[mattlach]

Hey everyone,

As I am sure is the same in many of a household on these forums, my better half tends to wind up with my audio hand-me-downs when I upgrade.

She is actually still daily driving my OG Asgard (Schiit order #572, does that mean I was their 572nd customer? ) using a Modi Multibit as her DAC and a set of 250Ohm Beyerdynamic DT770 Pro's

For speakers she used to use a set of Micca MB42x "bang for the buck" models I had used as HT surrounds for a while, powered by a Dayton DTA-120 class D amp, with a budget Dayton SUB-800 8" subwoofer. Not exciting hardware by any means, but I had them dialed in perfectly at one point, and they sounded pretty good. But since we moved a couple of years ago, we just haven't gotten around to setting it back up yet.

Well, I just gave into temptation and bought the Ragnarok 2 due to the new low price, which means my existing headphone and power amps will flow downstream and turn into an upgrade.

She needs to travel for a couple of weeks, and I was thinking it might be time to sneak in and ninja upgrade and speaker setup while she does.

I would love some of your opinions on the best way to execute on the future setup.

I'm not opposed to buying some new stuff if it makes sense to do so, but I have a lot of expenses right now, so I can't go crazy. That, and I have the parts bin below of currently unused parts that are just collecting dust to draw from for free:

- Bookshelf Speakers: Micca MB42x
- "Bookshelf Speakers": RBH MC-4C (old HT satellites, but they sound good)
- Subwoofer: Dayton SUB-800
- Subwoofer: Dayton SUB-1000
- Headphone Amp: OG Schiit Jotunheim (no internal card, just an amp)
- DAC: Modi 2 Uber
- DAC: Modi Multibit
- Power Amp: Parasound NewClassic 275v2
- "Desktop Speaker Amp": Lepai LP2020A+
- "Desktop Speaker Amp": Dayton DTA-120


My current leading proposal is the following future state setup:
- DAC: Either keep existing Modi Multibit or replace it with a purchased Multibit DAC card for the OG Jotunheim to free up space on the desk.
- Headphone amp: Replace the OG Asgard with the OG Jotunheim
- Speaker Amp: Replace the old crappy Class D Dayton DTA-120 with either the existing Parasound amp (but it will be difficult to fit in her setup, as desk real estate is limited) or buy a new Schiit Gjallarhorn. Since this is a near-field listening setup, I'm pretty sure the 2x10W into 8 Ohm will suffice.
- Speakers: Use the RBH MC-4C. Their diminuative size will be perfect for her desk real estate problem.
- Subwoofer: Continue to use the budget 8" SUB-800. I think the SUB-1000 might just be a bit much in this application. The Dayton SUB-800 isn't the highest end product by any stretch of the imagination, but urprisingly it sounds pretty good for its low specs when configured right.

Again, this will be a near field desktop listening setup in a small 10ft x 12x office.

Would appreciate as many opinions as I can get! (I know you guys have them)

 

[dunring]

If you check Amazon warehouse for a 15" monitor riser, they mark them down dramatically for some reason. I bought two and the vented metal ones free up a lot of desk room and allow air circulation if she has 15 inches width of clearance.
I'd either use the Jot and multibit, or just sell it on eBay and buy a space saving all in one like the SMSL C200 which is 109 used with warranty currently on Amazon. I have two and they sound great and plenty of power. Also they're small and don't even get warm.

 

[mattlach]

If you check Amazon warehouse for a 15" monitor riser, they mark them down dramatically for some reason. I bought two and the vented metal ones free up a lot of desk room and allow air circulation if she has 15 inches width of clearance.
I'd either use the Jot and multibit, or just sell it on eBay and buy a space saving all in one like the SMSL C200 which is 109 used with warranty currently on Amazon. I have two and they sound great and plenty of power. Also they're small and don't even get warm.

Yeah, I have thought about monitor risers, but the manuals for audio equipment always say to keep a surprising amount of clearance around amps to allow them to cool, and I didn't think that would leave enough space.

That, and while the Parasound 275v2 is pretty flat, (almost pizza-box shaped) it is 17.25" wide, so I don't know if it would fit.

It almost looks as if it ought to be rackmountable, but I wonder how you'd leave enough space for the vents...

I guess I could stand it on top of an old IKEA Lack table I have kicking around a slide that under the desk. Ought to leave enough clearance to keep things cool, but it will consume some leg space which may not be popular.

Edit:

What do you know, they make a rack mount kit:

https://www.snapav.com/shop/en/snapav/parasound-rmk11-rack-mount-kit-para-rmk11-a