brodricj
Well-known member
I have been searching far and wide for an audiophile grade network music player and I've drawn a blank. By that I mean a music player with an impeccable sonic pedigree that can access content from a server, put it through a DAC, put it through a pre-amp, and output it via balanced XLR to the amplifier/speakers.
I have just auditioned at home a very good network capable DAC/pre-amp, however the server/media management side of the equation was woeful (that is, woeful in comparison to Kaleidescape). It's left me wondering if there is a market for a new KMUSIC player that is designed for high-end 2 channel music?
What I'm thinking is take the guts out of an M-Class player, bolt on a DAC solution to its PCM decoder (from somebody like PS Audio or Wyred4Sound), bolt on a pre-amp (from somebody like Halcro), and put it all in a 1U chassis. Control via Kaleidescape iPad App which can also handle the volume control natively. It would also need a HT bypass mode so you can readily switch between multi-channel and 2ch.
Also offer us a download service for 96/24 and 192/24 content, "pay-per-download" direct to the server.
Might there be a demand out there for such a beast? I hope the boffins in Kaleidescape HQ can test the market here, and if there is a demand for it build us a game-changer in the 2ch high-end network music market.
I have just auditioned at home a very good network capable DAC/pre-amp, however the server/media management side of the equation was woeful (that is, woeful in comparison to Kaleidescape). It's left me wondering if there is a market for a new KMUSIC player that is designed for high-end 2 channel music?
What I'm thinking is take the guts out of an M-Class player, bolt on a DAC solution to its PCM decoder (from somebody like PS Audio or Wyred4Sound), bolt on a pre-amp (from somebody like Halcro), and put it all in a 1U chassis. Control via Kaleidescape iPad App which can also handle the volume control natively. It would also need a HT bypass mode so you can readily switch between multi-channel and 2ch.
Also offer us a download service for 96/24 and 192/24 content, "pay-per-download" direct to the server.
Might there be a demand out there for such a beast? I hope the boffins in Kaleidescape HQ can test the market here, and if there is a demand for it build us a game-changer in the 2ch high-end network music market.