Should I wait for IBOC or not ?
 

Thinking about updating a high end home audio system.

Should I wait for IBOC to be brought out for consumers or will I be waiting a real long time
for this to happen ??


I like quality gear but don't want to waste big bucks on traditional receiver if it will be
obsolete in 6 months to a one year.

Steve

Steve Stone wrote:

Thinking about updating a high end home audio system.

Should I wait for IBOC to be brought out for consumers or will I be waiting a real long time
for this to happen ??

What do you mean? IBOC receivers are on the shelf right now. Kenwood
is probably the big vendor currently. Expect prices to drop, though.
Not that this is high end stuff by any stretch, but it's out there.

I like quality gear but don't want to waste big bucks on traditional receiver if it will be
obsolete in 6 months to a one year.

If you have a high end system, why do you even bother with a tuner anyway?
I will say that high end tuners like the McKay-Dymek are probably not ever
going to get digital back ends... and if anything, they are probably going
to have to be equipped with tighter and tighter IF filters to deal with the
noise issues.
--scott

--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

On 3 Mar 2004 16:06:09 GMT, Steve Stone
wrote:

Thinking about updating a high end home audio system.

Should I wait for IBOC to be brought out for consumers or will I be waiting a real long time
for this to happen ??

I've heard IBOC. The last thing you want to connect it to is a high
end audio system. It's sort of like buying a Rolls Royce and using it
to haul manure.

Rich

In article , Rich Wood wrote:
I've heard IBOC. The last thing you want to connect it to is a high

Owch....and that coming from a former WOR staffer.... :)

--
Sven Weil
New York City, U.S.A.

"Rich Wood" wrote in message
...
On 3 Mar 2004 16:06:09 GMT, Steve Stone
wrote:

Thinking about updating a high end home audio system.

Should I wait for IBOC to be brought out for consumers or will I be
waiting a real long time
for this to happen ??

I've heard IBOC. The last thing you want to connect it to is a high
end audio system. It's sort of like buying a Rolls Royce and using it
to haul manure.

I heard IBOC on the almost de facto Kenwood car radio today in Chicago on
all-music WIND. It sounded marvelous, with no noticeable artifacts and very
nice resolution, clarity and feel on music. It is not FM, which I would
expect as the FM preemphasis curve really colors the high-frequency content;
in some senses the IBOC AM is nicer than processed FM.

On 5 Mar 2004 15:44:46 GMT, "David Eduardo"
wrote:

I've heard IBOC. The last thing you want to connect it to is a high
end audio system. It's sort of like buying a Rolls Royce and using it
to haul manure.

I heard IBOC on the almost de facto Kenwood car radio today in Chicago on
all-music WIND. It sounded marvelous, with no noticeable artifacts and very
nice resolution, clarity and feel on music. It is not FM, which I would
expect as the FM preemphasis curve really colors the high-frequency content;
in some senses the IBOC AM is nicer than processed FM.

IBOC may sound fine on a car radio in a high ambient noise
environment, but the question was about high end audio.

When you have audiophiles refusing to play CDs because they don't
sound as good as vinyl you're not going to find them pleased with IBOC
on either AM or FM.

I know audiophiles who have no audio source other than a turntable on
systems costing $20,000 or more.

The Emperor is a nudist.

Rich

On 5 Mar 2004 18:05:03 GMT, Rich Wood wrote:


I know audiophiles who have no audio source other than a turntable on
systems costing $20,000 or more.

The Emperor is a nudist.

Rich


Want to send them to a Psych ward? Have an audiologist do a spectrum
analysis on their hearing.....(c;

Too funny......



Larry W4CSC
POWER is our friend!

Is this to say, Rich, that IBOC sounds worse than what Sirius has? (Yeah, I
installed one in the car a while ago, although I haven't had a lot of time
to listen because not soon after I've had a series of long-term mechanics
needs.) I've noticed that Sirius uses different codecs rates for their
streams...the voice-based streams are particularly low-fi, with artifacts
that I can hear pretty easily. The music-based streams obviously use a
higher-quality codecs, although even then I can still hear artifacts similar
to what Windows Media Player will exhibit on even high-rate streams.

