CardinalFang wrote:
That was my point, the SB3 will look very poor value next to this new Apple device, so it was a smart move for Slim to go more audiophile.
At first glance, the Apple prototype iTV doesn't appear to be of much in the way of competition to the Squeezebox. All they share is the ability to transport music from a computer to a receiver/stereo/entertainment center. The iTV is a general purpose device designed to work in conjunction with a video display. The SB3 is primarily a device to bring high quality music to you, with no reliance on a video display other than its built-in VFD. In terms of value, the iTV has video output hardware, the SB3 adds a built-in high resolution VFD. I suspect that the components of the SB3 are probably more expensive.
The iTV seems to be a marriage of Apple's old Airport Express product + video. It's about as competitive with the SB3 as the stereo out on the Airport Express was, though the iTV improves on Airport Express by requiring you to use your TV to listen to music, probably located near your stereo, rather than iTunes, probably not located near your stereo.
The new Apple player will make a big dent in Sonos sales I would imagine. I would buy one for my kids to use and if that's a digital out on the back, it might sound pretty decent through a DAC.
I agree. It does appear to have an optical digital out: http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.engadget.com/media/2006/09/dsc_0999.jpg A lot could change between now and product release, of course. Nick -- Nick Silberstein Senior Developer Flying Machine Development, Inc. _______________________________________________ discuss mailing list [email protected] http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/discuss
