watchnerd
Grand Contributor
As someone who works in the software industry, the concept of technical debt is one that is routinely talked about.
Without getting too far into the weeds, the basic concept has to do with the difficulty of moving to new technological systems because the technical limitations of past decisions prevent easily moving forward without throwing everything out and starting over.
(Note: the metaphor is not perfect, as software systems have a more flexible range of possible outcomes than physical systems, as well as time to market concerns, but the basic concept carries merit to other disciplines)
When I audit my own systems, I get the following list of technical debt, with both the cost and price to fix:
1. Turntable & Vinyl
Cons
-Will always need a playback chain capable of native analog input, A/D conversion, or both
-Need phono stage
-Big, unportable, easy to damage either the media (LPs) or the cartridge
-Sturdy playback platform
-Cats
Price to fix:
-Extreme: digitize all the vinyl and/or eliminate turntable
-Eliminate cats
2. Passive Speakers
Cons
-Passive speakers + random amp not as optimized as active speaker + active crossover + purpose suited amp
Price to fix:
-Financially negligible: selling all existing passive speakers offsets costs of active replacements, especially when electronics are included
-Loss of "audiophile cred" as active speakers still not well-regarded by many
-Less flexibility
3. Separate Power Amps
Cons:
-More boxes
-More cables
-Energy waste
Price to fix:
-Financially negligible: can sell existing amps if move to all active speakers
-Loss of "audiophile cred", can't post amp porn pics
-Less flexibility
4. Listening Room
Cons:
-Not fully acoustically treated
-Room nodes and Schroeder frequency unchangeable without house remodel
-Will always be the weak link in the chain regardless of upstream changes to source components and speakers
Price to fix:
-Incremental improvements with more acoustic treatments and DRC
-Divorce, sell house, start life over with acoustically optimized house and wife
5. Network Connectivity
Cons
-Intermittent network QoS issues can cause issues with lossless streaming
Price to fix:
-Modest: implement new mesh network or go all ethernet for streaming chain
Those are my biggies.
What are yours?
Without getting too far into the weeds, the basic concept has to do with the difficulty of moving to new technological systems because the technical limitations of past decisions prevent easily moving forward without throwing everything out and starting over.
(Note: the metaphor is not perfect, as software systems have a more flexible range of possible outcomes than physical systems, as well as time to market concerns, but the basic concept carries merit to other disciplines)
When I audit my own systems, I get the following list of technical debt, with both the cost and price to fix:
1. Turntable & Vinyl
Cons
-Will always need a playback chain capable of native analog input, A/D conversion, or both
-Need phono stage
-Big, unportable, easy to damage either the media (LPs) or the cartridge
-Sturdy playback platform
-Cats
Price to fix:
-Extreme: digitize all the vinyl and/or eliminate turntable
-Eliminate cats
2. Passive Speakers
Cons
-Passive speakers + random amp not as optimized as active speaker + active crossover + purpose suited amp
Price to fix:
-Financially negligible: selling all existing passive speakers offsets costs of active replacements, especially when electronics are included
-Loss of "audiophile cred" as active speakers still not well-regarded by many
-Less flexibility
3. Separate Power Amps
Cons:
-More boxes
-More cables
-Energy waste
Price to fix:
-Financially negligible: can sell existing amps if move to all active speakers
-Loss of "audiophile cred", can't post amp porn pics
-Less flexibility
4. Listening Room
Cons:
-Not fully acoustically treated
-Room nodes and Schroeder frequency unchangeable without house remodel
-Will always be the weak link in the chain regardless of upstream changes to source components and speakers
Price to fix:
-Incremental improvements with more acoustic treatments and DRC
-Divorce, sell house, start life over with acoustically optimized house and wife
5. Network Connectivity
Cons
-Intermittent network QoS issues can cause issues with lossless streaming
Price to fix:
-Modest: implement new mesh network or go all ethernet for streaming chain
Those are my biggies.
What are yours?
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