Julf wrote: > OK, I'll ask a direct question. Are you currently using a squeezebox, > and if so, for what, and so you feel that the sound quality of the > squeezebox is inadequate?
If you read my posts, aka rants, you may have noticed that I usually make reference to the fact that in the present day high end audio world Squeezebox devices, whether they be SB3, Touch, Duet or Transporter, have been relegated to background listening duties. What would be interesting would be go over the history of the high end audio world's "treatment" of the many Squeezebox devices from the initial glowing reviews to the present day disinterest and dismissal in the devices. One big factor in this "evolution" that has not been touched upon is that the driving engine of high end audio is the sale of equipment and in order to do that the manufacturers need to project onto the buying public the idea that today's audio equipment is much, much better than yesterday's audio equipment. The high end audio press gladly plays along with this game and month after provides the "proof" that new equipment is the "ultimate" and offers "night and day" differences from yesterday's "ultimate" equipment. The Squeezebox Touch and Transporter are both capable of delivering a bit perfect digital stream via coax to any outboard DAC and perfect is as perfect does - i.e. there is no room for improvement over perfect. Therefore if the Touch was to be declared to be equal to any other method of delivering a bit perfect digital stream via coax to any outboard DAC then that would effectively shut the door on that end of the audio chain, which in turn would go against the need to sell new and improved methods of delivering a bit perfect digital stream via coax to any outboard DAC which in turn does not make for a successful business model. The way I see it is that the high end audio world is fighting an uphill battle and losing. Today's young people have grown up surrounded by all things digital and their belief systems have not been unduly influenced by the old analog beliefs. They know from first hand experience that digital cables really don't matter all that much, that files can be copied and copied and copied with no loss in quality and most importantly that digital just works. Add to this the fact when one is busy paying off a $$$$$$ student loan (which often rivals a home mortgage) one has little money left over for a $20,000 DAC, a $15,000 preamp, a $25,000 power amp, a $100,000 pair of speaker and thousands of dollars worth of cable and wire. A smartphone and a Bluetooth speaker is fast becoming the audio system of preference to the younger generation. Living Rm: Transporter-SimAudio pre/power amps-Vandersteen 3A Sign. & sub Home Theater: Touch-Marantz HTR-Energy Veritas 2.1 & Linn sub Computer Rm: Touch-Headroom Desktop w/DAC-Aragon amp-Energy Veritas 2.1 & Energy sub Bedroom: Touch-HR Desktop w/DAC-Audio Refinement amp-Energy Veritas 2.0 Guest Rm: Duet-Sony soundbar Garage: SB3-JVC compact system Controls: iPeng; SB Controller; Moose & Muso Server: SBS on dedicated windows 7 computer w/2 Drobos 'Last.fm' (http://www.last.fm/user/jazzfann/) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ralphpnj's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=10827 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=103950 _______________________________________________ audiophiles mailing list [email protected] http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/audiophiles
