Transporter to... next?

[sturgl]

Hi all,

 

I've been running a Transporter as my front-end for a few years, and have pretty happily managed to avoid my usual upgrade-itis. Now I'm considering next steps. I could have the Transporter modified (probably ModWright), or I could leapfrog into something else. Problem is, I don't know what "something else" might be, as I've been blissfully ignorant of the digital landscape for the last couple years at least. I am vaguely aware for the Bryston BDP/BDA combo, and the Linn Klimax/Akurate/Majik line - but digital moves fast and I don't honestly know what else is out there.

 

My... proclivities & biases:

 

* I'm not excited about having a true server in my listening room. My server is currently in a separate part of the house, and that's how I like it. The server is on a gigabit backbone (for distributed video, audio, etc.), and I'm running ethernet to the listening room. No CAPS servers or asynchronous USB DACs for me.
* I DO really like having a client - a front-end - in the listening room. It suits my personal bias towards keeping the clients and the server separate, doing separate jobs. I'm happy with the Transporter's performance over my network in terms of UI performance, and controlling it with my phone and/or tablet is fun.
* I DO like having a front-end with excellent analog outs. Not having to throw a DAC in the mix strikes me as a win. However, I'm certainly open to it, if DACs today are vastly superior to the Transporter's.
* While I do own quite a few 24/96 albums, I can't say I'm sold on the benefits of 24/192 - so if that's the only reason to upgrade, I'd probably pass.

 

 

So. Any suggestions for the next (giant) step up from the Transporter? Has digital come so far that I should leapfrog the ModWright approach and shop for something shiny and new? A whole new front-end? Or "just" a DAC?

 

Oh, and let's put the budget at, say, $3,000.

 

Thanks all!

[thestewman]

You might consider adding a Mytek Stereo 192 to your system. I feed a Mytek from a Transporter using the AES/EBU digital out which bypasses the internal DAC in the Transporter. This allows me to access HD audio files on a remote server via a network or stream MOG or ioRadio etc. using the Transporter's capabilities and the Mytek dac's superior sound.

This also allows you to control the Transporter with an Android or IOS device too.

[Audio_ELF]

Is this cross posted to three different forums?

http://www.computeraudiophile.com/f10-music-servers/transporter-next-14823/

and

http://www.computeraudiophile.com/f6-dac-digital-analog-conversion/transporter-next-14827/

 

Can I suggest a message to Chris and ask if he would close/merge the threads.

 

Eloise

[sturgl]

Agreed, good idea.