21-Sep-2016, 21:03
I know a few people on here use Antipodes music servers - I bought my DX in March 2015 having become frustrated by Devialet's inability to solve the AIR issue.
The DX became one of Stereophile's products of the year in 2015 and was attractive to me because, rather like the Devialet, everything is in one box: music data, power supply, ripper, ... - just power in, ethernet in and USB out.
Four months ago, in May, Antipodes announced Antipodes DX 2 where they say:
"Roon Labs has released Roon v1.2 which provides us with a full release of Roon on Linux for the first time. We can report that this new release is undoubtedly better sounding and is now by far the best audio quality option with Antipodes servers. We have fully integrated both Roon Server and RoonReady in Antipodes 2, and Roon can be used in three key ways: use Roon direct to a DAC, via USB, S/PDIF, AES3 or TOSLINK; use Roon Server conventionally to serve music to RoonReady and Bridge devices on your network; and use just RoonReady to turn an Antipodes server into the ultimate endpoint.
Roon on an Antipodes server has turned out to not just be the addition of the world's best player GUI interface, but also a clear enhancement to sound quality. In our view, the price of Roon is well worth it on sound quality alone (when you use both Roon Server and RoonReady within the Antipodes, direct to a DAC)."
Tthey have also announced, in July, Antipodes DX Gen 2, which "changes all internal parts (of the original DX) for improved sound, cooler running and increased resources for running intensive processes like Roon database searches."
Regrettably, Antipodes does not have a UK distributor or dealership network in the UK - I bought mine direct from Antipodes in New Zealand on a sale or return basis - but the value is excellent - the DX is the top model and retails at £4,800 for 2TB - which I guess makes it very competitive against Aurender and Melco.
Anyway, given Devialet's pace of progress with their new streaming board, which is a year away I guess, I emailed Antipodes at 10pm last night with questions on changes, facilities, upgrade options and costs (not wanting to commit to any Gen 2 upgrade at present); got a full reply by 10.30pm; sorted a carrier by 11.30pm (they now have a UK service agent - Vortexbox); the service agent called me this morning to discuss any issues I had; the unit was collected at 11.30am and will be back with me on Tuesday or Wednesday.
Upgrade cost: £90, plus £90 licence fees and £90 to migrate my music library if I don't wish to do that myself, which I don't.
So, provided all goes well and results live up to expectations, this is an excellent proposition at a great price.
Mark Jenkins, who owns Roon in New Zealand, and Martin Smith, who represents them through Vortexbox in the UK, could not be more helpful.
The DX became one of Stereophile's products of the year in 2015 and was attractive to me because, rather like the Devialet, everything is in one box: music data, power supply, ripper, ... - just power in, ethernet in and USB out.
Four months ago, in May, Antipodes announced Antipodes DX 2 where they say:
"Roon Labs has released Roon v1.2 which provides us with a full release of Roon on Linux for the first time. We can report that this new release is undoubtedly better sounding and is now by far the best audio quality option with Antipodes servers. We have fully integrated both Roon Server and RoonReady in Antipodes 2, and Roon can be used in three key ways: use Roon direct to a DAC, via USB, S/PDIF, AES3 or TOSLINK; use Roon Server conventionally to serve music to RoonReady and Bridge devices on your network; and use just RoonReady to turn an Antipodes server into the ultimate endpoint.
Roon on an Antipodes server has turned out to not just be the addition of the world's best player GUI interface, but also a clear enhancement to sound quality. In our view, the price of Roon is well worth it on sound quality alone (when you use both Roon Server and RoonReady within the Antipodes, direct to a DAC)."
Tthey have also announced, in July, Antipodes DX Gen 2, which "changes all internal parts (of the original DX) for improved sound, cooler running and increased resources for running intensive processes like Roon database searches."
Regrettably, Antipodes does not have a UK distributor or dealership network in the UK - I bought mine direct from Antipodes in New Zealand on a sale or return basis - but the value is excellent - the DX is the top model and retails at £4,800 for 2TB - which I guess makes it very competitive against Aurender and Melco.
Anyway, given Devialet's pace of progress with their new streaming board, which is a year away I guess, I emailed Antipodes at 10pm last night with questions on changes, facilities, upgrade options and costs (not wanting to commit to any Gen 2 upgrade at present); got a full reply by 10.30pm; sorted a carrier by 11.30pm (they now have a UK service agent - Vortexbox); the service agent called me this morning to discuss any issues I had; the unit was collected at 11.30am and will be back with me on Tuesday or Wednesday.
Upgrade cost: £90, plus £90 licence fees and £90 to migrate my music library if I don't wish to do that myself, which I don't.
So, provided all goes well and results live up to expectations, this is an excellent proposition at a great price.
Mark Jenkins, who owns Roon in New Zealand, and Martin Smith, who represents them through Vortexbox in the UK, could not be more helpful.
Innuos Statement 2TB SSD with Next-Gen PSU (with Roon lifetime)
MacBook Pro (with Air)
Draytek Vigor 2860v-Plus/Devialet Original d'Atelier CI Nos. 54A&B/Magico M3 pair
Shunyata cables (digital/interconnect/loudspeaker/power)/Shunyata power units (Triton/Typhon)
Dialog/Phantom Gold/Tree pair
Missing Link cables (power)
England
