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Ok heres the deal, I do probably 90% of my music listening at the computer so I would like to set up a high quality system around the PC. Im currently using a Creative X-fi extreme music and a pair of small M-audio Studio-pro4 monitors. I use EAC to rip cds as full quality .wav files, I have a pair of 300gig storage drives so space is not an issue, and I use Foobar for playback. SO I basically want to upgrade my current setup to something higher end and better sounding. Im thinking since most listening is in the nearfeild studio monitors will work best, but they also tend to be unforgiving of poor source so a high quality DAC or soundcard will be needed. My budget is about $1000 for the speakers and DAC/soundcard. Any reccomendations?? Ive been looking at the followingUSb DAC/Soundcards:
EMU 1820m
M-Audio 24/192
RME Digi96/8
Lynx Studio 1 or 2
Scott Nixon USB dac
DDDAC 2.0Speakers:
Tannoy Reveal 5a
Tapco s5
Wharfedale active 8.2, 8.1
M-audio BX5
Yamaha HS50, MSP5
Samson Rubicon 5a, 6a
EMU PM5
JBL LSR6325PThere seems to be a huge variety of options and im not really sure where to start. I listen mainly to rock and electronic. Any opinions or advice would be great.
Thanks
Frank
Follow Ups:
As far as monitors I would say the Genelec 8000 series are probably the best period -- ruler flat fr, uniform dispersion between tweeter and woof, high phase coherence, no noding, etc -- the standard by which everything else compared, but expensive. That said, the JBL LSR6325P and has similar attributes (the ruler flat fr etc) + design, and then the Mackies are known also for Genelec-like accuracy, these latter two of which are significantly cheaper.I personally would kill for the Genelec 8020 Tripak (includes sub) in white to match my Mac gear but I'm too poor to spend that kind of money on computer speakers -- my second system.
I myself am considering possibly trying to find some 2nd hand JBL LSR25 which, I believe, are the same as the LSR6325P only changed name. If you pursue this option, please let me know whether or not the LSR25s are indeed identical.
Don't go for the RME internal soundcard. I had one for several years and switched to the Apogee Mini-DAC with USB input. The improvement was huge. I highly recommend the Apogee; maybe you can find one used for $700 or so. I'm now using the Benchmark DAC1, but I miss the direct USB connectivity.As for monitors, I previously owned the LSR6325Ps. Not bad: excllent build quality (heavy as hell!), and they really crank if you want them to. The major drawback is that high-end clarity is a bit lacking. I now have the Genelec 8020s, which are really nice for such a small monitor.
The detail on this tiny system is incredible.
Dell XPS M1210 mini laptop-->
M-Audio Transit USB-->
Benchmark DAC1-->
Genelec 8020s or Shure E500 headphones
I have the same M-Audio monitors...you need to tweak them. Each of mine sit on 3- 2" maple blocks from mapleshade and have 1 small pointed mapleshade brass weight on top of them...it is a disgusting set-up now, a huge 3-d soundstage on my desk w/insane bass & imaging. I also have the m-audio 2496 card and decent IC's going into the monitors. Last, get a $40 furu f1-15 wall outlet, and a nice power cord...these 2 things are crucial for good sound in a tower pc in my experience. cooling down your processing chips with nice silver grease helps, and i stuck in a silent fan from www.endpcnoise.com, plus added a killer ide cord for my cd drive from www.granitedigital.com....made a huge and fundamental change for the better. my 2 cents.
Honestly, I don't see how "nice silver grease," which I assume is one of a variation of the Artic Silver thermal paste, helps at all with sound, if that is what you're implying. Same with the "killer ide cord," which has nothing to do with the transmission of the audio signal.
I did use the Arctic Silver grease on both cpu chips...i didn't say it improved sound, it simply makes the heatsinks work more efficiently. down the line though, having a cool and almost vibration free motherboard certainly can't hurt the audio signal. just ask any recording engineer...addressing venting and vibration are a big deal for a pc bent on making music.
then why on earth are you on an audio forum website? If this is Dennis Hastert, you need to wake up & smell the coffee! George Soros does not mfgr SilClear or Walker SST :)The IDE cord connects your cd drive to the motherboard, so all the cd rips and cd burns go through that cord...the quality of the cabling and the design won't matter? find a new hobby or experiment more with this one, its lots of fun & the end result (better connection with the music you love) is worth it if you can think outisde the box, or read the writing on the wall in this case.
better connectivity and conductivity are a big part of what takes this hobby to another level, and gets the brain juices flowing to work harder for purer & sweeter sound. Experimenting takes a little time, and even more $, but hey, its a hobby right?
sorry if i'm pert, i just can't believe Pujols was caught so far off 1st base last night w/only 1 out... silver grease couldn't have helped him, but it certainly does help stereo gear & tower pc's.
If you follow the garbage in=garbage out train of thought...no big $ USB dac is gonna deliver insane dynamics if your tower pc is stock inside. the one caveat is all bets are off w/laptops, which don't suffer from ac current issues & you can't easily open up and tweak.
I've heard amazing sound through a stock Mac laptop and one of Gordan Rankin's USB dac's...the Brick Wall one.
I am a hobbyist and enjoy what I enjoy. That is why I'm here. I'm not arguing with you or anyone else. I simply stated my opinion on a public forum, as did you. It was and is not my intention to rouse people or get them upset, but telling someone to "find a new hobby" when they state an opinion that differs from your own is at best, unnecessary.I know what an IDE cable's function is and where it is used in the chain of data flow. That does not make me an expert, nor do I claim to be one. Whether or not an IDE cable has any effect on sound quality is left to the reader.
Your original reply to the thread originator's posting contains the quote "cooling down your processing chips with nice silver grease helps." I simply questioned the effect that thermal transfer grease would have on the audio signal, as it was unclear to me whether you were referring to a benefit of thermal or aural properties.
i gotcha...us inmates gotta be a little wary of those unregistered folk. you can come & go as you please, i'm in here on a life sentence!I never would've thought that reducing vibration, cooling down the cpu chips & installing better internal cabling would affect a pc's music reproduction capabilites, but after much tooling around (and spending less than $100) that's exactly what happened. i like spreadin' that word...
One of the neatest things about using that Arctic Silver grease and the new copper silent fan is now if i touch the heatfins, they are hot. the original block looking heatfin that came with my pc never got even lukewarm...the silver grease definitely does seem to let the heat transfer from chip to heatfins quite efficiently. since i'm often turning my machine off, it gives me some peace of mind that i'm not cooking the cpu chips as bad once the power is off.
Either the USBTD or the USB Chibi. I have the Nixon USBTD and it's good stuff. The Airport Express is good too.
admin - audioreview.com
My Scott Nixon goes a long way to smoothing out those nasty Rock recordings. I'm not sure if it's the tube or what but it sounds more like my SOTA turntable then my CD player.
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