Dynaudio News

[Josquin des Prez]

Originally Posted by MyPal

Active + Wireless + Bandwidth. The concept will eventually evolve & be proven technically in say 5 to 10 years. Moore's Law. Similarly, conventional methodologies will also move ahead but will gradually lose favor. It pains me to say longer term, lifestyle convergence will win outright as a result of mass consumerism.

Moore's Law applies to processors. It doesn't apply to networking, which has not kept the same pace in performance gains. Nevertheless, I agree that in 5-10 years wireless networking will be much better.

[Josquin des Prez]

Originally Posted by tvih

"Due in March, the Xeo 3 is set to cost 1300 euros/pair, Xeo 5 2700 euros and Xeo Transmitter 250 euros."

That's roughly $2K for the Xeo 3 system and $4K for the Xeo 5 system.

That seems pretty high priced for a consumer device, not an audiophile device. So for 2 or 4 grand I get wireless streaming that is limited to CD quality? Hmmm...nope.

[tvih]

Well, I never found CD quality restrictive in any shape or form. Besides, unfortunately a lot of music is produced to sound like utter crap anyway, so the medium and its quality is the least of the problems. Furthermore, I reckon most people never listen to sources that are higher than CD quality (that is, higher than 16/44), even if their speaker + amp combo costs $2k or more. For me, normally the only time I listen beyond CD quality is when I watch blu-ray movies. My USB-DAC (I listen basically exclusively from my computer) doesn't even do higher than 16/48. Yet it has most certainly never been the limiting factor.

As such I certainly don't see a limiting factor with beyond "stuck" with CD quality. Which is not to say they couldn't have added support for even higher quality, but then again they could've integrated a Squeezebox Touch kind of thing to the Transmitter too, for example. In other words, one can always want more

[Josquin des Prez]

I don't know. I think we're going to see greater availability of high resolution downloadable audio overt the next few years. For devices costing thousands of $$, support for that will need to be a more serious consideration. HD Tracks, for example, is growing their 24/96 and 24/192 catalogs all the time.

Are people going to walk into Best Buy, et al. to buy the Xeo systems (I don't think that's the case)? If so, then sure...CD quality is a big upgrade. Or are the Xeos going to be sold through the current retail chain? In that case, that's a clientele and support network that thinks in terms of CD/SACD quality and higher.

Who is that "wider audience" beyond the audiophiles, willing to spend $2K or 4K? It seems somewhat limited. A lot of people think buying Bose in the mall or at Best Buy is the high end.

[MyPal]

Originally Posted by RaceTripper

Moore's Law applies to processors. It doesn't apply to networking, which has not kept the same pace in performance gains. Nevertheless, I agree that in 5-10 years wireless networking will be much better.

It is true that networking performance gains have taken longer but this front is on the move. The Rate of Technological Innovation & Laws of Accelerating Returns no matter how described whether through Moore's Law or Kurzweil are subjective at best but the trend is still an upward curve.

Much has happened over the last 10 years. The biggest advancement has in fact been web2 over wireless. Think back to what we were all holding 10 years ago. (I still have my 1998 Nokia 8110i "The Matrix" slider phone). As its resolution is being progressively dialed up with bandwidth improvements, the benefits are flowing into & from all manner of converging devices as they get smarter & faster.

[Josquin des Prez]

Originally Posted by MyPal

It is true that networking performance gains have taken longer but this front is on the move. The Rate of Technological Innovation & Laws of Accelerating Returns no matter how described whether through Moore's Law or Kurzweil are subjective at best but the trend is still an upward curve.

Much has happened over the last 10 years. The biggest advancement has in fact been web2 over wireless. Think back to what we were all holding 10 years ago. (I still have my 1998 Nokia 8110i "The Matrix" slider phone). As its resolution is being progressively dialed up with bandwidth improvements, the benefits are flowing into & from all manner of converging devices as they get smarter & faster.

The fast movement for advances in wireless performance is in the mobile space. That's where the money is. Home networking is still on a much slower pace. Look how long it has taken to go from 802.11b to g to n, and that's where we are stuck now. We've had wireless N for years, and we'll probably have it for years to come, since it's imbedded in so many home consumer entertainment devices. Hell, it took like 7 years to complete and ratify the 802.11N standard.

[MyPal]

Originally Posted by RaceTripper

The fast movement for advances in wireless performance is in the mobile space. That's where the money is. Home networking is still on a much slower pace. Look how long it has taken to go from 802.11b to g to n, and that's where we are stuck now. We've had wireless N for years, and we'll probably have it for years to come, since it's imbedded in so many home consumer entertainment devices. Hell, it took like 7 years to complete and ratify the 802.11N standard.

Hopefully we will begin to see up to 7GB wireless aggregates within 3-4 years in both short & long frequencies. From then everything will change.

[Puma Cat]

Originally Posted by RaceTripper

What are the prices?

If they are high, then it's not really a non-audiophile product and the lack of 24/96/192 support if disappointing, and once again I will say, "meh!" And why not support 24/96 wirelessly? My Naim UnitQute does. In fact it's getting an upgrade to support 24/192 wirelessly.

I'm not saying the Xeo isn't a great product. I'm just not excited about for myself. If have no application for it.

Wonder how it will sound with my phono?

Dynaudio already has fine products that meet yours and my needs, Dean. This product is intended for a larger customer segment whose needs are not met by the current product lineup. It is an innovation for that segment that want high-end sound but do not consider themselves audiophiles. For them, true CD quality likely more than meets their needs.

[Josquin des Prez]

Originally Posted by Puma Cat

Dynaudio already has fine products that meet yours and my needs, Dean. This product is intended for a larger customer segment whose needs are not met by the current product lineup. It is an innovation for that segment that want high-end sound but do not consider themselves audiophiles. For them, true CD quality likely more than meets their needs.

I understand that, but how much of an audience is at that price point, that isn't the audio enthusiast crowd. What is there between the Best Buy customer slobbering over Bose and the AA/SH/AVS crowd? Isn't that Dynaudio's market segment for this product?

[Puma Cat]

Originally Posted by klipschfan

Have to disagree with you. Enjoythemusic did not miss the point. Believe that you are missing the point.

Now if Dynaudio said True High End (except for audiophiles).....

Respectfully, no, I am not missing the point. There are folks that want true high-end sound quality that DO NOT consider themselves audiophiles. The two can be mutually exclusive. This is no different the vast majority of folks that want high- definition TV, but are not "videophiles" like the technogeeks at AVS forums. I put myself in that everday folks category when it comes to HDTV.

Moreover, it's no different than the folks who buy Porsches or Ferraris that don't know how to double-clutch or anything about heel and toe braking, or do track days as often as possible; they're everyday folks who want the pleasure of driving a fine car.

Dynaudio already does very well in the "audiophile" market, the XEO product is intended for a wider audience than very, very small audiophile market, just as the CEO of Dynaudio said it was.