What is it ?

[pre65]

Hi all.

I just saw this on Ebay and am not sure what it is.

Is it a "digital" phono stage ?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Improved-FPGA ... Swj0NUjIQt

[Mike H]

They mention a CD drive so apparently not. No indication which CD drive.

[pre65]

A media player ?

[Ali Tait]

Just a dac I think.

[pre65]

Just a dac I think.

No, it says it needs to co-operate with a DAC.

See note 1 in red.

[Ali Tait]

So it does. Yes reckon you're right, a streamer of some kind.

[pre65]

Seems like it might be to read digital audio off of SD digital cards.

Could music on such cards eventually replace CDs ?

[Nick]

Could music on such cards eventually replace CDs

No. You may have missed it, but CD's have already been replaced.

[pre65]

Could music on such cards eventually replace CDs

No. You may have missed it, but CD's have already been replaced.

Replaced, or an alternative to ?

I take it you mean file based music ?

PS why the audio CD is dying, and what will replace it ?

http://www.pfeifferreport.com/trends/Pf ... ic_Rep.pdf

[Nick]

No I mean streaming.

[pre65]

It can't have replaced CD, surely just an alternative ?

[Nick]

It can't have replaced CD, surely just an alternative ?

Who knows, I was just continuing your use of the word in the first place.

[Mike H]

It can't have replaced CD, surely just an alternative ?

Well put it this way I bought a couple of CD's last year, first time in yonks, and none since. Most of my purchases are off iTunes or elsewhere off of Internet then I used to burn my own audio CD's from them, but have not even bothered to do that for a couple of years. Latterly just play straight off the 'puter or iPhone. Which also works like an iPad.

[Paul Barker]

I think cd is on the way out. I do keep a couple in my old Merc but it will take my iphone as an auxilliary input via a microjack. Its that generation of good alpine stereo that blue tooths the phone for the best hands free I have ever experienced, but doesn't bluetooth music.

So apart from that I need no cd's. Don't actually have another means of playing them.

But I do buy second hand cd's to load onto my itunes library and pay for itunes match. It's the cheapest way to own music. The limited amount of music that I need means I wouldn't benefit from the itunes streamer subscription.

What I do to listen to something I don't have is use youtube. Most of the time good enough quality. A minor anoyancoe to have to keep geting up to adjust volume since youtube sound levels are on a broad amplitude spectrum, and we have people living under us who I don't want to fall out with.

Anth is making me a balanced preamp like he made his dad, which is great, because then I will be able to use his dad's old amp. But it will slow down my plans for remote volume.

I'm thinking rubber drive belts pully's and electric motors with electronics from cheap remote control cars. You know the ones that cost £10. Heath Robinson style, mounted on top of preamp. Maybe a little Steam Punk in style,, say with a clock face in the mix.