Regarding the availability of non-jazz, non-classical DSD for download… as well as old jazz classics not on download… I might have thought that Sony would have offered a service. Perhaps they did not want all the files showing up on Russian download sites though. But that already happened since the Russians have old Sony Playstations that rip SACDs. I suppose then that they did not do it because the fixed cost of the business would not make sense given only a thousand audiophiles interested in early Genesis albums in DSD.
Frankly, modern 16-44 albums often sound much better than old material released in DSD. And if you are into prog rock from that time period, then the Steven Wilson re-releases often sound better, and give you a variety of ways to hear the same material… original but re-released on BR via Wilson, new Wilson stereo, new Wilson surround.
A Grimm MU1 solves Roon with no fuss or muss. It comes completely configured for being a Roon server and streamer. Just copy your music to the internal SSD and login to Roon.
The MU2 is coming and it will have a built in DAC. So one tidy little box, power in, Ethernet in, a pair of XLR cables to the active speakers (it controls volume), or poweramps or preamp and you are set. And it sounds swell. No one who ever hears it says they want something better. It doesn’t require monthly updates. I don’t know, it’s a swell answer to a lot of questions.
Around March 2016 Qobuz announced a DSD streaming service to be launched in October 2016. They dropped the idea and have never mentioned it again. So it will never happen.
I had already tried a DSD DAC, but it was that decision by Qobuz that made me forget about DSD because it became obvious that the chances of the music I wanted to listen to being done in DSD was about 1% and I would have to buy it, at the cost per download of my monthly Qobuz subscription.
The inability to do virtually any mixing or editing in pure DSD makes it pretty much useless for rock music. Plus, the demand for it would be almost non-existent.
The next big thing in formats is Dolby Atmos. The technology has been established in the film industry, so quite a few studios have it. It is supported by the largest distributors like Amazon and has been used for the world’s three most successful recording artists (Taylor Swift, Ed Sheeran, Harry Styles). It may be successful because you can get the benefit of Atmos with quite cheap hardware.
Auralic have been brilliant at Roon integration from the early days. I had both the Aries and Aries Mini. I still have the latter. They made me realise how easy and convenient streaming should be. I think they withdrew those products because they were too cheap and too good for the money, and wanted people to buy more expensive stuff. The Aries Mini now sells for more than I paid for a new one 8 or 9 years ago.
There is a tremendous appeal for that. But it isn’t necessary IMHO.
Vast piles of gear can be fun. And it can help compensate for other deficiencies.
But Simplicity is the ultimate design.
Don’t think that’s PS Audio’s way of doing things. For any other manufacturer, the AirLens would be a card inside a DAC or DAC/pre-amp. It’s another little $2,000 box and I’ve no doubt it will result in another $1,000-2,000 of cables, power supplies etc. I’ve no doubt people get a lot of pleasure from all these boxes, personally I’ve just changed my conditioner and power cables to much smaller alternatives.
I strongly believe there is absolutely zero benefit in storing DSD when the original recording was in PCM. DSD is an absolute pain to work with in the studio. Any multitrack / multi-take recording would have no benefit to record in DSD as it needs to be converted to PCM in the DAW. Just leave it in PCM. And, it appears that DXD (32 or 24/352.8 PCM) provides same audio quality master as DSD without the hassle. Then there is all the digital / virtual studio manipulation being done in modern music. That, as well, cannot be done with DSD and requires PCM.
Hunting for direct from tape to DSD transfer is worthwhile but that’s even rare for vinyl where there is already a larger market.
I’m a huge fan of DSD but I find it better to just convert the PCM to DSD in real time and then I can use my own filters and modulators to do it. Or just use the DS DAC which uses Ted’s recipe for conversion. No need to actually keep DSD sitting at rest. I also believe this is why most streaming providers have abandoned the DSD idea. I can very easily convert the PCM from any streaming provider to DSD to get the advantage of the format at the DAC.
When a label, like Octave, has decided to use DSD the results can be magical. But look at the amount of work they have done to make this reality. It’s a special niche for sure. Don’t expect the larger studios / labels to adopt the format. Another reason they won’t adopt it is that Dolby Atmos Music has a larger consumer base and that appears to be a growing format. That requires PCM tracks within the DAW.
The vast majority of people do not care about sound quality. Convenience over quality. We shouldn’t forget that. I mean, just look at the various albums of the year lists… None of that stuff was recording in a way that lends itself to a format like DSD. (sadly)
Funny I was going to ask similar question, but I know its the only output so my question is does that support all rates in PCM and DSD if not what is limitation. Hard to find that info out.
EDIT: And is it worth $8k more than airlens will be. Read the reviews and its amazing, but I am not sure I can swing that. Would I be better using airlens (or keep Sonore) and upgrading to MKII DAC?
Personal music went predominantly mobile about 30 years ago, so the issues have basically been storage media and more recently data rates. Cassette tapes overtook vinyl before CD became prevalent, and tape remained a strong market for a further 10 years because it was portable and worked in cars (the Walkman was introduced in 1979), and only declined when CD became portable. Cassette tapes were clearly worse than vinyl and CDs that some people had at home, but cassettes were the only option for portable music. The iTunes Store then took hold and AAC and mp3 dominated.
I see it as quite disingenuous people criticising music quality for their static home systems when the vast majority of customers listen on mobile devices. Walking down the street or on a bus, a recording with 30dB of dynamic range is utterly useless compared to one with 5dB of DR.
So I don’t get that engineers or anyone else don’t care about sound quality. A compressed recording is a better quality if it is going to be listened to mostly on earbuds, and mp3 is better than 16/44 if you want to store lots of music on your phone. To most people, DSD is an utterly useless format.
It would be great for some if the music industry was aimed primarily at the needs of a few audiophiles and music snobs, but it isn’t, and for very good reasons. For my part, I’ve never been short of good recordings to listen to.
Good point! That is something forgotten in the grand scheme of things: the music. (Isn’t that the reason we buy audio equipment?) I always read about how great X or Y or Z format is (whether it’s hi-res PCM, 45 RPM vinyl, 4xDSD, etc.), yet if the music I want to listen to isn’t in any of those formats, am I going to avoid listening to it? No. Am I going to seek out a better/best version? Yes, within reason (no $150 vinyl version of Steely Dan for me…but I’ll take the SACD), and only if I can play it on equipment I own.
And likewise, at least in reissues, high-res formats aren’t necessarily the best versions either. A lot of that has to do with the mastering, and the source tape used.
I guess (?) I’m an audiophile, but it’s only a means to an end. I’m a musicphile more than anything, and if my system reproduces it to my liking, it’s all good.
“Audiophiles don’t use their equipment to listen to your music. Audiophiles use your music to listen to their equipment.” --Alan Parsons
I have convinced at least 1 of my friends that the only thing I listen to is test tones and frequency sweeps. He thinks I spent to much to do that. I tell him the tests have never sounded so lifelike and musical.
There is also the old joke about the audiophile who owned and played only the same twelve audiophile LPs on his system, as he continually upgraded every component.
I’m otta here now. Got some sine waves waitin’ for me…
