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July 25, 2012 - 5:43pm
#1
Help flesh out my first system, please!
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Matching a DAC to system might have more to do with what computer you have than the amp and speakers.
You gotta go see these guys: http://www.unitedhomeproducts.com/
Do you mean in terms of the outputs or the operating sys/hardware capabilities?
For outputs I have usb, headphone jack, display port (not hdmi), vga, and an express card slot...
Also, thanks for the link, I'll check these guys out!
What part of your budget is left for a USB DAC?
I hope your digital music library is lossless of at least 16-bit, 44.1 kHz. Check out ASIO/WASAPI for bitperfect playback in WIndows.
Well... w/ speakers/amp above, it would be in the $5-600 range... which is part of my unsaid question--For that amount, will I be seriously bottlenecking the amp/speakers, i.e. I should reallocate so that I spend more on the DAC and less on the speakers/amp? Also, any recomendations for DACs?
I'll look into those, thanks again!
For an amplifier, I suggest that you look at the Music Hall A70.2, which Music Direct is selling for $1499. IMO that is the best-sounding amp you can get for under $2000, although the Musical Fidelity M3i is also excellent for the same price.
Actually, the Music Hall A15.2 is also a very good amplifier; the best for under $1000 in my opinion, and Music Direct has it down to $499 right now, which is a steal.
I don't care much for the sound quality of current Exposure models.
The Dynaudio Excite X12 speakers are excellent, but a little bit lacking in the bass.
My first choice, if no subwoofer is going to be used, would be the Monitor Audio Silver RX-2 speakers, which have an 8-inch bass driver and go down to 40 Hz. Those are excellent-sounding speakers, and go for around $1000.
The Cambridge Audio DAC-Magic and DAC-Magic Plus is where I would look for the DAC.
Secondly,
Thanks for pointing out the Music Hall--I'll definitely take a look at those. Re: the DAC, in my recent looking, I've seen a lot of good things about the Schiit Bifrost--can you or anyone speak to that?
Thanks!
have been very happy with it. Here is my system:
13.3" MacBook Air, 4GB RAM, 256GB SSD, iTunes/BitPerfect
MacBook Air SuperDrive
Western Digital My Book Essential 2TB USB HD
Schiit Bifrost USB DAC
Emotiva USP-1, ERC-1 and two UPA-1s
Pro-Ject Xpression III and AT440MLa
AKAI AT-2600 and Harman Kardon TD4400
Grado SR80i
Magnepan MMG Magnestands
Rythmik Audio F12
I wouldn't shy away from the Dynaudio Excite X12 because they are a little weak in the bass. From my experience they do a good job with most music. I think Bob Reina agrees with me.