My PC music server

My setup was strongly guided by the TAS article (Dec 07) many of you have probably seen. So, the laundry list will look familiar. I did this setup as a cheap proof-of-concept to see if I liked using a music server at all. Hence the PCI card instead of a DAC and generic cabling.

PC:
Nothing special but overkill for music. 2.4Ghz P4 chip running XP sp2.
Ultra-quiet fans: $30-40 for two.

Storage:
Internal 500GB Seagate Barracuda drive. $100 new on ebay.
External 500GB Maxtor One Touch. $100 retail on sale.

Energy Connoisseur C-2 loudspeaker Measurements

Energy Connoisseur C-2 loudspeaker Measurements

Reality check number one. Tired of reading about the latest and greatest $65,000 loudspeakers? Or even the current hot ticket at $2500? Such loudspeakers promise to bring you the audio truth, or the golly-gee-whiz, honest-to-gosh, absolutely positively real sound. And some of them <I>do</I> seem to come awfully close, though truth be told, we're still a long way from replicating reality&#151;and will <I>never</I> do it with just two channels.

Energy Loudspeakers, a wholly owned division of Klipsch Group, Inc.
3641 McNicholl Ave.
Scarborough, Ontario
Canada, M1X 1G5
(416) 321-1800
www.energy-speakers.com/v2/

Energy Connoisseur C-2 loudspeaker System

Energy Connoisseur C-2 loudspeaker System

Reality check number one. Tired of reading about the latest and greatest $65,000 loudspeakers? Or even the current hot ticket at $2500? Such loudspeakers promise to bring you the audio truth, or the golly-gee-whiz, honest-to-gosh, absolutely positively real sound. And some of them <I>do</I> seem to come awfully close, though truth be told, we're still a long way from replicating reality&#151;and will <I>never</I> do it with just two channels.

Energy Loudspeakers, a wholly owned division of Klipsch Group, Inc.
3641 McNicholl Ave.
Scarborough, Ontario
Canada, M1X 1G5
(416) 321-1800
www.energy-speakers.com/v2/

Energy Connoisseur C-2 loudspeaker Specifications

Energy Connoisseur C-2 loudspeaker Specifications

Reality check number one. Tired of reading about the latest and greatest $65,000 loudspeakers? Or even the current hot ticket at $2500? Such loudspeakers promise to bring you the audio truth, or the golly-gee-whiz, honest-to-gosh, absolutely positively real sound. And some of them <I>do</I> seem to come awfully close, though truth be told, we're still a long way from replicating reality&#151;and will <I>never</I> do it with just two channels.

Energy Loudspeakers, a wholly owned division of Klipsch Group, Inc.
3641 McNicholl Ave.
Scarborough, Ontario
Canada, M1X 1G5
(416) 321-1800
www.energy-speakers.com/v2/

Energy Connoisseur C-2 loudspeaker Page 2

Energy Connoisseur C-2 loudspeaker Page 2

Reality check number one. Tired of reading about the latest and greatest $65,000 loudspeakers? Or even the current hot ticket at $2500? Such loudspeakers promise to bring you the audio truth, or the golly-gee-whiz, honest-to-gosh, absolutely positively real sound. And some of them <I>do</I> seem to come awfully close, though truth be told, we're still a long way from replicating reality&#151;and will <I>never</I> do it with just two channels.

Energy Loudspeakers, a wholly owned division of Klipsch Group, Inc.
3641 McNicholl Ave.
Scarborough, Ontario
Canada, M1X 1G5
(416) 321-1800
www.energy-speakers.com/v2/

Energy Connoisseur C-2 loudspeaker

Energy Connoisseur C-2 loudspeaker

Reality check number one. Tired of reading about the latest and greatest $65,000 loudspeakers? Or even the current hot ticket at $2500? Such loudspeakers promise to bring you the audio truth, or the golly-gee-whiz, honest-to-gosh, absolutely positively real sound. And some of them <I>do</I> seem to come awfully close, though truth be told, we're still a long way from replicating reality&#151;and will <I>never</I> do it with just two channels.

Bel Canto e.One S300iu integrated amplifier Measurements

Bel Canto e.One S300iu integrated amplifier Measurements

After using <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/digitalprocessors/1107bc">Bel Canto's e.One DAC3</A> with the <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/mediaservers/108mac">McIntosh Laboratory MS750</A> music server, I was so impressed that I wanted to hear Bel Canto's CD transports as well. But willing as Bel Canto president and CEO John Stronczer was to supply me with a CD-2, he suggested I audition the S300iu ($2195, footnote 1).

Bel Canto Design
221 N. First Street
Minneapolis, MN 55401
(612) 317-4550
www.belcantodesign.com

Bel Canto e.One S300iu integrated amplifier Associated Equipment

Bel Canto e.One S300iu integrated amplifier Associated Equipment

After using <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/digitalprocessors/1107bc">Bel Canto's e.One DAC3</A> with the <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/mediaservers/108mac">McIntosh Laboratory MS750</A> music server, I was so impressed that I wanted to hear Bel Canto's CD transports as well. But willing as Bel Canto president and CEO John Stronczer was to supply me with a CD-2, he suggested I audition the S300iu ($2195, footnote 1).

Bel Canto Design
221 N. First Street
Minneapolis, MN 55401
(612) 317-4550
www.belcantodesign.com

Bel Canto e.One S300iu integrated amplifier Specifications

Bel Canto e.One S300iu integrated amplifier Specifications

After using <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/digitalprocessors/1107bc">Bel Canto's e.One DAC3</A> with the <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/mediaservers/108mac">McIntosh Laboratory MS750</A> music server, I was so impressed that I wanted to hear Bel Canto's CD transports as well. But willing as Bel Canto president and CEO John Stronczer was to supply me with a CD-2, he suggested I audition the S300iu ($2195, footnote 1).

Bel Canto Design
221 N. First Street
Minneapolis, MN 55401
(612) 317-4550
www.belcantodesign.com

Bel Canto e.One S300iu integrated amplifier Page 2

Bel Canto e.One S300iu integrated amplifier Page 2

After using <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/digitalprocessors/1107bc">Bel Canto's e.One DAC3</A> with the <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/mediaservers/108mac">McIntosh Laboratory MS750</A> music server, I was so impressed that I wanted to hear Bel Canto's CD transports as well. But willing as Bel Canto president and CEO John Stronczer was to supply me with a CD-2, he suggested I audition the S300iu ($2195, footnote 1).

Bel Canto Design
221 N. First Street
Minneapolis, MN 55401
(612) 317-4550
www.belcantodesign.com
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