[tyrion]

Quote:

Originally Posted by uzziah wonder how these amps, with the airport express setup, would compare to a dedicated cd player. any thoughts? i have been looking at the nad 541i. now, obviously if i get an external hd, airport express and a dac, it's going to cost more than the 541i or 542, but will it sound better? worse? any idea?

I have the AX > CI VDA-1/VAC-1 combination and have had the 541i and cd-25 with Modwright mods and I believe the AX setup is better than the 541i and easily as good as the cd-25 with mods. The modded cd-25 is an excellent cdp.

I use mine with my speaker set up and it sounds great.

 

[uzziah]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tyrion I have the AX > CI VDA-1/VAC-1 combination and have had the 541i and cd-25 with Modwright mods and I believe the AX setup is better than the 541i and easily as good as the cd-25 with mods. The modded cd-25 is an excellent cdp. I use mine with my speaker set up and it sounds great.

thank you very much. that's exactly the sort of answer i was hoping for

 

[uzziah]

also, can i be online using the airport card and stream music at the same time? remember, i've got a 500mhz 320mb ram osx 12.4 ibook

and here might be the problem. i'm getting an internet signal from my nextdoor neighbor (piggy backing off his wireless system). can i get that signal to the computer and stream music at the same time?

 

[3lusiv3]

Quote:

Originally Posted by uzziah do i need an amp? or can i go straight from dac to phones?

Just to be clear, the DAC1 has a headphone jack but most DACs don't. So if you get a CIAudio VDA-1, for example, you still need a headphone jack somewhere. This would have to be either the headphone jack of a speaker amp/receiver or a headphone amp.

 

[3lusiv3]

Quote:

Originally Posted by uzziah also, can i be online using the airport card and stream music at the same time? remember, i've got a 500mhz 320mb ram osx 12.4 ibook and here might be the problem. i'm getting an internet signal from my nextdoor neighbor (piggy backing off his wireless system). can i get that signal to the computer and stream music at the same time?

I think the iBook 500 can cope with streaming and being online at the same time. The processor will be quite busy and may max out occasionally, but it should work.

If you already have a wireless network you can set up the Airport Express with the same network name and password, and as a wireless bridge that extends the range of the current network. It will then be a part of the same wireless network and you can stream music to the airport express, plus be online.

 

[uzziah]

alright. the airport express way seems to be a very good idea. my ibook has been doing pretty well lately anyway.

so:

airport express ($100 ish) (already have airport card)
external hd and inclosure ($100 ish for 80gb hd and enclosure)

so there's may simple and effective transport. then:

dac?
i'll be trying out the t-amp and speakers at first, so the amp/speakers situation is covered for now.

funny, i won't even have headphones in the system at first, even though i'm posting on headfi. you guys are just the most helpful out there. i mean it. i try posting on other forums and get lousy responses. yeah for headfi!

i'll upgrade the t-amp as necessary. i'll be using axiom m3ti speakers.

so the 1 million dollar question is: what dac to use? i DO NOT NEED PORTABILITY. the bigger and uglier the better

well, i think i'll set my dac budget at around $500. and as previously stated, i will have an amp, so i don't need one in the dac. here's some ideas i've heard:

scott nixon
aos piccola
ci audio

heck, maybe i'll even spring for something like a benchmark. i'd have to be in a nutty mood though

remember, this is to be PRIMARILY a speakers setup

 

[robzr]

I'd be very curious to hear how these three DACs in the same price range stack up against eachother......

Rob

 

[lan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by uzziah alright. the airport express way seems to be a very good idea. so the 1 million dollar question is: what dac to use? remember, this is to be PRIMARILY a speakers setup

I say forget the DAC and T-amp and use a Panasonic XR25 digital receiver. That way you don't need a DAC and the amp will have more power and your speaker choice is then a bit more flexible.

 

[uzziah]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lan I say forget the DAC and T-amp and use a Panasonic XR25 digital receiver. That way you don't need a DAC and the amp will have more power and your speaker choice is then a bit more flexible.

thanks. i just purchased the axiom m3ti's so that's done with. got into a late bidding war with someone here at head-fi

small audio world

i also bought the t-amp. at $20 (ecost.com), i don't think i can go wrong. if need be, i'll get myself a "proper" amplifier later. i like the idea of having separate components: transport > dac > amp > phones/speakers

i'll probably get a little headphone amp for portable use and home use when the wife is asleep

the main question is the dac. i have been planning the aox piccolo because of the price, and because i can use it portably (with optical out from iriver dap), but i'm not convinced. i hear some very good reviews for it, and then some not-so good ones. i think most people that have it seem to love it though. also looking at scott nixon tubedac+ and any other dac's in that price range

 

[Zoide]

Well, I currently have the M3Ti's, and running through a Pioneer A-35R amplifier my friends and I had some difficulty telling the difference between the AOS Piccolo (w/ optical in from the M-Audio Sonica) and just the Sonica's analog output. We did feel that the Piccolo's analog out was better than the Sonica's, but the difference was very very subtle.

Btw, congrats on getting the M3Ti's! They're awesome

Especially for the price!

 

[uzziah]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zoide Well, I currently have the M3Ti's, and running through a Pioneer A-35R amplifier my friends and I had some difficulty telling the difference between the AOS Piccolo (w/ optical in from the M-Audio Sonica) and just the Sonica's analog output. We did feel that the Piccolo's analog out was better than the Sonica's, but the difference was very very subtle. Btw, congrats on getting the M3Ti's! They're awesome Especially for the price!

thanks, i'll keep that in mind. perhaps the upgraded dac is not worth it unless i can go into the $1000 range. anyone else have an opinion on this? i'd appreciate it. otherwise, it would be the dac from the airport express itself.

 

[tyrion]

Quote:

Originally Posted by uzziah thanks, i'll keep that in mind. perhaps the upgraded dac is not worth it unless i can go into the $1000 range. anyone else have an opinion on this? i'd appreciate it. otherwise, it would be the dac from the airport express itself.

There is a noticeable difference between the AX without a dac and the AX with the CI dac. The AX without the dac sounds good, it is just better with the dac. Try it first without the dac, if you can live with it then save up for a high end dac.