craig in SD

Thanks for your feedback

Nobody? Ok, then, why not? Too new? Lack of established community? Linuxs OS? Specs?

Looking to replace an old secondhand dell optiplex running ubuntu server, LMS, and Subsonic, with music on a NAS drive. (Renderers are squeezeboxes and my mobile phone via subsonic when I'm away from home.) Was leaning towards a beaglebone black, until I discovered the Utilite. I like the form factor, built in wifi , and more finished nature of the hardware. But there doesn't seem to be much of a community working on using this device for audio applications, and where there is, discussions focus on using as a renderer rather than server. I admit the S/PDIF output is a compelling feature, but my primary need is to replace my server right now. Volumino looks interesting. Does anyone know how hard it's going to be to get an arm version of LMS and subsonic running on Utilite? Home | Utilite

The D7050 user's manual states that the analog outputs are affected by the volume knob adjustment. They're clearly adjusting the output level in the digital domain with one of those dedicated per-channel DSPs.

I doubt that. If they are using the chipset mentioned above, then the manufacture is stating: "Channels not used as amplifiers can be configured as high performance DAC outputs to drive headphones or subwoofers" I suspect they are utilizing this feature. While I suspect you might make bi-amping work w/ a D7050, you would be paying for a lot of unused features. And since it only accepts digital inputs, you might find it challenging to sync your channels without a dedicated software feature to do so. Even though I am not blown away by the bass from the D7050 (and I do not have a subwoofer, and my speakers roll off in the mid 30 Hz), I have found the bass to be full and very dynamic, if not powerful. Could be a matter of material. I've mostly listened to acoustic stuff and classical the first week. I would probably say the bass extension might be a fair criticism of this amp, though with my setup it is probably hard to know as I'm not set up to produce a lot of bass anyway. It doesn't thump for me. Bassheads might approach this amp with caution. And based on my listening to the Wadia 151, NAD C390DD, and reading about the DDA-100 and others, I would suspect the same might be said of many direct digital amps. At least the D7050 has the ability to drive a subwoofer at line level so you can introduce your own LF amp and tune to your needs.

Yes, and I find it very intriguing that they suggest the digital equalization can be used to compensate for speaker impedance.

I believe this explains it, assuming this is the chip set used in the D7050 (which I think I read over on DIY Audio.) DDFA®: CSRA6000

That's a good question. I will have to dig into the documentation to see if I can't figure it out. I don't own a subwoofer so I can't test it.

Last week I bought the brand new NAD D7050 and am absolutely loving it with a SB Touch and Monitor Audio Silver 5i speakers (89 dB sensitivity). My short list also included the Wadia 151 and DDA-100. I am comparing the NAD and Wadia, but am sure to be sending back the Wadia and keeping the D7050. In my setup, anyway, it has fuller bass and a much more 3 dimensional soundstage. The DDA-100 was going to be plan B, but I'm smitten with the new NAD and probably done looking. Comparing the D7050 and DDA-100, I think the former has a little more power at 50 WPC , and some additional features like DLNA, Airplay, and AptX Bluetooth, and a set of analog outputs that can be configured for subwoofer output. It's a nice, lower priced evolution of the C390DD, but a fair chunk of change more than the DDA-100 at $1k. I really do think these direct digital products are going to be a big growth area in the future. They seem to deliver excellent sound quality at reasonable prices, with fewer components, in smaller, more efficient packages. What's not to like? D 7050 Direct Digital Network Amplifier - NAD Electronics