Hey everyone, so, for reasons that I won't be getting into due to their incredibly boring and personally infuriating nature, I'm in the process of rebuilding my HiFi system, and I'm looking to incorporate my computer into it.
So, right now, here's what I have:
• 1 computer with plenty of USB plugs, S/PDIF coax and optical ports
• 3 pairs of headphones: ATH-M50, Shure SE215, Turtle Beach HPA2 (strictly for gaming)
• 1 FiiO E5 that I use with my iPhone
• 1 truly enormous collection of music (vinyl, CD, FLAC and 320 mp3)
• 1 set of Harman Kardon 2.1 Champagne speakers: http://www.amazon.com/Harman-Champagne-3-Piece-Computer-Speakers/dp/B00005B9AU
Here is what I am looking at acquiring (In the order listed):
• NuForce uDAC2
• M-Audio AV40 speakers
• Receiver
• Direct Drive turntable (probably Audio Technica)
• CD player
Ok, so here's the deal (and my questions):
• It looks, though I am not certain about this, that the uDAC 2 has both a headphone port and a stereo RCA out. Is that correct? Would I be able to run the computer to the uDAC 2 via USB and then the uDAC 2 to the receiver via RCA line out?
• What stereo receiver (preferably with an AM/FM tuner, I've seen several that don't have these... odd) would you recommend?
• What about a turntable and a CD player?
These are my considerations:
• I am a musician. I make music, listen to music, love music, etc. I am not really an audiophile, though. Or at least I wouldn't really self-classify as such. In other words, yes, I can hear and appreciate the differences between Audez'e headphones and my M50s, but I can not justify the difference in price for it. I'm all about bang for buck and getting up to the point of diminishing returns and not an inch further. I'd rather listen to my music than my equipment and I'd rather have more money for more music and more concerts.
• Price, price, price, price and also price. I just spend $2,200 building a new PC. I would like to get the best bang for my buck, not the best equipment money can possibly buy. So, for the purpose of establishing a budget, I will spend no more than $200 per piece here. And, in an ideal world, I'd spend less.
If you have suggestions for other DACs or whatever, please feel free to chime in. I've got RealTek onboard audio now and it blows. It pops and cracks and catches interference from the rest of my machine, but it's just going to have to do until the DAC can be bought. In my mind it's imperative that the DAC have a line out for the receiver.
And that's about it. Thanks!
