[krohm]

hiya,

very much a newbie on audio based technology but love music and have had a great set of headphones, hd650s, for several months now and am enjoying but wanting to get something to drive them better.

some of these questions may seem stupid to the audiophile/expert but at this point i just need some help in getting started and im sure it will naturally progress fromt here.

am wanting an amplifier that will predominantly drive my headphones but would want the opportunity to add a receiver/dac(?)/speakers in order for it to amp sound for blu rays/dvds/video at a later date. (when i can afford the speakers dac receiver etc)

the amp will primarily be used to drive my headphones via multiple streams of optical out from my ps3 and digital set top box. it will run music through the ps3 via the media server app on my pc. it shouldnt matter that it streams wirelessly across the network right? the data is all buffered on the ps3 and then its the ps3 that plays the audio and how it sounds is basically determined on how it gets off the ps3 and into the amp, in this case optically? so there is no bottlenecking of quality?

both of these streams have optical out so i should be getting an amp with mulitple optical out jacks? is this how all audio in the future will be transferred to ampplifiers? optical out to everything?

im wanting a real quality piece of hardware that can last over 5 years so am willing to shell out the necessary mula to get the goods.!

so once i get this multi channeled optical out amp i can just add more channels (ie, 5.1-7.1-stereo speakers for film/audio) or whatever afterwards? what should i be looking at here...

if i can be assisted with some of the basics so i can get a better understanding rather then reading for days and days on everything that would be great. price range i dont really know as considering my requirements (including great quality) i dont really know what i should be looking at. but willing to spend a couple grand if its going to last 5-10 years and be of great quality that will do everything i need now and in the future. (lots of asks) ! ok cheers, hope i can get some pointers in the right direction.

 

[krohm]

how come noone has replied to this?

an amp to run the ps3 as a media server? is this a diastrous idea in the audiophile community because the ps3 is a terrible source to play lossless sound?

I have no idea but would like some feedback if im to get further use out of my ps3/headphones.. i just want to run all my media through one device, and rather than build a htpc i can use the ps3 to run all video/music via the ps3 media server app (decodes formats) and also have it run all my movies (dvds, blurays).. is this not the right choice if wanting to develop a pretty decent audio/video setup? i should be looking at another cd/dvd player then receiver dac combo or can i get an amp and/or dac running on the ps3.. please help ppls ! a quick search on the site didnt produce much info for me. cheers

 

[ashmedai]

It's more that the grammar made my head hurt...

 

[krohm]

well despite the nonsensical attempts at english you had to endure, im very happy you did and were able to reply...

 

[Ishcabible]

I think kool bubba ice uses his ps3 as a source since selling his dac1. PM him.

 

[krohm]

cool

is the ps3 any good as a source if its hooked up to good amp/dac ?

 

[71877]

Note that in order to get sacd playback, you'll need to use the HDMI out. The optical out wont do sacd.

I use my PS3 as a media server (pc flac/mp3 -> lan cable -> PS3 -> optical -> amp -> speakers) for some casual listening and its alright (altho my speaker rig is quite low-end).

The main negative thing is tho: no gapless playback and trackswitching takes a while. Maybe this is fixed when the music is played directly from the PS3.

 

[BigTony]

You can get SACD output over optical (I do) but I think it must have to be one of the older PS3 boxes (mine is an early release version).
HDMI playback requires an amp with HDMI inputs, and these are pricey, and now your at the mercy of the HA on the intergrated amp. Some offer quite good HA, but its a hit/miss affair - and unfortunately you can't tease SACD out over analogue to a dedicated HA (tried and failed to get this working, but DSD is protected and only output over the speakers).

The main reason I move away from the PS3 as a SACD player is the noise of the player.

 

[krohm]

my ps3 is older.. mainly i want to be able to do lossless m4a or flac. if i cant get m4a or flac working i might just convert all my m4as/flacs with dbpoweramp to wav.. can batch convert them all and store all cds on a SSD hard drive i can put in the ps3. that way all music is instantly accessible. you can get better fans for the ps3 to make them quieter. and the SSD hard drives make them heaps quieter ive heard. would double the hd space but if i only store my music on it i could get a SSD drive in a few months that will be 256gb. that will store all my music until i can get a m4a/flac solution for the ps3. just wanting to know if it is a good source to drive the music if i am able to hook it up to an amp with optical.. is hdmi and optical the same for audio?

