[poo]

Wasn't sure where to put this... but here seems most appropriate

I spent last night drinking Scotch & listening to music. Put simply, it was good.

I am fortunate (and financially deficient) enough to have a few music systems. Every now and then my brain decides to kick into gear, and I realise there is something I can change, modify or do differently within one or more of these systems to get a better result. I use a portable style setup comprising of a Headamp Pico, ALO dock, iPod, and Shure SE530 or Etymotic ER4 IEMs. My primary use of this system is at night when I go to bed so I can listen to music without disturbing my wife. It sounds great, but I realised that for the same price I could probably get a better result.

I use a Benchmark DAC1 USB in my main speaker and headphone systems, controlled by an iPod touch running 'Remote' software (thank god that finally got to see the light of day - and is so damn good!) So last night I had the (somewhat obvious) revelation that I rarely actually use my portable rig outside my damn bed, and never use the DAC in the Pico either... what a waste! It got me thinking that I would be better off selling some of the portable gear and going for more of a 'bedside rig'.

At this stage I plan to purchase a DAC1 (non usb version), into which I will connect an airport express optically (I have one sitting in a box collecting dust). I'll use my iPod touch to control the tunes sent to the express by my server, and continue to use the SE530s and ER4 as IEMs because I need the isolation.

So I guess my reason for posting is to get some feedback on a few areas:

1I have a DAC1 USB and think it sounds great, which is why I plan to buy another (non USB) to use in this new setup. I don't feel the need to use an external headphone amp, the internal unit sounds fine to me. I wonder though, if I might be best to try a different DAC, and if I did, which DAC that might be? I could either go for a comparable DAC with built in headphone amp like a Lavry, or get a cheaper DAC that may not have an internal amp, and pair it with an external amp. Unless the sound quality is noticeably better, I would prefer to stay 'all in one' I guess. Assuming I would be using the Airport Express, the DAC would need to have an optical input. I would like to keep under $1000 USD (a second hand DAC1 is likely to be around $750).

2My understanding of the Airport Express is that it is capable of sending bitperfect audio, limited to 16/44.1 which would be fine for my use in this case. Any reason I should have reservations about using it?

3I presume my IEMs are nowhere near as demanding to drive as my Sennheiser 650s. When using my IEMs, a small change in volume on the DAC1 makes a huge difference. It would be great to change that so the change in volume is not so significant, pretty sure I read once ages ago that there are jumpers within the DAC1 to control this?

4Feel free to point out any shortcomings I may not have considered, or suggest alternative gear.

Thanks for taking the time to help out...

 

[obobskivich]

for a simple bedside setup, why not look at something like Firestone Audio's "Cute" series, its much more compact than the DAC1, and should provide great SQ for your IEMs

the headamp alone is around $200, they have an optical to analog DAC thats around $300, or theres other solutions, overall it would be less expensive (~$500 vs ~$1000) and should be smaller

can the airport output via USB at all? (that'd be so much more convienient, although I'm doubting the feesability of such a solution given the limitations of most USB streaming DACs, you never know though)

 

[poo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by obobskivich /img/forum/go_quote.gif ...Firestone Audio's "Cute" series...

Will look into them - thanks

Quote:

Originally Posted by obobskivich /img/forum/go_quote.gif can the airport output via USB at all?

Sadly, no... but optical is fine for my purposes.

 

[nd4speed]

You're situation is screaming for an HR Desktop DAC/Amp. It's a small "all in one", will drive IEMs AND full size cans (the gain is selectable on the front panel rather than through PITA internal jumpers like DAC1), and has a great DAC (the Home which is upgradable to the MAX); all for about $1K.

 

[panda]

i don't like the benchmark or lavry, i think they are vastly over-rated and only caught on as a flavor of the month. a system that i thought was very nice and high price/perf was bel canto dac2 with headamp gilmore lite and ety er-4s. the dac breathes life into etys and the gilmore further enhances the ultradetail of the etys making a really immersed presentation.

 

[obobskivich]

Quote:

Originally Posted by poo /img/forum/go_quote.gif Sadly, no... but optical is fine for my purposes.

ok, I was just curious, I know optical is more than fine for your purposes (its the same signal, USB DACs just seem to cost less than comparable optical DACs (probably because they're designed to let the computer think for them, while optical handling equipment is designed to work with transports and other stuff, thats a bit less, brainy))

the HR setup is pretty extravagant, at least the desktop DAC

but you might look at the Micro series, which is pretty comparable to the Firestone setup (both in size and features), but a bit more expensive (so quality might be up a little)

if you're going with the desktop series, you can get the amp with optical input as a single unit, much like the Benchmark, and it costs about the same (which is a bit of a downside)

 

[poo]

nd4speed, the HR product is likely the best example given my description... I just can't stand the sight of it! I know it's stupid, I know it's about the sound, but I just can't see that weird friggin thing looking at me as I go to sleep! That aside, being in Australia makes it close to impossible to demo - I'm not really willing to cross my fingers on it (though I know it has had numerous good reviews).

At this stage I'm going to spend more time using my ER4 and SE530 with the DAC1 USB I have, by way of more seriously considering another non USB version of the DAC1. Appreciate the responses so far, and will keep an eye on this thread, so feel free to comment further.