Yes, I'm a "golden-eared *******", as I can still hear the difference
between vinyl and CD recordings. For the same reasons, I won't use an iPod
or similar MP3 device because I can't stand the fidelity loss (and needless
to say, that means that downloading music is not an option...free or
otherwise, it's not worth the price)...but seeing as you've said you have a
Sirius receiver yourself, where would you put IBOC (AM and FM versions) with
the Sirius streams? In any event, I suspect that I'd be similarly
underwhelmed with either IBOC service (I'm just barely satisfied with the
Canadian DRB solution, although in fairness, it does sound better than the
associated analog services, at least). -- For direct replies, take out the
contents between the hyphens. -Really!-



"Rich Wood" wrote in message
...
On 3 Mar 2004 16:06:09 GMT, Steve Stone
wrote:

Thinking about updating a high end home audio system.

Should I wait for IBOC to be brought out for consumers or will I be waiting
a real long time
for this to happen ??

I've heard IBOC. The last thing you want to connect it to is a high
end audio system. It's sort of like buying a Rolls Royce and using it
to haul manure.

Rich

On 6 Mar 2004 17:45:54 GMT, "Bob Haberkost"
wrote:

Yes, I'm a "golden-eared *******", as I can still hear the difference
between vinyl and CD recordings. For the same reasons, I won't use an iPod
or similar MP3 device because I can't stand the fidelity loss (and needless
to say, that means that downloading music is not an option...free or
otherwise, it's not worth the price)...but seeing as you've said you have a
Sirius receiver yourself, where would you put IBOC (AM and FM versions) with
the Sirius streams? In any event, I suspect that I'd be similarly
underwhelmed with either IBOC service (I'm just barely satisfied with the
Canadian DRB solution, although in fairness, it does sound better than the
associated analog services, at least).

I can hear the difference between CDs and vinyl. In a perfect world
I'd chose vinyl. However, the surface noice and scratches drive me
nuts. Maybe it's because I spent time depopping music tapes for
syndication and It brings back nightmares.

The IBOC I've heard annoys me. I can listen for a short time, then
have to turn it off. It's fatiguing. MP3. Forget it. If I listen to it
it's usually with headsets and I hear artifacts that take the pleasure
out of the music for me, even at high sample rates.

I have both Sirius and XM. I agree that the quality depends on the
streams. Classical and Jazz seem to be the highest quality. For analog
I listen to WFCR, Amherst, MA. It's NPR, Classical and Jazz. Very
lightly processed.

My preference is CD, then Satellite, Analog FM when done right, good
analog AM, MP3 (high rates), FM IBOC and AM IBOC. In fairness, IBOC is
still a work in progress and may sound acceptable a few years from
now. Then there's the interference issue that might wipe out
broadcasting entirely.

We're not spending much time caring about quality. Digital audio
systems should have improved things. It makes broadcasting easier but
with the compression used in almost all systems to save disk space we
won't be hearing improvements that will satisfy audiophiles. When it's
well recorded DVD-Audio pleases me the most.

Rich

On 6 Mar 2004 01:52:51 GMT, (Larry W4CSC) wrote:

Want to send them to a Psych ward? Have an audiologist do a spectrum
analysis on their hearing.....(c;

It had better be a quiet psych ward. An analysis would be futile when
you're dealing with people who believe they need power cables that are
$400 a foot because they make the system sound better.

If you want real proof, look at the back advertising section of
Stereophile magazine and see what's being sold, how much it costs and
what it claims to do. I have an audiophile friend who falls for all of
it. 20 watt mono tube power amps at $20,000 each. I'll bet his system
cost him $100,000 or more and it only has an incredibly expensive
turntable as a source. There isn't a CD within eyeshot.

IBOC will be perfect for those who are content with 64kbps MP3s and
have no live music frame of reference. Look at what the manufacturers
did to AM sections of their radios. I don't think that's where good
quality is going to come from.

The best test is with a very high quality pair of headsets where
you'll hear every artifact up close. I can't even listen to C-Quam
because of the gyrating stereo image. It causes motion sickness
standing still.

Rich