[theeclone]

I like open standards. So much of the dominance of the (supposedly) genius captains of industry was actually built on open standards. Remember the old Mac OS? The one with terrible memory management that would crash all the time? Replaced with a mostly posix compliant open source OS with a pretty GUI slapped on top (OSX/macOS). This was back when apple catered more to middle class creative nerds, BTW.

Later on, Apple once “innovated” my phone into near unusability with one of their iOS updates. Switched to android (also based on open source software) and mostly haven’t looked back. Worse UI but more control and I create less e-waste by buying fewer phones.

So often we’re expected to drink the kool aid that standards compliance will hinder innovation, but just about as often, that innovation ruins more than it fixes; at least from the standpoint of those of us who care about quality more than bells & whistles.

Believe me, I was the biggest Apple fanboy. I shilled for them so much on the internet 1.0 back in the day. I’m typing this on an iPad which I think is a great value proposition. I like MacBooks a lot. But I no longer kid myself that Apple dragging their feet on adopting more open standards is all about innovation.

I’m glad records are based on simple standards that anybody can adhere to. I still get more enjoyment out of them than streaming. When I do stream it’s often with Qobuz via Airplay to a raspberry pi. I’m glad there’s an open source implementation of Airplay (not Apple’s doing) that lets me use Airplay 1 instead of the “innovation” of Airplay 2, so I can actually stream in full CD-quality (mostly. There is still interpolation happening).

…IMO

 

[artur9]

I like open standards. ...

…IMO

Not all standards are open standards. Poster child there is HDMI.

POSIX and the Internet with all its RFCs are probably the most successful open standards.

And, of course, we all love our Red Book standard (did not know about the Rainbow Book standards till just now).

 

[theeclone]

POSIX and the Internet with all its RFCs are probably the most successful open standards.

Exactly. And we hold these ginormous companies up as innovators when so much of what they’re doing well relies on those standards.

MS is no saint here either. Their innovation of app services for containers is an extremely buggy imitation of what the open source kubernetes does more reliably. As soon as the company I work for switched from app services to AKS (kubernetes-based, so less of MS’s DNA in it), everything became much more stable and resilient.

 

[adias]

 

[artur9]

For those contemplating Roon and how it might fit into your stereo experience, I thought Hans Beekhuyzen review of the Roon Nucleus One might be helpful. In particular, the diagrams showing how things get wired up.

 

[Rebel Chris]

Audiophiles: the shortest signal path is the best, we don't want the signal to be degraded.

Meanwhile: Roon server > Roon endpoint> DAC > headphone amp

This hobby amazes me everyday

 

[basstrombone]

Oh for sure, they aren't prog. That was more a point to the catalogue and rock in general.

Ooo thanks! I'll check your list, I have several there already but some are things I probably heard growing up but forgot about. The great thing about having an Yggy is finding old stuff and enjoying it once again. Sad to say, but the last cd player/dac I enjoyed was my Carver 18bit 8x unit. Early prog and art rock always seem to get lumped together which provides some nice variety. Rush and Pink Floyd are unicorns for me. Procol Harum is prog-ish. Fun fact, my mom sang in the choir for their live with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra album. I was 2 so I probably missed the show! How times have changed....

Edit: I also buy what I like on Qobuz or others because artists should be compensated, and remasters of music I purchased in the 80s+ frequently make trade offs or reinterpretations that don't add value to my experience.

And I played bass trombone on that Procul Harum recording. The recording engineer was Wally Heider; I remember driving him to the airport after we finished. Very good memories...

 

[Timster]

I like Heart too, and I'm happy you've discovered them. But they are not exactly prog... if you want prog, listen to Strawbs, Soft Machine, Camel, Budgie, Gentle Giant, King Crimson. Gong... even Genesis, Yes, ELP, some Kansas..... and newer stuff like Porcupine Tree or Marillion or Dream Theater. Some people insist that Rush, Pink Floyd and Tool are prog, but they don't fall into that category for me. To each his own!

A couple more for the list ....
Transatlantic ---- Ninja'd by @Jheal
Flying Colors
Jonas Lindberg and the Other Side
This Winter Machine

 

[Mike Foley]

A couple more for the list ....
Transatlantic ---- Ninja'd by @Jheal
Flying Colors
Jonas Lindberg and the Other Side
This Winter Machine

There’s a label here in the UK, Plane Groovy, which sells a fine selection of Prog. They did have a subscriber club which introduced me to some fine music, but unfortunately that’s closed now. Much of the music released there is still available under the new owners, Burning Shed. It’s worth a look.

https://burningshed.com/store/planegroovy/

 

[Ohno Schiitizen]

Interesting article.

https://archimago.blogspot.com/2024/05/musings-on-hardware-audiophilia-and.html#more

 

[Ohno Schiitizen]

 

[golfbravobravo]

Exactly. And we hold these ginormous companies up as innovators when so much of what they’re doing well relies on those standards.

MS is no saint here either. Their innovation of app services for containers is an extremely buggy imitation of what the open standard of kubernetes does more reliably. As soon as the company I work for switched from app services to AKS (kubernetes-based, so less of MS’s DNA in it), everything became much more stable and resilient.

Without those ginormous companies, there would be no standards. That's not to say that they came to that conclusion willingly. But they did provide the resources to make most of it happen.
You can thank the original BISON conglomeration of small European computer companies for forcing that to happen in the eighties. But again, they did that out of self-interest, not magnanimity. And look where that got them, not one of them survives today.

Cheers

 

[TheoFire]

Saturday evening

OK, going to head downstairs and face the music. One more thing before I go:

A bit of Art Noxon's background on the development of Tube Traps...
ASC Blog: "How Tube Traps..."
I like Art's thought process. His writing isn't perfect, but then... he's an engineer. <G>



https://open.qobuz.com/track/27845928



And this... this is nuts. Sounds sooooo good with Yggy OG A2 back in the big rig!

Not a bad option to face the music as long as we are talking about music not law.

 

[Paladin79]

Tuesday Wednesday your Primaluna goes into the classifieds?

Never That is one of my main speaker amps.

 

[Paladin79]

Unlikely, but I'm guessing he'll lose the Vali 2

I may keep it around just in case I build another mini rack. It is good to get the spacing right. I use proper sized racks for the large pieces and built a mid sized rack for a Bifrost and Lyr at one point so I have completed the trilogy.