High end audio can be a polarizing hobby. Audiophiles like to select a product or technology and support it vigorously as if they have a large financial interest in its success. I was born an audiophile. I completely understand the desire for one's selection to be validated by the audiophile community. I also completely understand how unhealthy that desire for validation is and the neurosis it can cause. Audiophiles, myself included, must realize the products we select today will sound just as good in five years regardless of competing products, newer technologies, and others' opinions. One polarizing topic in computer audio is digital interfaces. Two digital interfaces that have strong vocal support from users are USB and Ethernet. Users of one technology frequently turn a blind eye to the merits of the other technology and won't even consider its use. Many users selected one technology a few years ago based on the information available at that time and refuse to update their own knowledge for any number of reasons. This leads to armchair engineer arguments based on half truths and old information. These discussions are a disservice to all readers. Based on my experience with both USB and Ethernet interfaces it's clear to me that both can sound excellent and both will have a strong presence in high end audio for the foreseeable future. One Ethernet interface that caught my attention a couple months ago is the UPnP AV 2.0 / DLNA compliant Simple Design Rendu Ethernet to S/PDIF Converter. Admittedly I was drawn in by the features and specs, notably its ability to play DSD, 24/192 PCM, and gapless audio streamed over Ethernet. I've since listened through the Rendu for countless hours and put it through a number of network audio tests. At first the Rendu was a bit picky and had some playback issues. Today using the newest firmware I'm happy to report the Rendu works very well and continues to sound very good. The Simple Design Rendu Ethernet to S/PDIF Converter is a product to watch in both two channel and whole house network audio.
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The numbers don't lie. Many music lovers can't afford a separate two channel system for audio and a multi-channel system for movies. Those of us knuckle dragging card carrying audiophiles have opted for the two channel system only while most civilians went the other way with a music and movie system in one. The system one selects is insignificant. Whatever enables one to enjoy this wonderful hobby of ours is just fine with me and should be just fine with all rational audiophiles. High quality music reproduction in the home can be accomplished with any well executed system. There are definitely less than stellar separates-based systems that sound vastly inferior to a well executed preamp processor or receiver. That said a well designed system of separate components is pretty tough to beat in my experience. Shortly after CES 2011 in January I started looking at preamp processors and receivers as an option for the computer audiophile without a dedicated system of separate components. I wasn't searching for a processor that could sonically better an equivalent separate component. Rather I was simply looking for a processor with several options for interfacing with a music server. I found the product I was looking for in the Marantz AV7005 Preamp Processor ($1,500 USD).
November 24, 2009 Linn announced it would stop production of CD players at the end of the year. Computer audiophiles around the globe were jubilant while skeptics were unconvinced the announcement was anything more than a publicity stunt. Opinions aside the cessation of CD player manufacturing was a bold step in an industry where homeostasis has been the norm for so long. This announcement and subsequent halt to CD player production wouldn't have been possible without Linn's foresight into the disc-less world of hifi. Linn's commitment to its Digital Streaming line of products began years before most consumers could even conceptualize listening to music without a Compact Disc let alone streaming music via Ethernet. Linn announced its first DS (Digital Stream) player, the Klimax DS, back in 2007. Since that time Linn has released several DS components at various price and performance levels. The Linn Majik DS-I, Digital Stream player with Integrated amplifier, is the newest component in the Digital Stream lineup.
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