I know Stereophile are generally Ayre heads and up Charlie Hansen's ass, but the fact that the 1021 could just barely eke out a win (and possibility an imagined win) over a 1/4 as expensive Ayre (at least according to them) is not exactly a major accomplishment. It's also as much a computer as it is a conventional transport - audio is played back via internal memory as opposed to being directly read, and it runs an embedded Linux OS.

I have to wonder, if you're going to bother with pre-reading the disc every time and then playing back from memory, why wouldn't you just stick an SSD in there and put the FLAC files on that, rather than having to very inconveniently burn DVD-Rs every time, which incidentally it couldn't even read properly because the file names were too long? Not to mention the fact that the quality of the read in that case depends on the quality of the burn, so your $24K Boulder transport may be playing files from a DVD-R made on a POS $20 PC DVD burner.

1-Who says you have to play only DVD-Rs?

2-As much a computer? Really?? Doesn't look or sound like my PC using memory playback. How about some context and perspective without oversimplification. Commercial SSD transports also have only started getting exposure the last few years. This thing came out in 2008. At least it wasn't built to play Blu-Rays movies.

3-Have you heard it? I have with my own CDs. Of course this is before I had my own transport which I'm not sure how the two would compare directly since then. It was clearly better than any USB I had heard at the time. I'm still not sold on any magical USB superiority till I hear an example that is competitive including the OR5 super pimped edition. If anyone has a JCAT laying around, I'd be willing to give it a comprehensive review.

4-Don't like it without listening to it, get something else. Point is, there are many more options than just a vintage Theta or MSB. The whole question was whether spinning a disc is better or worse than streaming USB. SSDs weren't part of the original question.

The Boulder is using what appears at least at a glance to be a PC type DVD-Rom drive. I don't know what they may have done to it, but that's what it looks like. One of the circuit cards is an embedded computer, and the DAC section actually reads from internal memory, not from the drive in real time. So it's a Linux powered memory transport... kind of like a computer. It even has an Ethernet connection for fetching metadata.

If you want to play anything on it other than commercially pressed CDs, my understanding is that you must burn a DVD-R containing those files. I don't think it has any way to otherwise stream audio or play via some kind of local storage. Please correct me if I'm wrong on that.

I have not heard it. I am familiar with Boulder amps though, so I'm sure it's very good. The folks there in CO know what they are doing. That said, all I have to go on is the Stereophile review that you posted, claiming it roughly equaled a $6K Ayre. Then again, pretty much the entire Ayre product catalog has a perpetual spot on the Stereophile "Class A" list, so perhaps that should be taken with a grain of salt. Charlie Hansen could fart in their general direction, and they'd rate it Class A+.

I have heard the Naim NDS/555 PS, which is exceptionally good, and has the advantage over the 1021 in that it can access thousands and thousands of albums in seconds. It's possible that it doesn't sound as good as the Boulder playing a CD. I don't know. If it were my $25K though, given the additional convenience of the Naim or some otherwise similarly capable network streamer, I'd likely lean in that direction over the Boulder. I just don't care enough about digital anymore though to spend anything like that amount of money though, I'm happy with what I've got. I'd much rather spend the big bucks upgrading my Ace Space 294 to something like a Dais/Ace Anna/Benz LP-S Class combo.

bypass usb and computer all together with this:
http://www.rendu.sonore.us/rendu.html


Also another USB 2.0 Isolator shipping in Sept:
http://intona.eu/en/products

The topic of my (the thread starter) original question has come up:

Actually, I didn't intend this to be a discussion about usb vs cd transports, different pc connections or disc media solutions; they're different topics, afaiac.
Although saying that, out of personal curiosity, I am interested to read opinions about exceptional usb and cd transport solutions. But, please remember that this is all OT; the clue is in my use of the word 'alternative'.

On another note, whilst comparisons between high end expensive usb, streamers, mass storage and any kind of transport solution is all relevant; we want to get an understanding of how different technologies ultimately compare. But I think that the asking price of each solution should also be taken into account more; this helps people to make value-for-money judgements.

Of course, the best value-for-money would be just to plug some IEMs (that probably came free with our cell phone) into our pc. But in reality, unless we really do have more money than we know what to do with, I think that most of us just want to understand the best compromise, for us. We want to know what level of performance we can expect to get for our available funds. And also, how much we'd need to spend to make a worthwhile improvement. So, cost also has some relevance.

And also, how much we'd need to spend to make a worthwhile improvement. So, cost also has some relevance.

hello,

very much agreed.

(sorry i went OT earlier, i was miffed at the CD must die posts.)

thus far we have learned:

that any contemporaneous transport that even comes close to being adequate will be US$$,$$$.00.

that USB sucks unless you spring for a US$300 to US$500 add in card (wonder if the card's driver's will play well with your DAC's drivers.)

that PC S/PDIF also sucks.

its a wonder we get to listen to music at all.