[ScubaMan2017]

If Schiit creates any Unison input cards that will work with anything other than their DACs, I will be flabbergasted. They might be able to license it to someone who could, but I would not hold my breath for a Pi-board from Schiit.

Of course I don't work for the company I could be wrong. Just reading between the lines of what the founders have said.

Why would you need a Pi-board anyway? Pi is generally a source. Just plug the crappy USB out of your Pi into a Schiit DAC with Unison and Bob's your Aunt.

Hmmm. If I don't want to wait for a Schiit-Source, I could assemble a Pi... add an inexpensive UI... connect an external HD... install & run an audio-friendly OS... and plug its noisy (?) USB into my EITR... then ModiMB... then...

In the meantime, my Chromebook is a very adequate source. I just like new shiny things...

 

[US Blues]

10-4, @rlow . So, common sense tells me Schiit won't reinvent the wheel & will pick up an establish spinning mechanism & LASER (I regret not using the official terms [please be patient]). I've noticed users like the robust parts used by Toshiba (?) and Oppo. Implementation is the tricky part.
-- f -- The transport will have to include electronics for error correction & an internal buffer. Yes?
-- g -- Otherwise, Schiit'll have to offload those tasks onto the Pi. Schiit'll want to make it a 'smart' reader, eh?
-- h -- Outputs. TOSlink? SPIDIF? BNC? Unison (Generation 5?) USB connection.
-- i -- Has Schiit ever commented on using a transport that can read >1 format? SCAD, CD, DVD, BluRay. Before Oppo shut down, they had a unit like that. A 'universal player'?

More Pi, coming up! @RCBinTN . Clarification questions:
-- j -- The Pi board could have embedded chips that contain "the gadget", "redacted", or whatever other firmware DSP the Soviet Of Sound conjures up. Does that make sense?
-- k -- Do you think Schiit will bolt the Pi into their transport?
-- l -- In interviews, I gather Schiit doesn't want to get into the software development. I wonder how they'll honour that? I'm guessing that Schiit could embed all of the firmware into flashable ROM chips (as @SchiitFerBrainz videos of Gungnirs illustrated). How does that scan for you?
-- m -- We'd have to provide a user interface or touch-pad to run the Pi. And we'd have to provide a media streaming software. Yes? No? Phish?

This would be a new product line or modular platform for our beloved Schiit Audio.

@Baldr has dropped some clues, but do not consider these words to be the absolute truth (pardon the pun).

• Schiit will be sourcing the transport from another company.
• Schiit will implement an interface between the transport and their circuitry. Details as yet unknown.
• Output connections have not been fully revealed, but will likely include the formats you mentioned.
• This will be audio-only, not video formats. It is possible that the transport will play DVD-A (life would be complete for me). I doubt @Baldr will want to do SACD, because that is dsd and it sounds like a$$.

No indication of pricing or time-frame, other than a vague "this year" have been offered, iirc. I sincerely doubt that @Baldr and team would put time into a transport unless they can offer us great sound for small money. This will be a high-value product that will disrupt the over-priced audio world.

 

[EricDH]

10-4, @rlow .
-- i -- Has Schiit ever commented on using a transport that can read >1 format? SCAD, CD, DVD, BluRay. Before Oppo shut down, they had a unit like that. A 'universal player'?

Yes. The wording may have been different, but the message was: no *** way, redbook CD only, thank you very much.

 

[Ripper2860]

Well, I guess playing MP3 files and 'Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego' is out of the question then.

 

[FLTWS]

A single speed motor could have advantages over a multi-speed one. As far as tray mechanism / (and motor maybe?) goes I've only ever seen 2 types; my ERC-3 and Oppo 105D D use the large size drawer/tray. (Edit: I forgot, there are some with flip-tops like Woo and Chord, I've never experienced this type and they may not be categorized as "tray" types. And, of course, the slot and rubber roller types found in cars).

My NuPrime CDT-8 uses the thin type tray and it seems more rigid and less prone to vibration-al issues, if that matters.

Both are single speed players but the NuPrime motor is dead quiet where the ERC is audibly noisy. Might not be an issue with speakers
but with open back phones and quiet passages in classical works could be intrusive.

On the other side of the coin, the ERC remote is a nice, full featured affair and both it and the button controls on the ERC work flawlessly.
The NuPrime remote is small and laid out un-naturally, to my way of thinking, having used remotes on CD type players going back to the early intro of laser-disc and DVD /CD,
And, some of the buttons on the unit don't respond and the remote buttons usually need to be pressed twice to initiate a command, but not always (small infra-red window?).
The NuPrime remote also does not have keypad entry so if you want hear track 18 of 22 you'll have to scroll 1 track at a time (either forward or backwards) to get where you want. Maybe there is some advantage to this but I can't imagine what it might be.

