austi15
Super Member
There has been a massive move towards ipod and "other" (zune and such) pmp's having a 3rd party dock designed to allow the digital information stored on the hard drive to pass directly to the dock's (or through the dock into standalone DAC) DAC. In terms of the iPod, we've all heard about the Wadia dock, then the Krell dock, now denon and I believe Sony has them. These are big names, Zunes may not have the nasty company control over digital output that apple has, and I know most others don't, the ipod is just the best known (for now :scratch2: ...).
Now in the last few weeks, my main source has become my computer, a macbook with a dual monitor setup, second monitor being a 15" touchscreen. I use itunes because I personally like the setup, and due to the 3 years with a ipod video before I got the Cowon S9 I have now it was pretty much required. Now just today I traded my friend for a slightly damaged 1st generation ipod touch. I figured it would be good for gaming (I traded a psp for it) and music in places where I didn't care as much for the safety of the player.
I then discovered the "remote" app. It allows the player to run itunes (and possibly other programs if it's jailbroken). This allows the inconvenience of the handheld pmp, the ability of virtually unlimited storage (just add hd's), and most importantly the ability to use a usb dac with the computer. It also allows complete mobility inside of wireless range instead of the player being bound strictly to a dock.
There are a few touchscreen music servers out there with remotes that allow browsing of the music collection. I believe McIntosh and Solos make them, I'm sure there are others. This makes them irrelevant as well, as instead of spending 10k on such a system, you get a pmp with wireless ability (a 1st gen Touch is around $120 at max, other pmp's with wi-fi likely have similar capability), a computer with a 500gb+ drive (no more than 400 for a decent cheap one, and a used touchscreen (100) OR a lcd touchscreen mod kit (probably pretty cheap). Then a good $400 (or more) USB DAC.
So with this said, is the whole industry (I guess you could call it an industry) rendered pointless by lesser known but cheaper alternatives?
No affiliation with any companies mentioned.
Now in the last few weeks, my main source has become my computer, a macbook with a dual monitor setup, second monitor being a 15" touchscreen. I use itunes because I personally like the setup, and due to the 3 years with a ipod video before I got the Cowon S9 I have now it was pretty much required. Now just today I traded my friend for a slightly damaged 1st generation ipod touch. I figured it would be good for gaming (I traded a psp for it) and music in places where I didn't care as much for the safety of the player.
I then discovered the "remote" app. It allows the player to run itunes (and possibly other programs if it's jailbroken). This allows the inconvenience of the handheld pmp, the ability of virtually unlimited storage (just add hd's), and most importantly the ability to use a usb dac with the computer. It also allows complete mobility inside of wireless range instead of the player being bound strictly to a dock.
There are a few touchscreen music servers out there with remotes that allow browsing of the music collection. I believe McIntosh and Solos make them, I'm sure there are others. This makes them irrelevant as well, as instead of spending 10k on such a system, you get a pmp with wireless ability (a 1st gen Touch is around $120 at max, other pmp's with wi-fi likely have similar capability), a computer with a 500gb+ drive (no more than 400 for a decent cheap one, and a used touchscreen (100) OR a lcd touchscreen mod kit (probably pretty cheap). Then a good $400 (or more) USB DAC.
So with this said, is the whole industry (I guess you could call it an industry) rendered pointless by lesser known but cheaper alternatives?
No affiliation with any companies mentioned.