David McGown wrote:
Brombo,
Regarding digital crossovers and DSP, this may work fine if your source is digital, but when you also have a commitment to high performance analog as I do, using an ADC in the loop is a step backwards in sound quality. I do not want to compromize here. I experimented with this using a handful of different ADC units, up to 192/24 resolution, but although the result was fairly satisfactorily, it still did not have the same magical quality of an all analog reproduction path. So keeping everything in the analog domain (past the DAC) was the only way for me, and I think, many others who are committed to analog. Similarly, I have little interest in pursuing Class D amplification, I enjoy designing and building tube amplification, and building (not designing) Class A solid state amps. So perfectly happy with keeping with "old school" solutions.
Now, if all I used were digital sources, I would rethink this. I have to admit, at the last CAF, I really liked the ADC active monitors I heard and could easily live with them. David
Again well said except where I disagree is dealing with digital playback. I don't stream or download, but I do have physical media and the effort that I have put into my analog playback is the same amount of effort I have put into digital playback. When you have excellent digital playback it can actually compete with analog. My big complaint with digital during my DYI travels is that the basic transmission standards are not met -- and to add insult to injury the manufacturers choose to take the cheap route and hook-up with pulse transformers instead of nice video drivers (remember WADIA?). The brag is that the equipment is galvanic isolated -- what a bunch of bull shit. The transformers do not provide the AES/EBU load of 110-ohms or the S/PDIF load of 75-ohms nor do the source components provide the proper source impedance. I have had great success just loading the kit the required way and also providing damping across the transformers to suppress ringing. And then there is the sin of all sins of using aluminum electrolytics as inter-stage and output-stage couplers. WTF?!! Those sins are committed in the analog domain as well -- don't get me started on DS Audio equalizers. 
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