I found and read this thread -all of it- last night. I would like to
thank all that have contributed with their time and knowledge to this
project. It is something I have been dreaming about even before SD came
up with the SB.
I completely agree with John Swenson's approach that "player" should
have a top notch DAC inside. Although many of us have external DACs I
see no necessity whatsoever for it to be this way -- on the contrary, I
see MANY advantages if already inside.
With the available hardware today it seems quite a few can/will come up
with "players" with a digital out to an external DAC. The strengths of
this project should come from 1) quality ("audiophile grade") 2)
software robustness and functionality 3) versatility.
1 and 2 will be met with the competence of the people involved here. I
would like to emphasize the 3rd point.
It would be very convenient if the "player" could have:
1) a very good analog input (here again the question if unbalanced
and/or balanced: what I like about a modular system is that you would
only add the card you need). Still lots of people have radios, hook an
ipod/phone, etc. One at least - probably external module.
2) an external digital input, SPDIF. One.
2a) an input selector.
3) digital outputs: now planned USB, SPDIF and Toslink (I would drop the
third, and will not use any of them, but maybe for the sake of
flexibility.)
4) a linear PSU sold as a module (pcb + trafo) to be installed inside
the chassis as an option. If sold as a "kit" no need to worry about CE,
etc (i think). Voltages for all cards...
5) big one for me: multichannel analog output. I think this is where
DIY audio is moving to, just look at the activity/success of the
miniDSP, DCX2496, PC based solutions, etc. I wonder if the multiple
DACs on the card John is working at now could be configured for
multichannel out. If not, a multiple ch output card would be great.
Maybe cards with 4 channels. One card 1 = 2 two way system. Two cards:
3 way system + subs. The chips he chose allow DSP but I am not shure how
capable they are and if they could be programmed trough the Wandboards
software. Perhaps doing the DSP on the Wandboard be more convenient
from a computational/interface point of view.
Maybe what I list can be considered is too much for a gen1 or even for a
gen2/3 "player". I like the modular concept, although for cost reasons
i think it should include as much as possible on the main platform too.
I think it is convenient to look at the "player" in a broader context:
for some it would be a replacement SB "player", for some a "modern
pre-amp", for some a "digital crossover with extras", it just depends
how you look at it.
S.
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