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February 17, 2015 - 6:29pm
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Looking for computer setup for FLAC Music. $500.
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I'm assuming that you had to sell because your new host country has different electric voltage.
I hadn't heard of these brands before but it sounds like you were happy with them except for overall power. You could explore AudioEngine's product line. They have powered speakers and make USB DAC's, so your configuration would match. At least in the US, AudioEngine offers 30-day in home trials.
there are many great choices for near field computer monitors these days.
for sure i'd recommend something like the Audioengine D1 as a DAC - it works great as a little DAC+Preamp for near-field monitors and also for headphones. i like the fact it has a manual volume control, great if you sit right in front of it.
speakers? i use AudioEngine 2, but there are plenty of fantastic choices.
I had to sell due to not taking anything large overseas. Would have not been worth the extra baggage cost. I know of AudioEngine. They make great budget computer desk speakers but I'm looking for a little higher end like my previous monitors. Just wondering if there are any better options at that price point.
For the DAC and desktop speakers, check out Emotiva (https://emotiva.com/) -- look under "Desktop & Personal Audio."
Option 1 (assumes you already have a computer or other DAC-compatible FLAC player):
- Little Ego (32 Bit / 384K USB Digital to Analog Converter) for $139
- Airmotiv 3b desktop speakers for $159
Option 2 (assumes you do NOT have a computer):
- Airmotiv 4s ($239) or 5s ($279)
- Skip the DAC for now and get yourself a little Intel NUC.
More info about the NUCs:
http://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/nuc/products-overview.html
Among many, many other features, the NUC supports up to 192 kHz / 24-bit audio over HDMI. (Don't forget that if your AVR supports WAV, FLAC, WMA, and other higher-rez formats, you can send those bits directly to your unit’s built-in DACs.) If/When you're ready to incorporate an external DAC in to your delivery stream, the NUC has 4 USB 3.0 ports.
FWIW, I recently built another NUC for a friend, and when I tallied the costs of the NUC, SSD, and RAM, it was around $220, which is less than half the price of the cheapest, dual-core mac mini. (And if you want to install Linux, the NUC will support it. For grins, check out AudioPhile Linux: http://www.ap-linux.com/.)
If my post is too late, let us know how your config ended up.
purchase flac devices?