SACD and DSD files via HDMI. Of note, the units have separate HDMI outputs for audio and video. Further, for the Zappiti products, you can purchase separately a pair of internal hard drives to be inserted into either, giving you up to 40 Tb of media storage(and/or you could set things up such that the players access media already stored on an NAS).
Certainly, though the Zappitis, like some OPPO devices, are DTS-X and Auro 3D capable, we would still have to wait for Smyth Research to implement Auro 3D and DTS-X in the A16. Nonetheless,
on paper the Zappiti products are intriguing, particularly for any A16 owners with the financial capacity AND personal interest in spending such sums of money. With the caveat that the following is
not a prediction and also certainly
not a statement of fact, I, for one, would not be the least bit surprised if Gilles had Zappiti, Zidoo or Dune HD units(pre-release prototypes?) in his system(s) when he presented this month in Paris.