 

[BigTony]

No .flac/lossless support for the ps3.

 

[BigTony]

Quote:

Originally Posted by krohm /img/forum/go_quote.gif my ps3 is older.. mainly i want to be able to do lossless m4a or flac. if i cant get m4a or flac working i might just convert all my m4as/flacs with dbpoweramp to wav.. can batch convert them all and store all cds on a SSD hard drive i can put in the ps3. that way all music is instantly accessible. you can get better fans for the ps3 to make them quieter. and the SSD hard drives make them heaps quieter ive heard. would double the hd space but if i only store my music on it i could get a SSD drive in a few months that will be 256gb. that will store all my music until i can get a m4a/flac solution for the ps3. just wanting to know if it is a good source to drive the music if i am able to hook it up to an amp with optical.. is hdmi and optical the same for audio?

HDMI has more bandwidth than optical, so high deg. multi ch. is only available via HDMI. If you take the output as a digital stream, then all the ps3 is doing is acting as a transport - and then the question 'is it good?' is really a format/software one; in that case, the answer is no; it doesn't support .flac/m4a, it has a very poor interface for searching your music collection, hd space is limited, and it runs hot and noisey.

 

[krohm]

Quote:

Originally Posted by BigTony /img/forum/go_quote.gif HDMI has more bandwidth than optical, so high deg.

what does high deg mean?

Quote:

Originally Posted by BigTony /img/forum/go_quote.gif If you take the output as a digital stream, then all the ps3 is doing is acting as a transport - and then the question 'is it good?' is really a format/software one; in that case, the answer is no; it doesn't support .flac/m4a, it has a very poor interface for searching your music collection, hd space is limited, and it runs hot and noisey.

maybe not for support range of software as it is limited to wav atm, but there are simple linux solutions im told and surely the software will be updated to support m4a in the future. no doubt

and in terms of format, the interface on the ps3 if it is tweaked the right way, is awesome. ask anyone who owns one. its widely accepted as smooth and nice, especially if using the blutooth wireless remote.

and as i said you can decrease the noise from changing fans and increase hd space and decrease noise further by chucking in a solid state drive.

if its setup well, all you do is press any button on bluetooth remote and will load up and your display can instantly access all your music n video, and a dam fine firemware updateable blu ray player to boot., makes it a pretty awesome media centre option if you put in the time, ild hardly say that isnt good,. well maybe it isnt right off the bat, but definately has potential.
run all music/video everything via blutooth remote with a simple and customisable interface.. and 'ps3 media server' app for windows is awesome streaming flv's mkvs and other downloaded video content wirelessly from pc to the ps3 (uses ffdshow), is awesome



ok so if the stream is whats important then it doesnt matter how it gets to the amp/receiver/dac then.. ???

i know nothing about audio,. but if im to look at getting a system that will potentially run my music for the next 5-10 years and am wanting fairly quality stuff, ie will buy each item one at a time (amp then two speakers, then extend to surround etc) what should i be looking at to drive my headphones with that in mind. couple of k per item i would imagine but again, i have no idea about audio.. looking at first using the amp predominantly for my headphones then look at getting 2 speakers then surround after.. what should i start looking at.. total newbie but rather then get a system and then learn more and end up upgrading in 2 years ild rather just learn a **** load now and over the next couple of months before making the purchase. so woudl love feedback from lots of knowledable ppls rather then learning from one if i go intoa store and look at dropping a couple of grand. alrite would love feedback on the amp/ dac/receiver etc situation.. what should i be looking at if just wanting to get the best sound possible for the hd650s for just the headphones with looking to expand to surround system long term.. alrite long post, early morning/late night, cheers...

 

[BigTony]

opps .. high definition audio!
Like i said, i've had a ps3 since launch and i wouldn't recommed it as a media hub for music.

 

[krohm]

but as you said its a transporter for a digital stream., so it doesnt matter what the digital source is transported on, just matters how it is transferred, ie optical/hdmi.. is that right? so the amp receiver dac cables headphones etc determine the quality not what transports the digital music to the audio devices ?? is that right...

 

[crossmd]

If you're willing to drop several thousand dollars on a truly professional setup, why are you insistent on using the ps3? I think you're applying a consumer mindset to a professional grade budget. Big Tony's right. You're willing to put thousands of dollars into a skeleton that has a $300 brain. The PS3 IMO, really wasn't intended for reference grade listening.