adupree
100+ Head-Fier
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it looks like the bandwidth on the jbl's is superior (given there are no tolerances stated for either)
By bandwidth do you mean frequency response?
it looks like the bandwidth on the jbl's is superior (given there are no tolerances stated for either)
By bandwidth do you mean frequency response?
What dac's do you recommend in the $300-$600 region?
Towards the top end of your budget these look very attractive.
http://www.rme-audio.de/en_products_babyface.php
http://spl.info/de/produkte/interfaces/crimson/in-kuerze.html
http://www.motu.com/products/motuaudio/ultralite-mk3
RME are the runaway market leader with a reputation for the best software and what to buy if you can afford it. The SPL is newer and has excellent monitor control and listening facilities inc 2 headphone amps The MOTU has the most convenient multichannel capabilities, 10 in and 14 out.
Since the active monitors you are interested in offer a stereolink function whereby the volume knob on the front of one speaker controls both you don't really need a DAC if your on-board audio is recent. Anything later than Realtek ALC 889 is considered transparent to the human ear if properly implemented.
http://stephan.win31.de/music.htm#onboard
If you do want a DAC and most people do, if only for the convienience and headroom, look for something that offers you more than what you already have. There is an entire class of devices called audio interfaces designed specifically to work with active nearfield monitors. They tend to come from the same pro and semi pro audio sources as the monitors themselves. Don't worry about the quality of the actual converters. Many of these companies want to sell sophisticated $500++ Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) software. It's not in their interests to skimp.
Starting from about $200 you can get a reliable interface from an established brand with the following features.
Volume control, headphone output with separate volume control, multiple channels out, so you can listen to something different on phones or satellites at the same time or drive a less expensive sub woofer, better inputs than on-board so you can connect up a quality microphone, turntables, wireless receiver etc.Balanced outs to drive the monitors and help avoid ground loops. A very sophisticated EQ and effects package. MIDI so you can use a control surface to control software functions. etc etc....
http://uk.focusrite.com/usb-audio-interfaces/scarlett-2i4
http://www.motu.com/products/motuaudio/microbook
http://www.native-instruments.com/en/products/komplete/audio-interfaces/komplete-audio-6/
Roland, Steinberg and Avid among others make competitive products.
Towards the top end of your budget these look very attractive.
http://www.rme-audio.de/en_products_babyface.php
http://spl.info/de/produkte/interfaces/crimson/in-kuerze.html
http://www.motu.com/products/motuaudio/ultralite-mk3
RME are the runaway market leader with a reputation for the best software and what to buy if you can afford it. The SPL is newer and has excellent monitor control and listening facilities inc 2 headphone amps The MOTU has the most convenient multichannel capabilities, 10 in and 14 out.
Since the active monitors you are interested in offer a stereolink function whereby the volume knob on the front of one speaker controls both you don't really need a DAC if your on-board audio is recent. Anything later than Realtek ALC 889 is considered transparent to the human ear if properly implemented.
http://stephan.win31.de/music.htm#onboard
If you do want a DAC and most people do, if only for the convienience and headroom, look for something that offers you more than what you already have. There is an entire class of devices called audio interfaces designed specifically to work with active nearfield monitors. They tend to come from the same pro and semi pro audio sources as the monitors themselves. Don't worry about the quality of the actual converters. Many of these companies want to sell sophisticated $500++ Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) software. It's not in their interests to skimp.
The RME looks very nice with all the inc features. However, isn't it more of a pro audio dac? The guy earlier before you also suggested getting a subwoofer if bass is important (it is). I think I'll get a sub first and just use my AQ dragonfly as a dac in the meantime.
You realize there is a huge difference in quality of converters. That's why Grace, Prism, Apogee are considered so much better.
I tend to disagree, having used fiio, Roland and focusrite gear at home, and have used benchmark, RME and separate AD and DA setups elsewhere, and have found the difference in quality very very small. Even with $3000 genelec monitoring setups changing from my roland quad capture and laptop to in-house studio systems the difference is very small, so saying converters make a huge difference is just not true. Maybe 5-10 years ago, but these days you can get very good DAC for a budget price, what you pay for is brand and features. People over-state these things when the single biggest thing after the speakers is room treatment, as a rooms acoustics will mess up the very best speakers.
I tend to disagree, having used fiio, Roland and focusrite gear at home, and have used benchmark, RME and separate AD and DA setups elsewhere, and have found the difference in quality very very small. Even with $3000 genelec monitoring setups changing from my roland quad capture and laptop to in-house studio systems the difference is very small, so saying converters make a huge difference is just not true. Maybe 5-10 years ago, but these days you can get very good DAC for a budget price, what you pay for is brand and features. People over-state these things when the single biggest thing after the speakers is room treatment, as a rooms acoustics will mess up the very best speakers.
I know plenty of people who would agree with me that they will make a noticeable difference. I have experience with many setups and final results will vary dependent upon equipment. I also feel that acoustics is just as important if not more than speakers.
I think you would be hard pressed to find many people who agree with you on the D/A side of things with audio interfaces. This doesn't mean that higher end interfaces are a waste of money, in fact they are a great investment to the musician. Higher end interfaces often provide drastic improvements in the pre-amps for inputs, and several other areas, but D/A output is typically not a drastic improvement.
And yes, room treatment is even more important than speakers (also a smaller investment).
Again, I personally know lots of people who will agree with me. Dynamic range, jitter, THD all are effected by converters. This is why if you look at any larger studio you will see them run high-end converters. I can't think of a single studio I've worked at that isn't running Apogee, RME, Prism, Antelope, SSL, Lynx, Benchmark or other similar converters.