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Technology is a Pain ..diminishing returns. Obselete

A

Akustic

Super Member
It goes obsolete faster than you can figure it out ..

I started programing on punch cards .. built and used the first PC"S .. yada yada ..
I'm still tech competent.. barely ..

But digital sources, storage, and streaming changes so fast that investing anything but small money just doesn't make sense ..
Read the Digital sources threads here .. it will make your head spin ..
The tech evolves so fast that it's not possible to keep up ..

I'm taking my Bluetooth box that has access thru the PC to the largest accessible libraries of music available and gone back to listening ..
Ultimate resolution .. nope .. save that for CD's ..
But for now it's just easier and I'm busy listening ..
 
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Here is the other side of that coin.

I purchased a Roon Lifetime subscription in 2015 after trialing it for a couple of days.
Then I bought a Small Green Computer Sonictransporter i5 in 2017 to run Roon.
Connected my external hard drive of music, subscribed to Tidal, (and now Qqobuz too), and have not thought about the technology or obsolescence since.

YMMV
 
olson_jr said:
Here is the other side of that coin.

I purchased a Roon Lifetime subscription in 2015 after trialing it for a couple of days.
Then I bought a Small Green Computer Sonictransporter i5 in 2017 to run Roon.
Connected my external hard drive of music, subscribed to Tidal, (and now Qqobuz too), and have not thought about the technology or obsolescence since.

YMMV
Click to expand...

Picks yer poison .. or your level as it were... yes ..
Then quit paying attention .. that's the key ..

Set it up correctly .. fiddle with it .. get it as good as it gets ..
But then ignore new technologies until there's truly a quantum leap ..( or your service ceases providing content in your format )
 
All my lossless files reside on the SSD of a Surface tablet, played via JRiver out via USB to a very basic DAC, RCA out to my integrated tube amp, then out to my speakers & sub. About as simple as it gets, sounds great & is all I need. I could add a streaming service easily.

Simplification & not being concerned about "keeping current" is my advice.
 
Like Akustic, my head spins along with my LPs & CDs and the FM, which some claim the signals to have "circular polarization." (IIRC - a term for having horizontal & vertical polarization) My analog input sources have no compatibility or connection issues. They're already all "obsolete".
 
Be happy with what you have. My system sounds a lot better than anything I had even 30 years ago. I have access to way more music than I ever have. Could it be better? Sure, but laws of diminishing returns kick in.

I remember late 80s, early 90s Dolby Pro Logic surround sound. Followed shortly by Dolby Digital 5.1 (so much better they said). Then came Dolby Digital 7.1. I don't even know what the latest is now because I don't care. I run a Zvox Soundbase beneath my flat screen. Its a TV for God's sake. I quit trying to make my home into a theater. I don't care for loud TV or movies. I don't really watch much as I find it boring and Hollywood hasn't made a good movie in forever. The few that are OK don't have explosions every 3 minutes anyway. If I need a movie, I'll hit a matinee and skip the $20 popcorn.
 
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I stream from Windows PC's or iDevices (typically an iPad) through a cabled external DAC. These seem pretty much immune to obsolescence, until Windows ceases to run or the streaming apps won't work with the iOS of the tablet. In that case, I will always have some sort of PC and iPhone to use. DAC's won't be obsolete until they stop converting , so they can easily be replaced too. I have a feeling that I'll outgrow any of this before they stop working as designed. I'm not a fan of streaming devices due to how easily they can become obsolete or unrepairable (vs a PC or simple DAC)
 
Akustic said:
It goes obsolete faster than you can figure it out ..

I started programing on punch cards .. built and used the first PC"S .. yada yada ..
I'm still tech competent.. barely ..

But digital sources, storage, and streaming changes so fast that investing anything but small money just doesn't make sense ..
Read the Digital sources threads here .. it will make your head spin ..
The tech evolves so fast that it's not possible to keep up ..

I'm taking my Bluetooth box that has access thru the PC to the largest accessible libraries of music available and gone back to listening ..
Ultimate resolution .. nope .. save that for CD's ..
But for now it's just easier and I'm busy listening ..
Click to expand...

I completely agree. It is absolute BS, these days. It's only for fanatics who enjoy dinking around with files, etc. as much as they like listening to music.

It's the same with model railroading and the whole DCC thing.

Doug
 
David_NC said:
I stream from Windows PC's or iDevices (typically an iPad) through a cabled external DAC. These seem pretty much immune to obsolescence, until Windows ceases to run or the streaming apps won't work with the iOS of the tablet. In that case, I will always have some sort of PC and iPhone to use. DAC's won't be obsolete until they stop converting , so they can easily be replaced too. I have a feeling that I'll outgrow any of this before they stop working as designed. I'm not a fan of streaming devices due to how easily they can become obsolete or unrepairable (vs a PC or simple DAC)
Click to expand...

Not just streamers ..
Windows fails or becomes obsolete far, far too often .. been fighting that since Win 3.0 .. same with the PC ..
Got to the point that I just recommended purchase of the cheapest newest PC avail.. anything better would be obsolete in 18 months anyway...

