[Leafe]

Hi.

I've been a fairly persistent lurker here and over at audiogon for the last year or so, and after gathering some funds, I'm preparing to (finally) set up a system. All I can say is...wow. Who knew that the search for reference quality audio would be so involved, or that the steps between music and the ear were so complex? The consolation, of course, is head-fi, which is without a doubt the most supportive community for which one could ever hope. So I pose these question to you; if there is a voice of experience to be found, it will be here.

My initial budget is $5000, with which I would like to purchase an amp, 'phones, source, and cables. After a rather chaotic month of research, I've found a DAC that I love, but it accepts only optical in. The issue is that I was planning to use a Wadia 170i transport--which only has coaxial out. Not going to work.. Okay, so new plan:
I'm looking for a device that integrate my computer to the system and that has an optical out. My computer has USB and firewire ports.

However, the motherboard (Gigabyte p35 ds3r) also has an optical out. I've read that motherboard s/pdif output is not of great quality...can anyone offer an opinion on this?

If I shouldn't use the onboard optical out, what is my best option for using either the computer or an ipod as transport? It must have optical out and be able to play .flac, apple lossless, and AAC (itunes store) files (so a squeezebox is out). I'd also prefer as minimalist of a design as possible; for example, another DAC is redundant so I would prefer a design that doesn't incorporate one (if that exists). Of course, sound quality is the first priority.


I've looked into using an airport, but hesitate because I have an existing wireless network, and because the computer I'd like to use as a transport does not have wireless capabilities (it is connected by ethernet to the router). Also, there is no ethernet jack in the listening room. I'd prefer a wired solution because of reliability and lack of interference...also, everything else is in the same room, so a wireless set up seems kind of...well, silly.


If anyone can offer some insight, I greatly appreciate it.
Thank you

 

[1UP]

Why optical? What DAC are you going to be using? No DAC that only accepts optical would be worth spending five grand on feeding. Optical sucks...

Wireless, wired, optical, streaming, minimalist, sound quality above all...you've got so many disparate, seemingly random requirements it's hard to recommend anything at all

Break it down some

Oh, and welcome to Head-Fi, I would say sorry for your wallet, but you want to drop the price of a small car on a headphone rig, so instead I will say congratulations

P.S. read your post again - hard to make out but assuming you just want an optical out transport; hmm, crap, they'll all be equivalent - try an M-Audio Transit, Edirol UA-1EX, Trends UD10, Pop Pulse PC Link II, any bit-perfect soundcard...

 

[Leafe]

1Up,

Thank you for the quick response. I suppose I need to do a bit more research. I was under the impression that optical and coaxial connections were of roughly equivalent quality. The DAC I was considering is the Theta Gen Va. Would you say I'd be better off with something like the Benchmark fed with USB?


The reason I'm thinking about so many divergent characteristics of the transport is that there seems to be an excessive amount of options. Each company throws in their own options, design priorities, etc. I just want a simple, transparent solution without unnecessary features that will integrate my pc into the system. Further, opinions on any particular product are almost always contradictory--some people hate the transit, others claim it's the best solution they've heard, others say it works well with pcs but not macs... Even the sampling rate capabilities are questionable...some people claiming that 44.1 khz is possible even though it's not officially supported, etc. This seems like the most needlessly complicated step, and it's driving me crazy as there doesn't seem to be a reliable source of information.

 

[1UP]

Quote:

I was under the impression that optical and coaxial connections were of roughly equivalent quality.

Generally, no - optical sounds like arse

Quote:

The DAC I was considering is the Theta Gen Va.

Cripes, why?????? How old is that POS? Some shark trying to sell you their POS from Audiogon??

Quote:

Would you say I'd be better off with something like the Benchmark fed with USB?

Hells yes, or Lavry DA11, or Ayre QB9

 

[auee]

Leafe, I do not agree that optical is lousy. Get a good quality glass cable and see for yourself. I just hope that your DAC has decent jitter rejection as this does make a difference. You will find recommendations for toslink cables by doing a search in the cable forum. I recommend the SuperNova 5 from Wireworld. The cable will be an insignificant part of your budget.

The best all around headphones I have heard are the Sennheiser HD 650s. You can get a new pair from Headroom for less than $375.00 shipped. I do not know the exact price as I have not checked recently. There are many great HPs available, but you cannot go wrong by starting with the Senns.

As far as amps go, you have so many choices your head will swim. You have a really good budget so you can get a really good amp. The Senns will work with tube and solid state amps. You need to decide on which type you want and narrow your search from there. If I were buying a tube head amp, I would get one of the Woo models. You will get a ton of info on these amps from really experienced forum members and Jack himself. Also numerous members love the Ray Samuels Audio Raptor. Your budget makes these amps possible.

For SS, you may want to hear the new Luxman head amp, but there are many others.

Good luck.

 

[iriverdude]

You said squeezebox is out, but have you checked slim devices forum? I'd rather use my squeezebox than a PC (both are connected to audio system and can use either as playback)

Also if you're so critical about music system why have you lossy music? Delete the lot and use flac/alac.