Would anyone buy this? Working on new design for our product line.
I’m not sure I would go with that, it feels a bit like something I might have pieced together quickly myself
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Suggestions?
The Chassis
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It depends on what’s inside 
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I’m a little curious, are you building this for personal use, or is it part of a product line you plan to sell?
In either case, I’d personally aim for a more symmetrical design and consider removing the OLED. I’d go for a full aluminum front panel and swap the black knobs for larger aluminum ones, it gives a cleaner, more cohesive look.
But if it’s just for private use, then what truly matters is that it reflects your taste. As long as you’re happy with it, that’s what counts most!
It’s for a product line. So yes, any feedback is very welcome. Great comments! Has high end linear PSU for DAC/Raspberry pi and a custom made R2R DAC board built in Malasia or Audiophonics ESS 9038 DAC. Nilai class D amp boards at 260w 8 Ohms, etc… High end digital volume control.
- Stick with the Audiophonics ESS9038 DAC - it will outperform R2R DACs although some who profess to have golden ears may tell you different! Indeed some may be tempted to buy just because it has an R2R . .
- Nilai amps are great. Choose either Nilai or Purifi. Purifi perhaps very marginally better but any differences would not be audible. But make sure you put in a power supply capable of supplying the amplifiers when loaded with 4 ohms, Very few speakers (even 8 ohm speakers!) don’t have an impedance dip down to 4 ohms or lower in the mid bass region where all the power is needed. Purifi amps may be better below 4 ohms.
I’m with you on the Audiophonics DAC. I’ve heard both and I would say the R2RT DAC I have is a close second. The R2R DAC is custom hand constructed in Malaysia. Thanks for the great feedback! Good reminder to check power/current rating of amp PSUs.
Hi
I will add a couple of comments purely based on a personal point of view.
To me there are two “kinds” of streamers out there. The ones that looks like Eversolo and in my opinion all have a screen that is far to difficult to read from a distance and basically ends up being me looking at my phone all the time. Hate it with a vengeance…
Remember most of your future clients will be in the age group where glasses are becoming a must have for reading.
The other ones are like Rose Audio - devices that basically have replaced the front plate with a touch monitor. This is much more to my liking and even though I may use a remote or my phone to control the unit I will always want to be able to see the screen on the device for 90% of the time.
If I need to pull my phone in order to see who is playing right now then that is device that will not stay for long.
Yes, the cost is higher for a bigger touch display but not that much. So I will say your display is too small for my liking.
Another completely different point is that 90+% of all streamers are based on some form of Rasberry device or something close to it. Why does no one give you the option to upgrade to a faster unit? Could be as an upgrade purchase or maybe just as a DIY thing.
The way things are going I would seriously doubt that any streamer purchased today would be that interesting 5-10 years from now. Yes, you could loose some business down the line but I expect more people would love some kind of “upgrade” programme.
Could also be done as two versions with one using the 9038 and the other the Pro version.
Finally, support for two M2 SSDs. One is nice but two would be so much nicer.
Best of luck with your project. Remember to let us know when it will be for sale…
Hi There, this is great feedback! We will seriously consider your valued comment before finishing the engineering on this product line. When you say upgrade to faster unit, what specifically would you have run faster? Also, we are considering support for SSDs now more seriously after you input. The display we are using is fairly large at almost 11 inches. Not sure how large Eversolo is but I will check on that. I can see this display a good distance away.
A couple notes:
- I’m assuming you are trying to match the aesthetics of older vintage stereo components
- If so, that screen size and case are perfect (I’m a sucker for walnut)
- If not, perhaps consider widescreen touch screen LCDs like the 7 or 11 inch waveshare models, loaded with peppymeter or whatever it’s called so users can use older VU meters for their now playing screen
- Users that are going to buy this may want some hi-fi optional additions. Consider offering various models such as
- A base model that
- Outputs via RCA only, using a basic HiFiBerry hat
- Has unpopulated SSD and 3.5” HDD bays
- Uses a stock power supply
- Upgrades such as
- Better DACs
- Balanced output, better chipsets, etc
- Linear Powersupply
- SSDs and Hard Drives
- IR sensor/Remote
- Headphone amp
- Tube buffer
- Etc
- Better DACs
- A base model that
Unrelated, I see the brand is “Midwest”…… as an Indiana native I’m curious where you are based.
Thank you so much for your great ideas! We love walnut too and will be using real walnut wood and no veneers. We have discussed base model concept and will be offering a streamer only and then two different models of streamer amp combos. All will be quite high end in terms of better DACS, Linear PSUs etc. Eventually we want to add headphone amp as well. SSDs are in the planning stage but won’t role out till later editions. Our products are not intended to be super high dollar but in the lower to middle price range. I am located in the Chicago burbs, and my partner is located in northern Indiana. I too am an Indiana native!
Hi
Thank you for taking the input seriously. So - when I am referring to a faster unit I was thinking using a standard interface for the “Rasberry Pi” type board. This would allow for the user to potentially “upgrade” to a future Rasberry Pi 6, 7 or what ever the number may be in the future.
Now, some may disagree but if I look at streamers announced in the last 10-15 years then I would state that 80-90% of them are suffering from not enough processing capacity.
Some examples - The slow update of album covers when scrolling. To be honest if you do anything more than press play most of the systems lag horribly. Having a system that is snappy and easy to use is almost more important to how it sounds. If may sound great but if the user experience is horrible then people will not use it. I have several devices gathering dust after I realized that I just could not live with the poor user interface and 10 second delay after pressing a button.
SSD support for me is almost a deal breaker if a unit that I intend to keep for the future don’t have it. Now, it could be solved by a fast USB or Thunderbolt interface that would allow me to attach an external storage unit. However most of the time that will end up looking horribly as it will be something dangling out the back of the unit. Not ideal.
The way I see it you are specifically taking aim at the market that have a collection of music they want to be able to play back in the best possible way. Yes, they may have streaming subscriptions as well, but if they only wanted to do that then most will end up using what ever is in their existing preamp/amp solution or a cheaper option.
If you try to compete as a DAC then there are already to many providers on a small market segment. So unless you provide something really new then I think that will be a tough sell.
So, streaming for real people not endless menu’s that are hard to read and a horrible user experience. Plus - if you allow switching the processor unit - then some kind of bullwork against ending up with another obsolete device…
Cheers
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To be honest on this part, since the majority will use a phone to control the device, add real VU-Meters. That will set you a bit aside of the market.
As Peppy is one of the plugins with the highest user contribution. (Which will also ask for additional CPU resources), it will stand out.
Sorry - I forgot. One more point of view.
Are you creating a Streamer of a preamp? Don’t see the need for volume regulation to be honest. Most people will connect it to some kind of integrated amp or a preamp and power amp combo.
Don’t think there are many that will use it to connect directly to a power amp - but I could be wrong. However, if I am not then loose the small OLED display. It tilts the layout of the front.
Besides you can also see that information on the large display. So, I would strongly recommend dumping that and create something closer to what Wheaten suggested.
Or in my opinion even better - dump the rotary dials. All you need is an on off button - and that can even be hidden under the front. Just only large display.
If you need to control volume - then 99% will use the remote or their phone anyway.
Cheers…
Real VU meters would be too expensive compared to (and I am guessing here) most people being more than happy to use a software based solution.
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