Antipodes Audio News -April 2022

Support
41

I started with an EX a couple of years ago which was soon swapped out for an S30/S20 combo and then on sold for a K30.

The EX was an ex demo bought just before the S series came out and sold a year later for almost the same money.

The S30/S20 was also kept for a year and sold for the same money I paid for it. My experience has been Antipodes products have good resale value.

Being new to music servers (my only other one previously being a NAD M51), I have had a couple of occasions needing to liaise with Antipodes with regards trouble shooting and upgrades etc.

At all times the fact I had purchased these second hand was never an issue, the communication and support has been outstanding.

Towards the end of last year I started looking at adding an S40 but ended up taking possession of a K30 in early February, largely because I preferred the one box solution.

Am I disappointed the K30 has been discontinued?

Yes a little but I also understand these thing happen, especially in the current climate. I work in an industry where nearly 50% of our product line up is currently not available to order.

Am I worried about my resale value and potential for future upgrades?

No, the K30 is still a fantastic player with good pedigree and support plus Antipodes have shown in the past a willingness to look for upgrade potential on all previous models

3 Likes
42

Can you please tell me how to book an appointment, not that I think I could do anything.

Brian
Ottawa, Canada.

43

I purchased my K30 in February from the UK dealers Elite Audio understanding it had been released late 2020 not expecting the model to be obsolete so quick . I am very disappointed to learn it is no longer available. I feel it will affect the resale value. I believe other manufacturers using similar parts have resorted to making spec changes to maintain models. Maybe prices would be affected but at least there is an attempt to maintain the model. Would you have applied the same logic if a similar situation occurred with the K50? My thoughts are no. My previous server/streamer was an Aurender that was purchased 6years ago and the model is still sold. Okay totally different technology but the point is I paid a fifth of the K30 purchase price, I was delighted with the product and similar to other HiFi manufacturers they maintain their marketing strategy and models. I feel this maintains loyal customers and helps build a brand. I nearly purchased a better spec Aurender but ultimately purchased the K30 and the sound is superb but for me it is now soured by what has happened.
I have not read in this thread that Antipodes is prepared to offer any reasonable solution to help remedy the situation for K30 customers.
The K30 is an extremely expensive piece of kit, hence I expected the outlay to be worth it for the long-term.

44

Hi
I have a couple of topics.

Firstly, I have an EX I use as server/roon core and keep the load on the CPU etc small. It is a great unit. I decided not to do the Oladra upgrade.

Instead I have continued to interrogate and improve my network, including listening to network gurus and audiophiles’ experiences.

Despite what the network gurus say I have reaped great rewards for streamed music for about AU $3-4k employing some of the gurus advice plus audiophile stuff too. The potential limitation of a poor network really should be seriously considered.

I note 2 competitors of Antipodes offer audio grade switches, and there are many other manufacturers too. But it is more than switches and clocks, cabling is as, if not more, critical, and of course power supply.

I commend Antipodes relentless pursuit of advances in servers and players. Perhaps its time to explore ethernet with similar relentless energy too.

My second subject follows from the first. I read some time ago Antipodes state the direct connection between server and player in the likes of K50 is superior to ethernet due to being (in simple tetms) less complicated. So when it comes to the modular approach to separate server and player, to what extent does the sound quality reduce due to ethernet? And what ethernet connections were used to reach that conclusion?

Related to this, K22 has integrated conversion to various digital formats. Presumably this benefits from eliminating USB. What format is used to send data from the player to the reclocker? And to what extent does this contribute o the sound quality (say compared to USB or i2s connection to a stand alone reclocker that is therefore not affected by the emissions of the player engine).

In other words, why not have a K version of S20?

For now I am keep the EX. It is very rewarding.

One thing I will say about the rapid advancement and model changes, is that invariably trickling down lessons from Oladra to a lower cost series may result in new products that surpass former top line CX and EX. I accept eventually products become superseded and lose value, however that could be postponed by providing upgrade options for CX and EX, such as a Oladra Mk 2 upgrade.

Also, maybe set up a topic on the forum to share the best tweaks and enhancements for:

  • Antipodes products
  • networks (although I realise this could be a very contentious one to manage).

By the way, the new Oladra case is absolutely gorgeous.

Best regards

45

@antipodes
Looking at the Oladra, it does not seem to have any ventilation vents, how hot does it run and how does it stay cooled ?
How long is the burnin period before SQ is maximised ?
Have you tested with any network switch…any improvements to be gained by using one ?
Thank you

46

As you may imagine, I am not happy about paying over $8000.00 Canadian for a unit (Antipodes DX) that is totally obsolete within seven years, particularly when I have to pay out many more thousands to have access to Roon at the same level I have become accustomed to.

47

Why would you expect a seven year old computer to continue to run software that has been updated continuously over that time? I understand your disappointment, but like with a PC or Mac, obsolescence is bound to happen at some point. Roon has been getting increasingly bloated, so that’s really where the blame lies. If you were able to continue to run an older version you could get many more years out of your DX, but unfortunately they don’t allow that.

2 Likes
48

It is an inevitable and painful reality. But there are options to try to extract more value from your DX.

  • Maybe Antipodes still have parts to upgrade to DX3 and then you can also get OLADRA upgrade?

  • Or, if you don’t have a similar grade server, buy a used CX or EX as server (roon core).re-purpose the DX as player (it is roon ready). Separating server and player is quite an improvement on its own and likely to be excellent value for the price of a used EX or CX.

  • Sacrifice roon and start using software that DX can cope with.

1 Like
49

Is it ‘totally obsolete’? You can remain on the current software and be able to play music very satisfactorily, especially if you use the optional software server/player options such as Squeezebox Server and MPD.

1 Like
50

I suspect it will play music fine even with roon but will become sluggish and slow response with server duties. This can be managed by reducing the size of the library (ie. archive what you don’t listen to much) and perhaps reducing the graphics etc of roon so the server has less work to do.

1 Like
51

I know that given a similar situation it’s the direction I’d be looking. I know it still costs money, but relatively little & the CX & EX are still superb & would represent an upgrade, rather than just standing still (IMO they’re considerably better finished than current units too).

Failing that & if resources were tight (which I appreciate they currently are for many) I’d just run with your alternative suggestion of sacrificing Roon. I’d point out as I have on more than one occasion previously, that I’m an absolutely huge fan of Roon, but if push came to shove I could certainly do without it.

1 Like