Last time I looked, it was August 2013.
Why has some soft/hard-ware firm not perfected the ultimate ripping, tagging, playing combination that is a “must have” for every Audiophile. PNP.
Does it already exist? Have we missed something? Too expensive? poor or debatable SQ?
Some may come close but I have yet to hear any reviewer say that the “Holy Grail” exists and is available on Amazon.
We did go to the moon, didn’t we? Or did we?
Gordon said: We did go to the moon, didn't we?
Not yet, but there is a recently proposed program that may finally put a Canadian on the moon, perhaps on the 45th anniversary of the first moon landing:)
Gordon said: Why has some soft/hard-ware firm not perfected the ultimate ripping, tagging, playing combination . . . ?
A great question. One would think it would have been available years ago.
There is something incredibly difficult about interfacing computers and digital music. For example, many have problems with gapless. Linn continues to struggle, as do others. Much of the challenge deals with time - music is dependent on timing, macro and micro. Computers do not otherwise care about timing, just speed and accuracy. Latency, synchronizing concerns, etc. are almost anathema to computers.
(A sub-challenge is Apple's insistence on proprietary systems which adds a level of challenge to developers which need to incorporate PC and Apple computers, as well as Android and Apple wireless devices.)
Gordon said: Why has some soft/hard-ware firm not perfected the ultimate ripping, tagging, playing combination that is a "must have" for every Audiophile. PNP.
I'll let those with more experience speak to the ripping and playing issues. Regarding tagging: when I read about servers that claim to let you insert a CD and have it automatically ripped and tagged, I laugh. Maybe this works for mainstream pop music, but once you leave this arena I don't see how it's possible to get good results without manual tagging or at least review/correction of downloaded info. Jazz, world, folk, and even pop music from small labels may not be in someone's internet database. Databases contain many errors and inconsistencies. The most complex case is classical music, which IMO requires additional tags beyond the generic album/artist/genre layout. Even if you purchase an album that includes, say, a "composer" tag as some do, it may not be in the form you prefer (Bach, J. S.? Bach, Johann Sebastian? Johann Sebastian Bach?). Then, of course, you have to find a server and control point that will let you see your tags as you prefer (big shoutout to MinimServer here!).
I've been an audiophile for a long time but only got seriously into digital music about 18 months ago. There have been lots of things to learn, but understanding the tagging systems of the various formats, developing a good tagging system of my own, and entering/correcting the tags has been by far the most complex thing.
David
It’s funny, because I look at my systems and ask "Why do so many companies these days insist on trying to control everything while falling short of their primary focus."
For years now there seams to be this drive to try and be the catch-all-end-all-Swiss-army-knife-of-devices/applications!
The problem with this is that companies now need to spend so much time, effort and resources trying to manage and maintain all these “additional functions”, most of which only a small percentage of their clients really want, that they get bogged down, lose focus, fail on their primary functions and in some cases now need to charge more for less stability.
Another frustration with this is getting locked into proprietary situations where something better is designed, but you continue on with your old technologies because its to much work, effort or cost to break away from the catch-all infrastructure. I think this is the reason a large number of audiophiles love separates instead of integrated systems. We can replace individual components such as our DAC as needed or when the upgrade urge hits us. In some cases we add similar things for specialty purposes. In my system I have now added a Teac UD-501 for such a purpose. Streaming DSD. I love my PWD MKii, and the TEAC cant hold a candle to it streaming any other files, however the TEAC sounds fantastic for its dedicated purpose.
So I guess this whole post is a long winded way of saying that I still prefer to have individual components and software that peform their tasks perfectly instead of one catch-all device that struggles to handle 85% to 90% of anything.
T
@Elk - contrary to what you may have read elsewhere, Linn DS players don’t have problems with gapless playback unless, for some reason, the owner uses VERY big embedded artwork. Someone over at the Linn forums got gapless to stop working using 14MB artwork…why someone would want a file that large, I have no idea. FWIW, I’ve owned two DS players over the years and never had a problem.
@Gordon - have you tried dBPoweramp CD ripper? best solution I’ve found to ripping CDs. If you haven’t tried it, you should give it a shot.
CG
Actually the information comes from a friend of mine who is very sophisticated when it comes to computer playback and has a Linn, but I do not know the specifics. I hope it is indeed not a problem for most people.