My worry with a big investment music server solution, is the unit totally future proof? Can the hardware and software be updated / replaced. Are there regular updates to keep pace with the fast changing digital environment? Or will the company be here in 3 years time?
Chips get changed, architecture altered. You could end up with a slow box that may not be compliant with future platforms and music streaming services, whatever they may be in 3 years time.
There are many options sub 5K, some pre-built, others a kit to install yours and based on Linux or Windows. I have worked in graphics for 30 years, and have seen so many computer based solutions get thrown out and replaced as things progress. And obsolescence is much more rapid in recent years. I would NOT be confident a price tag North of 5K is a good way to go TBH.
Sorry, I don't want to sound negative, and I do appreciate how good these severs may sound, I am simply saying the price bracket is beyond my comfort zone for computer tech.
Hi Astrostar,
Great questions !
Is the unit future proof ? For the next couple of years we think so.
Hardware - CPU has more than enough power than any other server being offered, and is sufficient to handle PCM to DSD 512 upsampling and conversion. The SGM is unlikely to run out of CPU horsepower. It is a industry standard size motherboard inside, so easily swappable should the need ever arise. Power consumption of CPU's per gigaflop is going down all the time, so the power supply capacity is unlikely to be insufficient in the future
Operating system - the Windows 10 modules have a support life till at least 2025 as they are being used in industrial equipment. (Microsoft is still supporting Windows XP for embedded applications
If there is a better sounding OS, there is nothing to stop us installing this new OS
Software - there are significant updates and improvements every couple of months. The SGM is not married to any particular software, as and when a better software appears, we will test it and makes our recommendations to SGM users.
Will the company be around in 3 years ? Well SGM customers are relying on 4 guys we have been audiophiles since their teens. Our ages are mid sixty, mid fifty, mid forty, and late twenty. Supporting a Windows based machine is not that difficult, and we actually enjoy providing support to fellow audiophiles !
There is only so much that can be achieved with a 5K price tag. There is stuff we implement that takes the cost over the 5K and 10 k number, but we can hear the difference, so that's why we put it in. Example, if you overclock a stock i7 6700 K, in a standard hardware environment, it sounds noticeably worse. We over clock the SGM and it sounds better.
The 5 ppb OCXO in place of the 50 ppm standard clock reduces the CPU power consumption by 6 pct. The OCXO + PCB + power supply costs more than the rest of the PC ! Do we as audiophiles enjoy the sound delta the OCXO brings ? Absolutely, and it costs less than our speaker cables !