Integrated Media Player and Stereo Power Amplifier in 1980ies Style
The reference for listening to music must and can only be attending a life performance, be it classical music, jazz, rock or pop. Failing that, in particular in times where we are supposed to stay at home due to a pandemic, some technology is needed to recreate the concert experience to an acceptable level of fidelity, aka high fidelity, from a corresponding recording available. Nowadays, the electronics in mobile phones and suitable headphones are probably good enough to be render any decent recording with acceptable fidelity, even if it is most likely compressed and streamed. The listening experience, however, remains a solitary one, allowing people to life in their own bubble disconnected from the rest of the world.
In contrast, in the 1980ies, at the beginning of digital recordings and the availability of CD players, quite some equipment was needed to render music at a reasonable level of fidelity: special turn tables or over-sampling CD players, pre-amplifiers, separate power amplifiers, large speakers, special arrangements for the room acoustics, etc., you name it. I loved to go to so-called Hi-End trade shows where most sophisticated audio equipment was presented and one could experience the difference good audio gear does make. There is, however, a danger to enter snake oil territory as quite a few features being touted are only present in the imagination of all people involved and have no technical or scientific substance.
That being said, is there still a demand for a listening experience in quiet room? Not wearing headphones, but just sitting in a comfortable chair in front of a stereo system, appreciating a symphony, a piano concerto, a string quartet or any piece of music you are fond of? I believe there is; but what about the audio equipment needed you might ask? Given the advance in electronics development and the availability of music a high definition as a streaming service, much less gear is needed these days. Apart from a quiet room with suitable acoustics and some quality time, a pair of decent speakers is still needed; the latter convert electrical signals and power into audible sound waves and are critical to any high fidelity conversion. The missing link is a simple device that connects the extensive music source there is to those speakers.
10 years ago, I realised that there is a missing link for those who love listening to music using proper speakers but embrace streaming music by getting rid of tangible “medium” such as CDs (the clue is in the word “medium” which is only a means to convey music in bits). So I started to build a media streamer and stereo power amplifier that should be as compact as possible where exhibiting high fidelity properties. One feature of this music appliance I still insisted on, reminiscent of the 1980ies, was a display that showed performer, composer, piece and movement and elapsed time on a Vacuum Fluorescent Display (VFD) with a font big enough that I can read the text from 10 feet (3 metres) away while sitting on a comfortable chair and listening. No need to display more as browsing for music should happen on your smart phone or tablet. There is no point either to use a high resolution display on the player as one would not sit half a meter way while listening. Once started, put your phone aside and enjoy the music. Most importantly, the listening experience can be shared with your friends and family.
A prototype was built and looked fine. Due to family commitment and being involved in two start-ups, however, all components were put in a box and stored in the shed. The project lay dormant for 10 years. During lock-down, I finally could find time to take components from shed and build the new, integrated media streamer and stereo power amplifier called Eumeles. It runs Mopidy, with an extension to control the VFD, and can be controlled from a mobile app or a web browser:
More details on http://eumeles.wurmsdobler.org/integratedoverview.html
