My HTPC @ work... In the box: Intel Core2 Quad Q6600 Scythe Big Shuriken 2 Rev.B Asus P5G41C-M LX G.skill Ripjaws series DDR3 8Gb kit EVGA Geforce GTS250 Turtle Beach Montego DDL Samsung 840 120Gb SSD Hitachi Deskstar 80Gb HD Seagate Freeagent 750Gb USB2 WD Elements 100Gb USB...

  I'd be interested in that comparison as well.  I'm sitting on a set of 32s....and I prefer my OTKs over them.

  Did you get the USB option for your DAC?  If not, you'll need something to get optical or coax output from the new PC.   Depending on how one goes about building a standard (ATX form-factor) PC, most of the CPUs on-offer also contain a GPU on-die so it's just a matter of having a system...

Energy efficiency is still relevant to the noise discussion since it's a measure of how much input is lost to heat.  A low-efficiency PSU will ramp up its fan sooner and faster than one of higher efficiency.

Even with quality components, it becomes a matter of how much power is being drawn through the system.  I've used a variety of Seasonic PSUs from 350w through the current 850w which is louder by at least an order of magnitude.  Even 80+ Platinum-certified PSUs are going to get loud under load...

  There's also the corner-case of a multi-GPU/card gaming system, and the one fan you have considerably less control over:  the PSU fan.   Until I built my Ivy-Bridge i5 system, I never really had a noise issue.  I had a single 570 GTX in the prior Q6600 system on a 500w PSU, and even...

I haven't needed one in any home A/V or computing capacities... I use that very JK transformer in the car when I connect to the AUX input and charger at the same time.   I don't have anything else I can really compare it to, as I jumped straight to it on the recommendation I saw somewhere 5-7...

  Not all isolation transformers are created equal...

Certainly if you went for the i7 model, but that's almost $800 just to get started. The whole point of my suggestion was to illustrate that one could get mainstream processing power (i5) in a very small form-factor for under $700, as opposed to the previously suggested entry-level system (i3)...

There's also the ultimate in compactness:  the Intel NUC http://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/nuc/overview.html ~$650 on Newegg will get you an i5 model, 16Gb RAM, and a 120Gb mSATA drive.  another $34 would add wireless capability

If you mean to tag the .WAV files, don't bother--It's not a part of the file format.  The best you can do is have an appropriate file name.   I've never had issues using EAC => FLAC and tagging, and the built-in album art and tracklist search has generally been quite good.

I'm very much interested in what's in your "to sell" stash... ;) 

I don't have any experience with the amps you've listed, but I would definitely push you towards a tube amp.   Every amp is going to color the sound each in its own way.  With a SS, what you hear (after break-in) is all you'll ever get.  The tube amp gives you that extra bit of customization...

I'll gladly accept the nomination for Complete Pedant, but that lighting is too bright by at least half, and the rear wall isn't 50% grey.     As for needing art, Sky Image Lab has many wonderful images that can be printed in large formats...

Thetubestore.com also has the Teslas.  It's also where my Russian tubes came from.  Go back a few pages and you can see my opinions on both in my setup.

  The JJ tubes are right there with the GE tubes (unless they're the gold pin variety.)  They don't sound horrible, but they don't add any tube character to the sound--very much a clean, solid-state amp sound.  It's also a starter tube that can be packaged with the Lyr, so strike another from...

Not to muddy the waters, but another product to consider is the Vanatoo Transparent One. Integrated amp & DAC--(IMO) a balanced sound and *very* good bass extension for a 5.25" +passive driver. The sub-out is an added bonus. I've had my pair for a year and couldn't be happier, but then I wasn't...

Indeed.  Do not throw good money after bad.   And "noisy" USB?  If the device is USB-powered, it's a ground loop.  If it's powered separately, then you've a bad cable in the chain or heavy RF/EM interference. USB deals strictly in digital streams--lots of 1s & 0s, not an analog waveform...

A good set of Russian 6H23n or Tesla gold pins should give you a little extra bump in the trunk....especially compared to the JJ tubes (at least on my K701s)   See also the Schiit tube-rolling threads...

You only get one hit, and then you have to go get more...   Tubes last....and last....and last...  

As an owner of the K701s, I suggest this test:  have an "enthusiastic" listening session.  Stated as a %, how high did you have to raise the volume?   For reference, I had a 2008-vintage X-Fi card with the front-panel kit.  50% constituted a reasonable listening level, and 100% almost...

  See http://www.demcifilter.com/ for your dust filter needs!  Their custom screen prices are *quite* inexpensive. I've purchased them for the previously-mentioned InWin Q500, as well as for my InWin a500 and Silverstone Sugo SG-01 cases.  I'll eventually get the PS3 filter, and possibly a set...

Ground loops are the bane of my existence! The most pernicious one was in my car: plugging my phone into the aux-in and charger, and all I could hear was engine whine.  JK Audio Pureformer to the rescue!  Signal attenuation was a given, but nothing would stop me from having streaming audio...

I used the EVGA Precision utility to lock gpu fan speed% to temperature until 80*C where it jumps to 100% Believe it or not, the PSU fan is what makes all the noise.  The reference 570/580 didn't have the noise issues that the previous generation did, and the current cards are at least as quiet.

New forum user, new rig...     On the desk: Under the desk: In the PC: Intel i5 - 3570K Nofan CR-95C Asrock Z77 Extreme 6 G.skill Ares Series DDR3 16Gb kit EVGA Geforce 570GTX Superclocked SLI OCZ Vertex3 120Gb SSD Samsung 840 250GB SSD Lite-on iHBS212-08 Blu-ray...