rsheinbaum,

 

We have no plans to introduce any new models at this time.

 

The amplifier section does not add much to the build cost and a good number of owners use loudspeakers with their B3. There is a newly added menu option to completely disable the amplifier section if required.

The Helix is not designed to be a fast ripper. It does not have the memory or CPU power to do that. It is a system on a chip with very limited capabilities.

 

The B3 is based on a Raspberry Pi B+, the same as the B2. It will support a much faster ripping capability compared to the Helix. The RPi however is also limited power means that you do not want to play or anything else while you are ripping a CD. Memory and CPU power can become clogged leading to errors. The B2 ripping was a lot more limited by the CD drive itself, not the RPi.

 

Ripping using an off the shelf drive is dependent more on the drive and on the quality of the CD. The CPU can easily handle the 16 bits at 44.1KHz times 2 (left and right channels). It is not really the CPU that is limiting things.

 

The process of ripping creates WAV files. The ripping process just formats the data stream and write it out. The conversion from WAV to FLAC however takes a much longer time.

 

The actual playback of the signal is trivial to the CPU. It sends the data to the DAC that provides input to the amplifier. The amplifier is a separate board and does not need the RPi to do anything more than command and control, send data and volume commands.

 

The operation of the AMP is at the same complexity as sending out the analog and optical ports on the B3+. When you select both options, the RPi has to send data to both devices. Data is sent to the DAC on the Brennan custom board to a the DAC that provides analog output to the on board amplifier. To send data out the analog and optical port the Brennan sends the data to a chip on a daughter board that makes this conversion. It is the same amount of work for the RPi to do both functions, internal and external. Even on the B3, if you connect a UCA222, exactly the same thing happens, data is sent using the USB to a chip/daughter board to make all of the conversions.

 

Ray

B3 is playing Hello Dolly by Louis Armstrong from "Louis Armstrong Sings Back Through the Years D1 of 2"

Helix is not primarily a ripper. Helix is primarily a CD player with network connectivity and the ability to play from microSD card. Helix also can give you a ripped copy of CDs that you play.

 

I have a Marantz CD player that can also play from a USB drive. But the Marantz CD player cannot be controlled over the network, does not fetch a tracklist from the Internet, and does not rip.

 

I think of Helix as a CD player with some extra features.

 

If you have another way to rip CDs (for example, a computer with a CD drive and decent software), then you don't need a faster ripper. If your principal need is a faster ripper, then Helix is not the right product for you.

 

The B3/B3+ is a ripper with storage that can be a standalone stereo for small spaces, or can connect to a larger system of hifi separates. People use it both ways. The parts cost of the amplifier IC and speaker terminals would be swamped by the manufacturing, warehousing, and stocking costs of having versions with and without those parts -- and you know very well that some people who bought a model without the amplifier to save US$10 would become confused and frustrated by the loss of flexibility.

 

Helix and B3 have different purposes. They fill different niches. Don't try to make them something they aren't.