CAPS 3.0 v. Mac Mini plus Berkley USB

-E- said:
"Extra hassle..."

I'm getting rather tired of that and similar statements, especially how much we "chase the dragon" for better audio.

Stop drinking the kool-aid.
Click to expand...

I think Jock is far from what you conjure up here. The test he did included both platforms and a number of different scenarios. If we all did the same instead of reading reviews and blogs and forums there wouldn't be any kool-aid to hand out.
 
the professor said:
I personally think that any ease of operation for somebody between apple and pc is from what they are used to using. Either is fine, but learning the other one is a hassle. And in my case, it would mean I would need 2 computers and having 2 computers instead of 1 is also somewhat a hassle. No matter what kind of OS is used.

And your are right. Not having any computer in the equipment rack is another advantage to streaming. The NAS etc is in a different part of the house. And lets face it, without Windows UPnP protocol there wouldn't be streaming.
Click to expand...

See, now this is an entirely reasonable statement, and one that can garner a very good debate. You are absolutely correct that a 'status-quo' factor certainly plays a role, especially for folks who are tech-deficient.

However, I will partially agree and partially disagree with your "not having any computer in the rack..." In some instances, it makes the world of difference. In others, say, in a home with a myriad of DLNA-equipped playback devices, you still want a computer to act as a proper server and then just use the other devices as renderers, all being pushed data from a single source such as a NAS. In some instances, you want the PC in there because you have no other way to stream, or you are a purist and want to avoid the additional topology of DLNA. In this case you could use your computer as a direct source to your DAC and subsequently as a DLNA server for other zones.

The PC gives you so much flexibility and control that nowadays any multimedia or multiroom setup I consult on will almost always have that as step one post-infrastructure for media delivery. For instance, the UI of basically DLNA renderer out there is garbage. Plain and simple. From the Marantz to the Burmester - they just suck; and worse, they only control that single device. By using something like JRiver as a DLNA server with JRemote from a PC - even in a different room if you are super-duper-against having a computer in your rack - can control every DLNA renderer you have on your network - from a single instance of a single app... on your iPad! (See, you Apple people can still be happy, too.)
 
dlb2 said:
I think Jock is far from what you conjure up here. The test he did included both platforms and a number of different scenarios. If we all did the same instead of reading reviews and blogs and forums there wouldn't be any kool-aid to hand out.
Click to expand...

I conjured nothing. Re-read his test and findings and then my comment.

And the kool-aid was in reference to the Apple lifestyle marketing causing a Bose-esque blanket statement of what is simpler/more or less of a hassle.
 
I think that your forgetting that the majority of people that want to listen to anything better than MP3s never did figure out how to program their VCRs.

There is a real void in high end audio of people like you that actually can make a system simple to use and also sound great. The majority of people just screw it up by either making it not reliable or having it sound like crap.

Kudos!
 
the professor said:
I think that your forgetting that the majority of people that want to listen to anything better than MP3s never did figure out how to program their VCRs.

There is a real void in high end audio of people like you that actually can make a system simple to use and also sound great. The majority of people just screw it up by either making it not reliable or having it sound like crap.

Kudos!
Click to expand...

Jock, I agree. I've had both operating systems, love the look of the macs which I have & their functionality but realise the windows platform has some distinct advantages too. KISS applies to most mac users because they are over the unstable days of windows etc, just a generalisation from the cool-aide tank, but I too would consider going back to pc if it was suitable & sounded great.
Start the new order E with a group buy, oh, put room correction in it too. I listened to the DEQX HDP-4 yesterday, it was good.
 
Kev I am a purist... 2channel playback should always be truly bitperfect. If you want to Futz with it after the decode go for it.

Now for HT... Yeah. And that is usually handled better by your prepro.
 
I'm not saying don't do it, I'm saying do it after the decoding has happened in the digital domain. Always better to work with a A/D->D/A than to work before the first D/A (you wind up losing bits) for 2-channel.

Even for HT, I'm fairly certain that the actual bitstream processing happens first, then it goes through the Audessey or Lyngdorf or whatever post-processing room correction you have.

I guess it's called post-processing for a reason. heh. ;)
 
Interesting product. DAC, Preamp, Room Correction, and Active Crossover all in one.

I'd like to give it a listen...
 
I'm going for another listen tomorrow or beginning of next week, will keep you posted & do a proper comparo.
 
bzr said:
I'm going for another listen tomorrow or beginning of next week, will keep you posted & do a proper comparo.
Click to expand...

I am interested in your mini review. I thought of buying the BADA and insert it between the source and dac. However, I am in the fence if its worth the money.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top