T-Mas

I would like to comment on the ongoing discussion regarding whether a $12,000 soundcard is relevant, when most audiophiles' systems cost a fraction of this. A exorbitantly priced soundcard is relevant because of innovation. While most of us will not purchase a $12,000 soundcard, the manufacturer learns a great deal when building, testing and assembling this card. This knowledge will make its way to other manufacturers, who, in turn, will utilise it when building soundcards for the Everyman. <br /> <br /> The top-end of every market plays an important role in providing knowledge that enables innovation. This innovation will someday benefit all audiophiles. While it is difficult to accept that most of us will not be able to afford such a card right now, we can take solace in that fact that in a few short years we will. The technology in that $12,000 soundcard will cost less than $1,000 in a few years. <br /> <br /> I am happy to let a few people finance this innovation. In the meantime, I will continue purchasing more music to put through this future soundcard.<br /> <br />

I appreciate the details for your music servers.<br /> <br /> I see you are experimenting with Linux. What soundcard do you have, or are thinking about, for your Linux systems? <br /> <br /> What playback and ripping software are you using for Linux? Considering your ripping strategy, what playback format is best for Linux: FLAC, AIFF or WAV? <br /> <br /> I currently have Songbird on Ubuntu 9.10 and like it so far. It provides a lot of help with discovering new music.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />

Since the music is available in 24-bit FLAC, would this not be a better, in terms of musical fidelity, purchase than the newly released CD's? (Albeit, the USB contains stereo versions. A case could be made that the advantages of the mono recordings outweight the increased fidelity...)

If you prefer to be a purely Mac-based computer audiophile and wish to honor the recommended dbPowerAmp, what are your thoughts on running dbPowerAmp in a Windows virtual machine (via Parallels or VM Fusion) within Mac OS X?