End of the run for the DMP! What’s next?

This is very, very true!

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I’ve listened to the DMP in PSA MR 1 and it was spectacular.

However, I will be surprised if PSA manufactures more than two additional generations of physical media players because I think the company will eventually figure out a way to make streaming (local/LAN/internet) surpass optical media in sound quality.

Now, the last time I played a CD or SACD was probably a decade ago so I’m coming from a very narrow minded place to make this prediction. I could be so wrong and the CD may make some epic comeback.

There are those of us who amassed enormous collections of CD’s from the earliest days of the format’s existence (over 8,000 and counting for me) and due to the sheer size, never accepted the challenge of converting everything to computer files. Machines to play physical media will always be an essential element of any audio system for me and I’m sure, for very many others.

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That’s right. Of the audio systems I’ve seen that I would classify as hi-end, all of them had a disc spinner. At this stage, the best disc spinners sound better than the best network streamers.

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Same as andolink… CD’s & SACDs combined getting close to 5000 in total so I need a good transport… There is no-way I am ripping all of them… I had a streaming rig, which wasn’t as good as the DMP (musically), so I gifted it to someone when I bought the DMP… I will be intrigued to see what PSA achieve with Octave but my worry with Octave will the software be up to the task, going by PSA’s struggles with firmware on other products and Octave will be all about software…!

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I hope the P1 delivers musical satisfaction for you - because it has a hard act to follow/compete with - with your current main source of music making…!

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I haven’t heard (or seen) a Grandioso P1 yet, but I soon will. My DMP had the slight edge on sound quality compared to my other options, so I have high expectations that P1 will go one better. I can’t be sure that the DMP sounded better because it had a better interconnect (Shunyata Sigma AES/EBU), or because it really sounded better on its own merits.

Good point.

I transcoded my ~4,000 compact discs over the course of a decade but if my CD library were not ripped, I would want to have a future-proof method to play them. I was making a prediction about PSA specifically but I think new CD/SACD players will be available indefinitely.

I would be very surprised if Esoteric ceased making and improving optical transports during any of our lifetimes.

SACD is core business for Esoteric. Their last optical drive (VRDS-NEO) was in production for about 16 years. Every reason to believe that their next optical drive (VRDS-ATLAS) will be in production for about as long. I just wish the new one wasn’t so much more expensive than the old one :sweat:

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I am sure the P1 will be outstanding - of that I have no doubt. And, up against most other source products out there it would excel… It is just that your Kaleidescape is a hard act to follow. Time will tell.

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Kaleidescape music performance is being throttled by the entry level AudioQuest 5m coax cable connecting it to the DAC. To replace it with a 5m Shunyata Sigma RCA would be insanely expensive, I’d be better off buying another Kaleidescape mini player and parking it right next to the DAC. But that’s a future project.

I will take your word on that. I keep forgetting about your predilection for expensive cables. :grin: It makes me wonder how I glean so much enjoyment from my system with my paltry cables ! I will have to go out now, speak later.

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Paul has previously hypothetically talked about using coat hangers to connect stuff up (put the money saved towards better electronics as the higher priority i.e. P20), so anything better than coat hangers must be OK.

Mr B, that’s a new one!
I make a point of swerving debates on religion, politics and audio cables because they never reach a conclusion. They usually lead to wars.

Coat hangers:
I’ve now added coat hangers to my list of no-go subjects. :slight_smile:
Plus there will be hassle worrying about the coat hanger orientation, then there’s directionality to consider… Then there will be the A,B/X listening for musicality with clothes on or off the hangers!

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Other people also recall him mentioning it.
Buried within here:
I ended up putting the money I saved in not buying a P20 into a new AES/EBU interconnect and clock cable.

I believe you. I believe everything written on the forum. :grin:

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Same here, unless I find a music server that also combines a disc player/ripper, that would rip the discs as I play them. That way all the physical media would eventually be transferred to the server in a painless fashion.

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Exactly. Think how soul destroying it would be ripping all the discs… My head would be bursting!

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Less time ripping, more time spinning :sunglasses:

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Hi Dirk,

Which interconnect cables are you using? I think I remember you saying they were from Audience, but don’t remember which model? AU 24’s?