[Derrick Swart]

Anyone for a flat white, no sugar......?

is that a cat on your head?

 

[433521]

Yes, that's exactly what happened. Loki was a DSD-only dac and nobody wanted it. As for topping smsl etc Is their only selling point the fact that they support DSD?

There are many people who will use feature sets to eliminate choices from a list.

 

[Jheal]

There are many people who will use feature sets to eliminate choices from a list.

But equally there are almost certainly people like me who will discount items from a list if they have facilities I have absolutely no need for. Like MQA and DSD. Why should I pay a manufacturer for features I don’t need/want? Unless the quality and price are both good enough to allow me to ignore the unnecessary features of course.

 

[433521]

But equally there are almost certainly people like me who will discount items from a list if they have facilities I have absolutely no need for. Like MQA and DSD. Why should I pay a manufacturer for features I don’t need/want? Unless the quality and price are both good enough to allow me to ignore the unnecessary features of course.

I don't see that the numbers are anywhere near equal. People who are buying these products are often unacquainted with these terms (since the pop up every year or two) and simply want to make sure whatever they buy, includes the thing they think they'll probably use because why not? What's to lose? Eliminate the rest and find the best deal. It's easy enough to find cost savings if that is the issue. For most people they just want something that will work, and not have to worry about upgrading.

 

[Ableza]

I am in the category described by @Jheal

 

[KoshNaranek]

I am in the category described by @Jheal

You are an engineer. I am married to one. We are both statistical outliers

 

[Ableza]

You are an engineer. I am married to one. We are both statistical outliers

Yes well to be fair consumer electronics consumers generally don't really know what they are buying they only want the "latest and greatest" they can afford.

 

[KoshNaranek]

Yes well to be fair consumer electronics consumers generally don't really know what they are buying they only want the "latest and greatest" they can afford.

Exactly my point

 

[artur9]

But equally there are almost certainly people like me who will discount items from a list if they have facilities I have absolutely no need for. Like MQA and DSD. Why should I pay a manufacturer for features I don’t need/want? Unless the quality and price are both good enough to allow me to ignore the unnecessary features of course.

My POV is eliminating things I don't need will make what I buy more reliable. Which is proven out in the consumer electronics market where most products have 100s of features where only a few work correctly. Might as well have bought the thing that had only the few features I needed. (HDMI-CEC, I am looking at you.)

 

[tincanear]

My POV is eliminating things I don't need will make what I buy more reliable. Which is proven out in the consumer electronics market where most products have 100s of features where only a few work correctly. Might as well have bought the thing that had only the few features I needed. (HDMI-CEC, I am looking at you.)

+1 HDMI-CEC has almost no chance of working (correctly) unless you buy all devices the same brand and at about the same time (not a few model years apart)

remember the HDMI 2.x debacle.

 

[bosiemoncrieff]

okay, so home pods in the kitchen are crap for classical music - far worse than my klipsch studio speakers w/ subwoofer that I got from Best Buy in 2015 for $150 plus tax. (They are now my work rig, and really do sound excellent—plug in the 1/8 inch jack and you're off to the races.) The bass is bloated, mids sucked out, and highs muffled. Even with EQ from iTunes beamed over via airplay, they just don't have the crisp top and tight bottom that my airmotiv 4ses do. And thanks @FLTWS for that recommendation some time ago - for $245 for the pair, they are a much better deal than the ~$400 I dropped on two home pods I now treat with indifference. Still, easily regiftable and perhaps usable in a future Apple TV situation.

Which leads me to point 2, as much as my kitchen rig has been of interest (and despite a beautiful view of the skyline), all good things must come to an end - and in my case that means a condo, likely some time next spring, which will require an entirely new geometry.

 

[tincanear]

okay, so home pods in the kitchen are crap for classical music - far worse than my klipsch studio speakers w/ subwoofer that I got from Best Buy in 2015 for $150 plus tax. (They are now my work rig, and really do sound excellent—plug in the 1/8 inch jack and you're off to the races.) The bass is bloated, mids sucked out, and highs muffled. Even with EQ from iTunes beamed over via airplay, they just don't have the crisp top and tight bottom that my airmotiv 4ses do. And thanks @FLTWS for that recommendation some time ago - for $245 for the pair, they are a much better deal than the ~$400 I dropped on two home pods I now treat with indifference. Still, easily regiftable and perhaps usable in a future Apple TV situation.

Which leads me to point 2, as much as my kitchen rig has been of interest (and despite a beautiful view of the skyline), all good things must come to an end - and in my case that means a condo, likely some time next spring, which will require an entirely new geometry.

maybe the home pods need some break-in? are the home pods returnable? maybe the poor audio quality is the result of Apple's "excellent" software QA (and by "excellent" I mean it compiled without syntax errors, so they shipped it.

consider keeping the home pods until your move next spring. perhaps the software O/S will be more stable by then. or not.

if you want a simpler setup:
costco has some sort of Klipsch 2.1 system on sale (maybe similar to your 2015 acquisition)
kef "eggs" have decent imaging too, but definitely need a sub.

 

[earnmyturns]

okay, so home pods in the kitchen are crap for classical music

I hate suggesting greater expense, but... We had been looking into a less urban place to spend part of our time, and we've got one since September. We'll eventually get a serious 2-channel system in its main living space, but in the meanwhile we are "making do" with a Naim Mu-so Qb 2. I never thought something so small could sound any good, but I was wrong. Of course it's not up to what my "good" 2-channel or headphone systems deliver, but it is totally worth listening for the time being. Daniil Trifonov's new DGG release "Silver Age" (Scriabin/Stravinsky/Prokofiev) was never muddled.

 

[tincanear]

the home pods also have some sort of active echo cancellation & EQ which must train itself to new (or changing) acoustics. perhaps the kitchen environment is a bit too small and too reflective (with all the hard surfaces from major appliances), resonant cookware, etc.

 

[FLTWS]

I hate suggesting greater expense, but... We had been looking into a less urban place to spend part of our time, and we've got one since September. We'll eventually get a serious 2-channel system in its main living space, but in the meanwhile we are "making do" with a Naim Mu-so Qb 2. I never thought something so small could sound any good, but I was wrong. Of course it's not up to what my "good" 2-channel or headphone systems deliver, but it is totally worth listening for the time being. Daniil Trifonov's new DGG release "Silver Age" (Scriabin/Stravinsky/Prokofiev) was never muddled.

the home pods also have some sort of active echo cancellation & EQ which must train itself to new (or changing) acoustics. perhaps the kitchen environment is a bit too small and too reflective (with all the hard surfaces from major appliances), resonant cookware, etc.

Interesting!