But I'm on with a PC and a DAC .. and there's really no replacement for a well engineered analogue section in the DAC .. It's the digital tech that's changing like lightning ..
Get a good one, then let it ride for a while ..
 
Akustic said:
Got to the point that I just recommended purchase of the cheapest newest PC avail.. anything better would be obsolete in 18 months anyway...
Click to expand...

I guess it depends on use case. But, for streaming and music server, I'm not aware that it requires a SOTA machine.

Heck, I use some Dell OptiPlex 4th gen i5 desktops (circa 2013) for general computing and even for NVR recording multiple IP cams 24/7/365. Plenty of horsepower, and then some. I even have W11 installed on some just for test case. Works great.

Big gamer or something, yeah, OK, but not for general computing or music server/streaming.
 
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I try to focus on the forest and not the trees. The evolution of music playback for me has fundamentally changed only twice...

1968-1984: Play records and cassettes (portable use)
1984-2013: Play records and CD/CDRs
2013-present: Play records and server based files

The various players of all manner I've ever used would still continue to be viable today had I chosen to hang on to them.

Akustic said:
Windows fails or becomes obsolete far, far too often .. been fighting that since Win 3.0 .. same with the PC.
Click to expand...
While I transitioned to a Mac Mini in 2020, I still use a 2010 Dell tower running Win7 for ripping music and video disks. Still works as well as it ever did. Actually better now with more memory than originally configured and with an SSD.
 
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Akustic said:
Not just streamers ..
Windows fails or becomes obsolete far, far too often .. been fighting that since Win 3.0 .. same with the PC ..
Got to the point that I just recommended purchase of the cheapest newest PC avail.. anything better would be obsolete in 18 months anyway...

But I'm on with a PC and a DAC .. and there's really no replacement for a well engineered analogue section in the DAC .. It's the digital tech that's changing like lightning ..
Get a good one, then let it ride for a while ..
Click to expand...
Oh you can still run Win 3.x if you like! ;) I still run a couple Win 7 PC's that do everything that I'd want them to do. It's pretty impressive that a 13 or so old OS still runs almost all programs that the latest does. What I meant by that is that Microsoft isn't going anywhere, and they don't have to be around for their OS's to still operate. I've got quite a few wireless Sonos / Heos type speakers that are useless due to the company that produced the required app going under, for example.
 
The Logitech Squeezebox and Transporter were rocket science to me …having them still working I do not want to get into anything more exotic. Yes you can store all your CDs on some sort of hard driver “critter” but …I still like loading them in a Rotel 965…just like occasionally loading up the R2R or turning the dial on the tuner.
 
wallacefl said:
The Logitech Squeezebox and Transporter were rocket science to me …having them still working I do not want to get into anything more exotic.
Click to expand...
While I sold my two SB Touch players many years ago, they have been plug replaced with better sounding alternatives. One significantly so. One far cheaper.

The only change from the server's perspective is their name.
 
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Doug G. said:
It's only for fanatics who enjoy dinking around with files, etc.
Click to expand...
What exactly does *dinking around with files* mean to you?

For downloaded albums, they are copied once from workstation download folder to shared folder on NAS. Done.
For albums ripped from CDs, they are copied once from older workstation music folder to shared folder on NAS. Done.

Doug G. said:
...as much as they like listening to music.
Click to expand...
Actually, you have that bass-ackwards. I spend more time listening than constantly shuffling shiny disks to and fro shelves, jewel cases and players. For each and every album played. Media server also stores movies and provides same capability across multiple video systems.

Being able to instantly access any album or track (along with 70 million tracks on Qobuz) across multiple systems is a beautiful thing.

Enjoy your endless world of disc shuffling! Which reminds me of the bad old days when you had to swap floppies each and every time you chose to run a different application. ;)
 
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2009 1.5TB USB HDD, Win XP desktop. Ripped my CDs with EAC. Played back using MediaMonkey on PC.

2014 Moved to using WD MyCloud NAS in place of HDD. This provided a network-accessible DLNA server, which could be accessed by BubbleUPnP on Android devices. Still used MediaMonkey on PC.

2016 replaced XP PC with Win7 PC.
Added Win8.1 tablet. Adopted MusicBee as media player on all my Windows devices.

2021 installed LMS on Win7 single board computer. Has replaced DLNA server as local network media server, but provides very similar services. Still use MusicBee on all Windows PCs.

Whilst I have played with a number of other systems, my main means of storing, serving & playing my ripped CD collection hasn't changed that many times in 13 years. I still rip with EAC on a PC.
 
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E-Stat said:
What exactly does *dinking around with files* mean to you?

For downloaded albums, they are copied once from workstation download folder to shared folder on NAS. Done.
For albums ripped from CDs, they are copied once from older workstation music folder to shared folder on NAS. Done.


Actually, you have that bass-ackwards. I spend more time listening than constantly shuffling shiny disks to and fro shelves, jewel cases and players. For each and every album of music played. Media server also stores movies and provides same capability across multiple video systems.

Being able to instantly access any album or track across multiple systems is a beautiful thing. Enjoy your endless world of disc shuffling! That reminds me of the bad old days when you had to swap floppies each and every time you chose to run a different application. ;)
Click to expand...
This… I left it alone ;)
 
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