There is already a thread running on Head-Fi about the Red and with a few already in owners hands including a reviewer shouldn’t be long before we hear about it’s performance. The reviewer has already done all the measurements and says his written review will be up shortly. I may try one after the first of the year to see how it works and I don’t mind the color. I suspect it’s “native” software is some version of Volumio just like the iFi devices. If you’re a Roon user it won’t matter anyway.
Also not aware of any device on the market yet to do that I2S conversion from one convention to the other. Don’t think there would be a wire count match.
The reviewer from Golden Sound has tested with with Roon and HQ Player and it will do DSD 1024 with no issues. These are the services it supports so if JRiver fits in one of these categories it will work fine.
The Red is looking like a no brainer for me. I am seriously considering getting one. I can use it in a few systems in my house. I might use it with my headphone rig.
I own a Holo May KTE and a Spring 3 KTE so I know what they are capable of at Holo. While I don’t expect it to better the Aries G1’s feeding the Holo DAC’s via there preferred USB input it may come in handy in the system with the modded DS in place of a 2016 Aries Femto which is using AES into the DS. Only issue would be teaching my non-techie wife how to use it as I just got her comfortable with the Aries software after years of trying. Also people who actually have it in hand say it’s a deeper darker red than the pictures indicate. And if needed the DDC function is a bonus.
Your wife is probably representative of a majority of people. The trick with many of these products is to make them as friendly as possible to appeal to the widest audience possible and keep requests for help to as low as possible. Forums these days seem to be able to sway purchases pretty quickly.
She only decided to learn the basic when we bought the second house in another state and had to know how to get music when I wasn’t there. When we eventually consolidate back to one house she will probably never touch the systems again. As it is she just wants to know how to get the Internet radio stations to work. Forums are like audio reviewers you have to learn who to believe and who to ignore. Audiogon is the biggest example of all that’s currently wrong with audio forums. The same handful of people post about everything just to see their name in print.
"DLNA is an industry protocol for sharing media among devices. It first appeared in JRiver Media Center 14.0. You will need to enable Media Network in MC’s Options. In most cases, you can just set the DLNA / UPnP Server to “Generic DLNA”. XBox and PS3 are exceptions and selections for these are available.
DLNA is very similar to UPnP, so UPnP is also supported."
DLNA more or less equals UPnP, so I would be good to go with the Holo Red, theoretically?
Yes, that should work. There’s going to be a ton of reviews on the Red. It’s looking like a swiss army knife. At that price I’m guessing it’s going to have excellent sales. Especially with the Roon crowd.
Hard to say given Airlens not out yet…
I’m gonna upgrade soon from my Matrix
Any thoughts on The Red vs Airlens?
$$$as always is tight
I can only buy 1 streamer
Thanks
And I know any response is just hypothetical
But I get a ton of info from you via this board on such things
From what I understand the AirLens is going to have one output, I2S. If that covers your current and possibly future needs and your piggy bank can afford it, it sounds like a fine appliance. If you want a lot of flexibility at a lower cost, the Red might be a better choice. I haven’t tried either, but I will.
Vince, I’ll be looking forward to your thoughts. I was planning on an AL as I2S to the DS is my primary use case, but with the Red providing more flexibility - if it sounds even as good as the AL it will be, as you say, a no brainer.
You may want to consider a thorough test of the USB input vs I2S and see if you even need a DDC at all. You many find the USB input as good as the I2S.
