My question is really broader than the title but the Trinity seems to be a good example; What does a SOTA DAC need to have today to make the investment worth it and lasting? The Digital landscape is changing rapidly and for someone looking to invest $30K+ (in some cases much more)....I am interested in everyone's feedback as to what are the "must-have" specs. Do you have to have DSD capability? That would rule out all DACs with BB 1704 chips which is one of my favorites. Do you need Ethernet connection? The industry seems to be moving towards this as the connection of choice for best performance. The Trinity and some other high performance DACs have neither. Will things like Roon and Tidal change the way we interact with digital content. Can you really have a DAC that optimizes for both PCM (multi-bit) and DSD (single-bit). Or do we really need to have individual units specialized for a particular format.
What do some of you think the landscape will look like in 2-3 years. Will manufactures continue to invest in proprietary GUI platforms or will Roon or others become the norm. Will we stream from providers like Tidal more than invest in adding to our library. Do products like the Merging_Nadac make progress with their ethernet interface and control platform and set a new bar of performance. Are the companies that don't rely on off-the-shelf chips better positioned?
This thread is not about the SQ of the Trinity or any other DAC (although SQ is my most critical consideration set)....that is covered in other threads...just curious as to the consideration set people are using when purchasing a SOTA DAC today without filling burned 2-3 years down the road. I am a little worried that for the next few years we are all going to be "beta" users as the landscape changes. Thoughts?
What do some of you think the landscape will look like in 2-3 years. Will manufactures continue to invest in proprietary GUI platforms or will Roon or others become the norm. Will we stream from providers like Tidal more than invest in adding to our library. Do products like the Merging_Nadac make progress with their ethernet interface and control platform and set a new bar of performance. Are the companies that don't rely on off-the-shelf chips better positioned?
This thread is not about the SQ of the Trinity or any other DAC (although SQ is my most critical consideration set)....that is covered in other threads...just curious as to the consideration set people are using when purchasing a SOTA DAC today without filling burned 2-3 years down the road. I am a little worried that for the next few years we are all going to be "beta" users as the landscape changes. Thoughts?