Article: Audiophile Imagery Volume 1: dCS Network Bridge

[The Computer Audiophile]

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[Account Closed]

Chris, Is a review of this unit forthcoming?

[The Computer Audiophile]

Yes. I'm waiting on new firmware to enable the USB output. I want to review the unit at its full capacity.

[Account Closed]

17 minutes ago, The Computer Audiophile said:

Yes. I'm waiting on new firmware to enable the USB output. I want to review the unit at its full capacity.

Thanks

 

Great pics. I would guess that dCS was OK with the internal shots but it was good of you to mention the warranty issue for others to heed.

[The Computer Audiophile]

6 minutes ago, bobflood said:

Thanks

 

Great pics. I would guess that dCS was OK with the internal shots but it was good of you to mention the warranty issue for others to heed.

Oh yes, I ran it passed them before publishing. 

[steve21]

  I started with my phone camera getting photos for gear to sell then went to a Canon 7D to get better photos and now love popping the top on audio gear and using a macro lens to get a small part of the circuit board or control dials. 

Everything  goes into Adobe Lightroom where digital corrections are easy.

My question to you would be if your shooting in analog with that great glass and a Hasselblad, do you then print and scan the photo to get it on the web site? Don't you deprive yourself of photo correction that way, unless your correcting the digital scan, then what's the point other than to try to get the shot right first time with film.

 

[The Computer Audiophile]

Just now, steve21 said:

  I started with my phone camera getting photos for gear to sell then went to a Canon 7D to get better photos and now love popping the top on audio gear and using a macro lens to get a small part of the circuit board or control dials. 

Everything  goes into Adobe Lightroom where digital corrections are easy.

My question to you would be if your shooting in analog with that great glass and a Hasselblad, do you then print and scan the photo to get it on the web site? Don't you deprive yourself of photo correction that way, unless your correcting the digital scan, then what's the point other than to try to get the shot right first time with film.

 

Ah, maybe I was a bit misleading. Most of my photography is analog, but for this column I will mainly shoot digital.

 

I shot all these digitally. I don't touch them up at all. Everything is straight off the censor.

[rando]

14 minutes ago, The Computer Audiophile said:

I shot all these digitally. I don't touch them up at all. Everything is straight off the sensor.

 

Or at least as close as digital can be.  A topic for other days and places. 

 

The photos were interesting documentation.  Inconsistent light levels and temperature could use a bit of work.  Get that kid of yours down there with you to hold an umbrella or reflector.  

[The Computer Audiophile]

2 minutes ago, rando said:

 

Or at least as close as digital can be.  A topic for other days and places. 

 

The photos were interesting documentation.  Inconsistent light levels and temperature could use a bit of work.  Get that kid of yours down there with you to hold an umbrella or reflector.  

Yeah, this was more of an artistic exercise rather than documentation. I prefer darker images overall. I have all the images at everything from a couple stops under exposed to a couple stops over exposed. 

 

Thanks for the feedback nonetheless. It's all welcome. 

[The Computer Audiophile]

42 minutes ago, rando said:

temperature could use a bit of work

Looking back, I think I should have adjusted the temp a bit. Perhaps I'll make the adjustments and re-upload. 

[rando]

I was being overtly nitpicky when I should have been applauding the almost unheard of "showing the untouched negative". 

 

Digital is very hard to get your eye in the same way as analog.  Be it something tricky like reflections or just color and texture.  Unlike a print these photos look different to every single person viewing them.  Much less how you saw them before your camera processed them for download to your computer.

[cjf]

Nice pics. I think many will appreciate seeing the guts in HQ of various gear under review or just for the heck of it.

 

This DCS product certainly looks the part and is as clean as one would expect for the price of admission. Nice to see no COTS board and ground up in house build/design here. Other wanna be "audiophile" brands should take heed to this type of build quality and thoughtful design.

 

I'm curious if the black padding on the top panel in one of the pics was resonance control material or if it was being used to capture stray wireless signal grunge from the wireless card directly below it? Would be nice to have an option to exclude that noise generator but o'well.

[One and a half]

@daryl9 iirc reported DSD transition clicks. That lost dcs the sale.

[Spacehound]

 

Great stuff! As a dCS fanboy I was very interested, internally it's very much 'professional instrument grade'. And I've never seen anyone put their advertising slogan, in this case "only the music" on a PC board before.

 

Why have you got both a Rossini and a bridge in your system?  The Rossini has, in effect, got the bridge inside it., being both a network player and a USB/coax etc.  DAC.

Or is it just for testing  the bridge with non-dCS stuff? 

[rickca]

6 hours ago, The Computer Audiophile said:

Everything is straight off the censor.

You mean sensor.  We need to look to another forum for a censor.

[The Computer Audiophile]

7 hours ago, Spacehound said:

 

Great stuff! As a dCS fanboy I was very interested, internally it's very much 'professional instrument grade'. And I've never seen anyone put their advertising slogan, in this case "only the music" on a PC board before.

 

Why have you got both a Rossini and a bridge in your system?  The Rossini has, in effect, got the bridge inside it., being both a network player and a USB/coax etc.  DAC.

Or is it just for testing  the bridge with non-dCS stuff? 

 

I’m reviewing both components, but separately. I just placed the NB there for testing. 

[michael123]

Hasselblad is great My wife is shooting with X1D. 

[The Computer Audiophile]

12 minutes ago, michael123 said:

Hasselblad is great My wife is shooting with X1D. 

Very jealous. 

[miguelito]

On 2/8/2018 at 8:17 AM, The Computer Audiophile said:

I’m reviewing both components, but separately. I just placed the NB there for testing. 

Pics of Rossini's internals next, please? BTW... Loving my Rossini+Clock.

[miguelito]

On 2/7/2018 at 6:51 PM, The Computer Audiophile said:

Looking back, I think I should have adjusted the temp a bit. Perhaps I'll make the adjustments and re-upload. 

Softbox?

[michael123]

22 hours ago, miguelito said:

Softbox?

 

No, why?

Couple of external continous lights will do the job

 

We have these for many years. A work horse

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/390686-REG/Impact_EX100A_KI_One_Monolight_Kit.html

[The Computer Audiophile]

I’ve used these recently. I may pick them up for my own use. 

 

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1092488-REG

[miguelito]

6 hours ago, michael123 said:

No, why?

Couple of external continous lights will do the job

 

We have these for many years. A work horse

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/390686-REG/Impact_EX100A_KI_One_Monolight_Kit.html

That's a softbox.

[Norton]

On 8 February 2018 at 5:21 AM, Spacehound said:

And I've never seen anyone put their advertising slogan, in this case "only the music" on a PC board before

 

I'm told  Rega print various slogans and  messages on their PCBs :

[Audio_ELF]

I read the headline as “Audiophile Imaginary Volume” ... the mind was boggling!