The NuPrime is a true transport only with digital outs while the ERC has both digital outs and analog outs from it's internal dac, and the ERC was a significantly cheaper, but a much larger physical box to deal with, probably not desk top friendly.

But, I'd most likely buy a Schiit spinner just to have for back-up if not to outright replace one of the other two I already use.

 

[neoaudiophyte]

Any more questions, please post them here.

Will there be a Multibit version of Jil?

 

[dieslemat]

Forgive my lack of knowledge but arent cds limited to 16/44K?

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compact_Disc_Digital_Audio

 

[FLTWS]

Some "Reference Recordings" are HDCD and SACD, not sure about the technicalities (bits an sampling and stuff) but both types play on my ERC or NuPrime without issue, I think there is a second layer that has only the standard CD format embedded.

High Definition Compatible Digital (HDCD) is a Microsoft proprietary audio encode-decode process that claims to provide increased dynamic range over that of standard Red Book audio CDs, while retaining backward compatibility with existing compact disc players. Originally developed by Pacific Microsonics, the first HDCD-enabled CD was released in 1995.
Super Audio CD (SACD) is a read-only optical disc for audio storage, introduced in 1999.It was developed jointly by Sony and Philips Electronics, and intended to be the successor to their Compact Disc (CD) format. While the SACD format can offer more channels (e.g. surround sound), and a longer playing time than CD, research published in 2007 found no significant difference in audio quality ...

Is it all still 44.1? I don't know. I sort of remember something about 48kHz with HDCD, but they don't make a splash about it on their CD liners or notes.

This may tell you what you are asking about;

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sampling_(signal_processing)#Sampling_rate

 

[EricDH]

Forgive my lack of knowledge but arent cds limited to 16/44K?

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compact_Disc_Digital_Audio

Yes.

There is a standard for CDs, originally developed by Philips and Sony, and one of the conditions is: 16/44.

Higher resolution files can be burnt on a silver disc as well, but in that case it is not a "CD", but for example DVD-Audio, or SACD.

 

[CAPT Deadpool]

Will there be a Multibit version of Jil?

I think I remember Jason saying the Jil has not sold all that well. While it would be cool to have a Multibit version of Jil, I don't think it is in the cards (no) pun intended, due to low volume sales of the D/S Jil. The situation might change after the release of Sol.

Also maybe the reason D/S Jil hasn't sold well is the missing Multibit factor. I don't know how much of the programing from the Multi-bit DACs if any can be reused for a Multibit ADC.

Also is a Multibit ADC on a chip a thing? I don't know how Mike built his $50K Multibit ADC. It might have been discrete (sort of the opposite of a discrete R2R ladder dac).

I did a little browsing on Analog.com looking at their ADCs. They have Sigma/Delta and SAR (Successive Approximation Register) ADCs. I thought ADs LTC2500-32 (in multiples) might be a candidate for a Schiit super Jil.

https://www.analog.com/en/products/ltc2500-32.html#product-overview

Anyway enough uninformed speculation on my part.

Anyone know what SAR is compared to S/D (D/S) ADC and Multibit ADC? How would a Multibit ADC work?

Here is a video on SAR ADC.

https://www.analog.com/en/education/education-library/videos/5990687361001.html

and Wiki on ADCs:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Analog-to-digital_converter#Types

Edit: Here is an academic paper on Multi-bit ADCs

http://web.engr.oregonstate.edu/~moon/research/files/iscas01_dac.pdf

 

[ScubaMan2017]

I asked for musings, and you delivered. @EricDH , @Ripper2860 , @FLTWS , I appreciated you responses, eh. I'm getting closer to trying out my first local AES meeting. I might not be an audio engineer, however, it's a fascinating science/art. Hah, this 48-year-old can learn something new. Add SCUBA, gentleman-farmer, and hobby-astronomer, and chainsaw-user, I'll have a busy post-teacher-life!

Yes. The wording may have been different, but the message was: no *** way, redbook CD only, thank you very much.

I always wondered why early CDs were marketed with just 45 or so minutes. Or albums like Pink Floyd's The Wall, was spread out over 2 discs. It appears that modern discs are packed up to 75-80 minutes of tracks... and bonus tracks... and out takes... Not all audio CDs are produced equally, it seems.

Well, I guess playing MP3 files and 'Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego' is out of the question then.

If I can spin up Myst or Riven on my SchiitSpinner... well... Hey!

A single speed motor could have advantages over a multi-speed one. As far as tray mechanism / (and motor maybe?) goes I've only ever seen 2 types; my ERC-3 and Oppo 105D D use the large size drawer/tray. (Edit: I forgot, there are some with flip-tops like Woo and Chord, I've never experienced this type and they may not be categorized as "tray" types. And, of course, the slot and rubber roller types found in cars).


