firedog wrote:
> Just came across this thread and it is amazing. A raft of comments
> putting down a product none of you have heard and clearly know little
> about, and also denigrating DSD, which apparently, at least the majority
> of you have never heard. Sorry, but the height of close-mindedness.
>
> A few points in response to the thread:
>
> 1. I own 2 SBT's and a fit pc. The Sony is much better sounding. No
> comparison. So for your $2000 you get a much better sounding player and
> DAC, plus 1TB of built in storage. It's extremely well built, with high
> end parts and very solid construction. Not plastic. Not a bad deal at
> all, relative to it's actual competition. Obviously, with a $2000 price
> tag, it isn't intended to be a mass market item and isn't intended to
> compete directly with a product like the SBT. In "high end" terms, it
> can certainly be seen as a good buy.
>
> 2. The HD of the Sony can be user replaced, and with a much larger one.
> Not a problem at all. It can also play from an external USB drive.
>
> 3. There are something close to 2000 native DSD recordings on the
> market, if you count SACDs recorded and produced with native DSD. Yes,
> mostly classical. Several thousand other SACDs of good analog recordings
> converted to DSD/SACD, music of all types. More and more of this is
> being released as DSD every day. Lots of people are ripping SACDs these
> days, and you can even have it done for you. So not a true obstacle. In
> spite of what you may think, there are lots of people with large SACD
> collections. So a device like this is quite useful for them. BTW, if
> you haven't heard a native DSD recording of acoustic instruments, you
> might be amazed at how good it sounds. I have a couple of native DSD
> orchestral recordings that simply are the best sounding recordings I've
> ever heard of a symphony orchestra. Period.
>
> 4. DSD is a fantastic medium for digitally archiving analog master
> tapes. I have several such DSD albums and they generally are the best
> sounding version, even in some cases better than hi-res PCM versions.
> This might be due to better mastering, or it might be that DSD is simply
> better at capturing the sound of analog tape. In the end, the format
> isn't important, getting better sounding music is. So the fact that a
> lot of "Old" rock, jazz, and classical is being remastered to DSD is
> only a good thing in my eyes. No one is making you buy remasters if you
> aren't interested. I happen to like having better sounding versions of
> albums I love. Many (not all) of the remasters I've bought in the last
> few years (both PCM and DSD) sound better than the vinyl or CD versions
> I previously owned. I'm glad to have them.
>
> 5. The "DSD engine". Have you heard it? Take a listen or look online and
> see reactions/reviews. I haven't read any actually negative ones. The
> reactions range from "it sounds fantastic, I'm doing all my listening
> this way" to "I prefer it some of the time, not with every recording or
> with every setup". Is there something wrong if people enjoy the sound of
> it? Find a system that can upsample and play some of your favorite
> recordings as DSD. You might like how it sounds.
Come to think of it I have never heard any of the expensive USB cables
so often praised in high end audio magazines but you know what that
doesn't make them any less of a rip off. I don't believe that anyone
writing on this thread believes that the Sony unit sounds "bad" rather
we think that the Sony unit sounds quite good we just don't believe all
the marketing BS that comes along with it. And marketing BS is all it is
- the so called "reviews" are merely the Sony press release (pure
marketing BS) simply reworded, along with a nice lunch or dinner from
the Sony advertising rep thrown in.
And in case you haven't been following along at home, EVERY single
music/media streaming device which relies/relied on DLNA fails. So if I
really wanted to buy the new Sony player all I have to do is wait a few
months and buy it at a discount once it too fails and is discontinued.
Living Rm: Transporter-SimAudio pre/power amps-Vandersteen 3A Sign. &
sub
Home Theater: Touch-Marantz HTR-Energy Veritas 2.1 & Linn sub
Computer Rm: Touch-Headroom Desktop w/DAC-Aragon amp-Energy Veritas 2.1
& Energy sub
Bedroom: Touch-HR Desktop w/DAC-Audio Refinement amp-Energy Veritas 2.0
Guest Rm: Duet-Sony soundbar
Garage: SB3-JVC compact system
Controls: iPeng; SB Controller; Moose & Muso
Server: SBS on dedicated windows 7 computer w/2 Drobos
'Last.fm' (http://www.last.fm/user/jazzfann/)
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