Oh No, Or Maybe Yes, But Why...?

The New Musical Fidelty New A5.5 Amps Have U.s.b. Inputs. ?????????? At Two Gran, Opinions Please,
Nando.

 

Seems like a good idea. Though I am still not convinced USB is better than a nice optical output.

Then again, if there are such things as wireless USB cables that would be cool. Does anyone know if such a thing exists? i.e. you plug a dongle in the computer and another in a device and it acts just like you plugged the device in with a wire, only its wireless.

If such a thing exists then you could have a small laptop (like the Eee PC) on your coffee table and have it stream music to your system without any messy cables and without the need for something like a Squeezebox.

 

HI TENSON, acording to mf this particular item has those facilities, is now on their website an mine(smile)
regards nando, see what you think,

 

I've seen USB bluetooth dongles, so you could bluetooth music to it.

*edit* sounds like a good idea to me regarding the USB.

Not that I'd buy anything by Musical Fidelity I've heard to date, but still approve of the functionality.

 

very interesting, i will try one out, and i will see,
nando.

 

Just been to France for the day, and bought a copy of "Stereo & Image". There's a review in there of the T+A "Music Player". It seems to be a very interesting device, and it was very well reviewed (costs 2 490€, so at the current collapsing exchange rate, over £2 000).
Basically it's a CD player that also has:
- built-in FM radio (DAB extra-cost option)
- Coax and Optical digital in (so it can act as a DAC)
- WiFi in (comes with its own external WiFi aerial and dedicated socket)
- USB in
- computer-type mulit pin socket for iPod in
- fixed and variable phono output, so if you just have digital sources, it can double as a pre-amp.
Quite a fascinating product.
T+A have had on / off distribution in the UK, and I don't know if it's available here, but if so, and if the mag's views about how it sounds are right, it could well be worth a look.
For German speakers, here's a link to German review:
http://www.pc-magazin.de/foto-video-hifi/a/T-A-Music-Player
and here's a link to T+A's own website with a page for the Music Player in English:
http://www.taelektroakustik.de/eng/index.htm

 

Sounds of Music stocked a few T+A products last time I was there. At least I think thats the brand I remember!

 

now my question is, who would buy as a dedicated music listener of two channel stereo and spend lot's of money would like to let their or other kids come and plug their i sos, "pods" and tell you that your most expensive tools of musical pleasure are there to listen to most of the crap they want to hear, the devision bell between the two sources "my view by the way" is to have a much cheaper source for the two, might as well get a cheap fatman for one room and keep serious liste of music on another, or not buy hi-fi at all(sic)
nando

 

IIRC your Fatman sounded pretty good. Certainly I'd buy the Fatman ahead of any MF amp.

I think it's a good question, which you seem to have answered yourself. As I see it it's another feature that they can sell. I think it'll become more and more common on future amps regardless of how much it we hate it.

 

Nando, you have to change the way you think about customers if you want anything other than toy-collecting-pensioners as custom.

My son can play music on my hifi if he wants to. If he is watching 'shrek' we put it through the hifi to make it sound better.

When he's older he might want to play any number of bands I dont like on it, or movies I can't stomach.

Bring it on, it's 2008.

I don't see why most new hifi amplifiers don't come with usb, mini usb, optical connections, bluetooth, wifi and anything else that might help people listen to music.

 

I AGREE, but look at hi-fi exivitions how many exivitors cater for the young people who eventually want to go that way ! when almost most of them have systems costing 50k plus, remember the early days when we had entry levels and had time for the youth as the future customers? now the industry does not cater or bother,i do see your point don't get me wrong, , if education now days to the young ones is the "in thing" where M.I rules where have the basics gone,? that is a sad situation, my so called kids( grown up now) still listen to cassettes amongst other sources mostly vinyl, thre is a market for low " so called hi-fi" and slow upgrade to whatever their routs they dicide to take, i personally think that the industry lost the plot, what young man or girl could afford the system you have for their pride to own as their own?
nando

 

well these days I dont spend money on hifi in the way that I did.

You could build a very similar system to mine for 4k, which is still a lot, but not crazy money.

 

What's behind USB?

With analogue eqiupment...always a USB/SPDIF converter is in the game. It has it's own finger print on the sound.

Wireless USB?

There is a USB/optical fiber/USB cable available too all. #00,- Euro. (how many meters do you want now?....indifferent.)
Long USB cables are infected by HFI and EMC intrudence. Fibers are not.

Gerner

 

compresion factor i asume,
nando

 

Data in an USB cable are due to surrounding "electromagnetical" noise and radio freq. that harasses the data.

Therefore *long* cables should be avoided unless they are convertet to light.

To my experience USB cables should be < as possible.

A WLAN connection is not only rather slow for streaming data (HW dependent) but are in the "open air" where so 'much' already excists.

Music should not be there.

Gerner

 

surely that is a compresion factor, even on high end cat 5,
nando