My NuPrime CDT-8 uses the thin type tray and it seems more rigid and less prone to vibration-al issues, if that matters.



Both are single speed players but the NuPrime motor is dead quiet where the ERC is audibly noisy. Might not be an issue with speakers
but with open back phones and quiet passages in classical works could be intrusive.

On the other side of the coin, the ERC remote is a nice, full featured affair and both it and the button controls on the ERC work flawlessly.
The NuPrime remote is small and laid out un-naturally, to my way of thinking, having used remotes on CD type players going back to the early intro of laser-disc and DVD /CD,
And, some of the buttons on the unit don't respond and the remote buttons usually need to be pressed twice to initiate a command, but not always (small infra-red window?).
The NuPrime remote also does not have keypad entry so if you want hear track 18 of 22 you'll have to scroll 1 track at a time (either forward or backwards) to get where you want. Maybe there is some advantage to this but I can't imagine what it might be.

The NuPrime is a true transport only with digital outs while the ERC has both digital outs and analog outs from it's internal dac, and the ERC was a significantly cheaper, but a much larger physical box to deal with, probably not desk top friendly.

But, I'd most likely buy a Schiit spinner just to have for back-up if not to outright replace one of the other two I already use.

Some "Reference Recordings" are HDCD and SACD, not sure about the technicalities (bits an sampling and stuff) but both types play on my ERC or NuPrime without issue, I think there is a second layer that has only the standard CD format embedded.

High Definition Compatible Digital (HDCD) is a Microsoft proprietary audio encode-decode process that claims to provide increased dynamic range over that of standard Red Book audio CDs, while retaining backward compatibility with existing compact disc players. Originally developed by Pacific Microsonics, the first HDCD-enabled CD was released in 1995.
Super Audio CD (SACD) is a read-only optical disc for audio storage, introduced in 1999.It was developed jointly by Sony and Philips Electronics, and intended to be the successor to their Compact Disc (CD) format. While the SACD format can offer more channels (e.g. surround sound), and a longer playing time than CD, research published in 2007 found no significant difference in audio quality ...

Is it all still 44.1? I don't know. I sort of remember something about 48kHz with HDCD, but they don't make a splash about it on their CD liners or notes.

This may tell you what you are asking about;

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sampling_(signal_processing)#Sampling_rate

I have some homework. This was fantastic feedback. On paper, this could be an interesting new product line. My peers are happy with their streaming... or renting their music. This seems similar to the VHS/Betamax movie rentals from the 1980s.

I'll visit an AES meeting to see if it's a good fit...

 

[CAPT Deadpool]

I asked for musings, and you delivered. @EricDH , @Ripper2860 , @FLTWS , I appreciated you responses, eh. I'm getting closer to trying out my first local AES meeting. I might not be an audio engineer, however, it's a fascinating science/art. Hah, this 48-year-old can learn something new. Add SCUBA, gentleman-farmer, and hobby-astronomer, and chainsaw-user, I'll have a busy post-teacher-life!

Your like a modern day Robert Heinlein.

 

[ScubaMan2017]

Will there be a Multibit version of Jil?

...?!... I had to go to THE site to see what the product was. A multibit analog-digital-converter?! That could be a lucrative product as the vinyl buying craze (and reel-to-reel... and cassette tape) plateaus... and users want to switch to a more convenient & portable format. @neoaudiophyte ... do you think the benefits of multibit process would be lost on analog sources? I'm guessing cheaply-pressed vinyl would sound extra-ugly after the Multibit-Jil conversion.
My spouse grew up with substantial head-banger vinyl collections. I grew up with (emotionally-wrought) cassettes. Nope. I'm never going back!
{if we get a future EM-terrorist attack in the city... you'll be laughing with intact records... I'll be looking at my dead media...}
Morbid.

 

[ScubaMan2017]

Your like a modern day Robert Heinlein.

Hopefully, without the 3 wives. Starship Troopers is an oddly prophetic novel. Add Brave New World & 1984, and we have our modern pop culture?
Unfortunately, I might become the character Jasper, in the distopian movie, Children Of Men route... and model our home like the one out in the woods.

 

[rkw]

A single speed motor could have advantages over a multi-speed one.

Single speed? All CD transports/players have variable speed motors by necessity. The laser track is written to be read back at a constant linear velocity. The disc spins faster as the head reads towards the inner diameter (about 2.5x faster than the outer diameter).

I've wondered whether there could be an advantage to using a portable or car mechanism because they need built-in redundancy to cope with adverse conditions (vibration, temperature, dirt, etc)