More info on the coming Schiit Urd CD transport posted 4 days ago by Mike Moffat..
Baldr (Mike Moffat Sponsor:) Schiit Audio
Please forgive me if any of this seems redundant or condescending. Prior art transports require physical media in the form of a CD and convert it to S/PDIF output, either TOS, coax, or both. The Urd converts the physical media data to S/PDIF coax and USB. In addition there is an additional USB input so that the client may choose between said USB input or the CD playing in the transport. Therefore the input sockets are the USB (Unison) and the equivalent of a socket, the data on the CD which is playing. The output sockets are S/PDIF (coax) and USB (Unison).
Now the Unison USB input we know works with every USB output that Schiit users have. Making the USB out work with all USB inputs we could find was by far and away the most time consuming of the development process of the Unison USB input. On the URD we also have a Unison USB output. This faces a similar design challenge in that we need to make the Unison USB output work with all USB inputs we can find.
To make this process move along faster, we have built a simple USB switch, with two switchable Unison USB C inputs and one Unison USB C output. The idea is we send these out to Beta evaluators before we send out Beta transports to verify that they may work with as large a sample of D/A converters as possible. It will do little good if the transports’ USB out do not function with untested D/A converters.
Once we are satisfied that we work with most/all of the D/A converters in the wild. We may begin to send Urd Beta units out in the field.
I hope the above may be useful.
Cheers George