Digital has been quite a revolution for me. I remember the first time I heard the term email. What was the E in front of mail for? Electronic mail? That’d never go anywhere I thought. If instant communication was email’s goal what was wrong with the telephone? I shook my head and went back to pounding out another typewritten letter to a customer.
Silicon’s relentless march to overtake our daily chores finally disrupted our world of high-end audio in the late 90s and early 2000s. I had already embraced the CD but connecting computers to DACs was new to me. I think the first time I ever really thought about the concept was at a tradeshow in Vegas where Sooloos was showing their wares. Sooloos, a company founded by the team that now is Roon, was an eye-opener. Their single product was a preconfigured Windows computer in a HiFi chassis connected to a touchscreen monitor. Viewing a library of music on a computer screen opened my eyes to possibilities never imagined. In particular, accessing all the tracks in the thousand or so CDs in my library—most of which collect dust.
Now a couple of decades after my toe dipping in computer audio, I am surprised it has yet to take hold in our circles. It’s there, yes. But not yet in the mainstream.
If the subject interests you can watch a video that explains some of the concepts and methods of connecting that email-thing-with-a-television-screen to your HiFi system.
You can watch it here
Paul McGowan
