[gugguson]

Hello guys.

I have the following setup:

Macbook pro
T-Amp
Kef Coda 9 floor speakers

The system sounds pretty good although I can't increase the volume to much which doesn't bother me.
How can I improve the sound quality of my system? Should I buy a DAC, is the amp not good enough for the speakers or is there something else which would get me better sound quality?

Help in getting the best sound for not to much money would be very helpfull.

Regards,
Johann

 

[Kurotetsu]

Quote:

Originally Posted by gugguson /img/forum/go_quote.gif Hello guys. I have the following setup: Macbook pro T-Amp Kef Coda 9 floor speakers The system sounds pretty good although I can't increase the volume to much which doesn't bother me. How can I improve the sound quality of my system? Should I buy a DAC, is the amp not good enough for the speakers or is there something else which would get me better sound quality? Help in getting the best sound for not to much money would be very helpfull. Regards, Johann

It looks like you're using the analog line out from your Macbook to the T-Amp. In that case, you could certainly benefit from adding a USB DAC to your chain, since I highly doubt that the DAC that your onboard soundcard is using is worth a crap. OS X outputs a bit-perfect digital signal by default, so you'd have an easy time setting it up.

I know there a few good USB DACs for cheap, have a look at this thread:

http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f7/all...an-buy-197674/

Exactly how much would you be willing to spend?

 

[leveller1642]

I personally doubt if upgrading your DAC would make much of a difference to your current system. I find the DAC in my Macbook Pro isn't too bad.

Your t amp is 15 watts a channel or is it less? I'd suggest a more powerful amplifier. Even though KEF states a minimum of 10 watts a channel and they are moderately efficient at 91db, I'd tend to think they are way underpowered.

I'd be careful about turning up the volume too loud or you could risk blowing your speakers. This is a definite danger with low powered conventional amplifiers, but I am unsure if a T amp has the same characteristics of outputting DC current when overdriven.

There are plenty of decent amps such as NAD, Marantz, Pioneer, Onkyo etc etc available second hand relatively cheaply, that i guarantee will make your KEFs sound much better.

 

[gugguson]

Thank you for the reply guys.

Regarding the DAC: leveller1642 says that I would hear much difference with a DAC while Kurotetsu says the onboard one on my MacBook pro is good enough. Are there any other options about that?

Regarding the T-Amp: I have heard fantastic things about the amp and I'm a bit dissapointed that it is not good enough for my speakers. I bought the speakers about 15 years ago - if there is one of the speakers in the loudspeaker broken would I hear it or is it something that a professional would only hear (I'm wondering because there isn't much bass coming out of the speakers)? You suggest few amps. Is there anyone which doesn't cost to much and takes up little space and would be good with my setup which you recommend?

I wouldn't want to spend to much on DAC but the EMU 0404 looks good after I have read about on this forums. It costs about 200 dollars and is probably a little bit more than I would like to spend but I will have to consider it.

Regards,
Johann

 

[gugguson]

Would maybe something like Glow Amp One (glow audio integrated tube amplifier with USB and DAC single ended valve amplifier) be something that would be good for my setup. It has a built in DAC and is a tube amplifier. What do you guys think?

My coda speakers have Nominal Power of 10 Watt RMS and is 6Ω

This tube amp has OUTPUT IMPEDANCE of 4Ω~8Ω
OUTPUT POWER 5W×2 at 1KHz

Would that make a good combination? Is there anything else out there which could be a better option?

Regards,
Johann

 

[Kurotetsu]

Quote:

Originally Posted by gugguson /img/forum/go_quote.gif Thank you for the reply guys. Regarding the DAC: leveller1642 says that I would hear much difference with a DAC while Kurotetsu says the onboard one on my MacBook pro is good enough. Are there any other options about that?

Actually, you got that completely backwards. ^_^;;;

 

[gugguson]

Anyone?

 

[Kobra]

First of, I wouldn't pay to much attention to the statement of Kurotetsu about the quality of the MacBook DAC as we can read from his signature that he's on a Windos PC...

(has he any personal experience from using a MacBook?)

Then, albeit the onboard DAC of the MacBook Pro is of rather good quality you would get better sound quality with a external DAC, either USB or preferably a Optical one. Though you would have to decide for yourself if the price is worth it (iBasso D10 is about $275, it has both USB and optical connections)

If you could stretch your budget a little the ($245) KingRex T20u would suit you well as it's a combined USB DAC and a T-amp

Though it would mean that your current amp would be left out...

So, as you already have a good amp and set of speakers, I would recommend you to look at a affordable DAC to add to your chain. Here's a good comparison of several different and affordable DAC's ( the Devilsound has been reviewed favourably by many, it's about $299). Look at the KingRex UD-01 at $200 and read the review made by Skylab

And lastly, If you want to continue to use your current speakers but have them driven by a really nice amp/dac combo the Peachtree Audio Nova should be on your list, though as I've said it's quite outside of your budget as it's in the $1200 bracket

Happy hunting!

 

[leveller1642]

That 5 watt a channel tube amp would possibly make your KEFs sound worse. They would be way underpowered.

 

[elbuzzard]

personally I like the sound of the T-amp. It works well with my Klipsch and PSB speakers. If you want more juice from a chip amp maybe the gizmo is something worth looking into. Its rated at 25wpc. Sell your T-amp and find a decent DAC to pair with the gizmo.

 

[gugguson]

Thank you guys for the great info.

elbuzzard: The gizmo sounds good. I was very interested in tube amps because I like warm sound and especially warm and powerfull bass which by my readings is a character of tube amps. Do you think the gizmo would be good for my speakers (my speakers are 6 ohm but the gizmo 4 ohm)?

leveller1642: My speakers are rated at 91W and by the specifications of the tube amp it can drive speakers from 90W. I don't know a lot about these numbers but by my readings I thought that they would work well together.

Kobra: Thank you for a long and good reply, very helpfull. I will do some readings of the DACs you recommend. The amp you recommend is probably a little bit more than I can afford to spend (I'm from Iceland ). I have done some readings of tube amps and I'm a little bit excited about getting a small tube amp and a dac. Do you think there is any small tube amp out there who would work with my speakers (91W and 6ohm)?

Also I have Westone3 earphones which would be good to use with the system.

Thank you guys.
Joi

 

[iriverdude]

New speakers. I had Kef Coda 9 in fact still got them in the attic, but they're not fantastic speakers. Good for first system though but you should upgrade them.

 

[sonci]

I won`t recommend anything combo, even if its a bargain
Try always separates, consider that one fail, you have to replace both,.
Having DAC, Preamp, Ampl separates make it easier to upgrade..

 

[gugguson]

Hello guys.

By your recommendations this could be more expensive than I thought:

New speakers
DAC
Preamp
New Amp

I have come to the conclusion that I need a DAC and a new amp which can drive my current speakers.

As I'm not very much into audio specs I'm not sure if I need a preamp. What do you guys think? What is the benefits?

I think by roadplan for my system should be:

1. Get a DAC, Devilsound, iBasso or KingRex
2. Get a decent small amp - maybe a tube or something else.
3. Get a preamp like KingRex pre-amp (if needed).

How does this sound with my Kef Coda 9 speakers?

Joi

 

[iriverdude]

You will always need a pre-amp, you can't just send line level to a poweramp as it'll be at 100% gain and blow your speakers. Some people use sources with variable analogue outputs into poweramps with success. Squeezebox has variable output