The future of Distributed Audio

Hi Gary

It will be interesting to see if this comes to pass, and how quickly they can get these things to market.
Given the cost of these bits of kit people will only buy once every few years, and will go for what apprears to be the best value on the market at the time they are looking ( even if that may not be correct subsequently)
From a marketing perspective I think it is important for Naim to committ to, and communicate the planned software functionality upgrade path as soon as possible ( even if it a 1 year window) as at least people have an idea of what their system will be capable of in the future and can base their purchasing decision on that.
The concern people might have and it does seem to be voiced in some of the threads is that the HDX is a cul-de-sac in terms of upgrading, it is important to counter this with facts and information not just telling potential customers merely that it's upgradable without actually giving examples what that will mean.
I really like the HDX - I like the ease of ripping and I like the focus on quality sound, I just wish Naim would get their act together on the marketing and communication, and I don't just mean write ups in magazines, they have got many potential HDX buyers in this forum- maybe the fact that they are selling as many as they can build is giving Naim a false sense of security/success which in these days is risky.
You have to get the sales today, because tomorrow they might be somebody elses customer.
Barrie

quote:

Originally posted by gary1 (US):
Even if you look at the Linn Forum the majority of discussion for the DS series is about things not working properly such as twonky interfaces, ripping, NAS devices, system (in)compatibility and they have a dedicated product line of 4 pieces of kit. Currently on the Linn forum there are almost 600 threads and almost all concern the above complaints.

Just had a look at the Linn forum. Currently there are 1,314 threads of which 118 are in the "DS Troubleshooting" section. I don't see any DS problems being discussed in the sections for "Sondek LP12", "Music", "Events", "General HiFi", etc. In the general "Linn DS" section, here's the first page of active thread titles:

- Asset UPnP
- Twonky refinements
- How sweet it is!
- HDCD conversion from 16 to 24 bit
- iPod Touch UPnP Control SW for Klimax DS
- [OT] Deutsche Grammophon Offers FLAC Downloads
- New release of LEIADS
- ripfactory
- Sublime Browsing!
- [OT] Portable FLAC-Player
- Beosound5
- Mac
- Change a DS enclosure?
- Playlist Solutions?
- Compatibility Question
- klimax ds vs LP12
- Songbook loosing the mediaserver
- New entry-level budget disk drive announced
- Will I got great improvement when adding a Majik DS?
- Easy Listening

Allan

Allan

My point also, see my reply to Gary1 (US) in the "Is the XS a hint?" thread.

Allan there are 118 threads under DS troubleshooting, oops now 119. Some of the threads which you did not mention on your list under the "DS" thread are also problems encountered. The other Linn Forums are irrelevant to the discussion and do not deal with the DS at all.

If you noticed a few months back Linn did not have a forum dedicated to "problem solving" it is a recent addition to the forum and serves to break this out from the regular forum comments.

The fact that Linn needed to do this says alot.

Gary,

You were trying to give the impression that the majority of discussion that takes place on the Linn forum is about problems people are having with DS units, which simply isn't the case. Not even if you only count the two dedicated DS rooms.

I know for sure that I didn't miss out any thread titles from the general DS section as I copied and pasted the first page exactly as it appeared at the time.

To give an idea of what kind of problems are being discussed. Here's the list of topics from the first page of the DS Troubleshooting section (copied and pasted at 10:30pm UK):

- Connecting a Majik DS to a simple XP network
- Linn Config : "Update Check Failed"
- Optimal cover art resolution for Ipod touch
- Resetting Majik DS
- PC Help
- How to reset Sneaky DS without pulling the plug?
- Shoutcast/Twonky Internet Radio Fix
- KinskyPda 1.0.11.0 on HP iPAQ PE2030
- Linn Records download on MacBook Pro
- Klimax DS setup question
- Twonky and iTunes...............
- Mulit room with the DS
- media monkey. HELP please
- Sneaky LED won't turn off
- Firewalls!
- Kinsky on Ubuntu
- Majik DS Setup Problem
- Has anybody figured out how to run LinnConfig on Linux?
- Linn Gui Mouse Pointer disappears on DELL Inspiron 910
- Wireless Tiro

Allan

My reasons for posting starting this thread were simple - I got into listening to music in my teens, and since then have seen 2 shifts in technology - vinyl to CD, then CD to 'Distributed'. Irrespective of the storage media, it's always been the music that's important which is why I believe a single forum may be more 'inclusive' rather than treating DA like it's something different.

Music downloads are here to stay and have made music more accessible as it's far easier to dip a toe into the water at 79p a track that £8-10 for a CD. My concern is that like the move to CD, convenience is given priority over quality. In the loudness wars, highly compressed badly engineered material may be all we get in years to come which is my greatest fear.

The technology powering DA is getting better all the time. I like the open source development community approach offered by SqueezeCentre from Logitech as new ideas get incorporated quickly. I also like the Transporter, but it's a niche that most people on this forum seem reluctant to explore - open your ears and listen sometime, it's not half bad.

My wish list for DA is -

More 24bit/96kHz material, although this will be difficult for the major labels due to copyright concerns.

Downloadable high quality cover art, and other 'bonus' material so I can link this to the music database and browse while listening - I often end up Wiki'ing albums/artists while listening.

A true reference quality NAIM DAC. I'm happy with the Transporter, but facinated by what Naim could do if they really put their mind to it... I'm not sure the UI on the HDX is market leading so reluctant to go that way.

With all three, I'll be a very happy man.

Dave the UI on the HDX needs a few teaks, but overall is very easy to use whether planning from play lists etc... or doing things on the fly. I use mine via an internet tablet and it is immediately responsive with no delays as some are reporting who saw only some demos.

quote:

I'm not sure the UI on the HDX is market leading so reluctant to go that way

My favourite UI is again on the CDX2 - once I've put the CD in and closed the door. I press play and it automatically works out that the CD I've just put in is the one I want to play - it doesn't even require a screen - it's brilliant!.

Well, if we are to believe Munch's pisssssssed off thread my third wish may be coming true next year...