[cvince]

I just purchased the grado HF1 from Aliacha (yes if you are reading this, consider it bought), but I'm also getting a gilmore lite from somewhere else.

My major bottleneck here is my source. My dell laptop has craptastic integrated sigmatel c-major audio, and I'm thinking of purchasing a Silverstone EB01 USB DAC in order to improve the sound.

At the moment I am connecting a pair of HF-1's to Aliacha's Little Dot II tube amp to my Pioneer DV-525 DVD player (which I am borrowing from my dad's video HT rig), and I am enjoying the sound much more that connecting the Dot II to my laptop VIA RCA/mini adapter. However, I can't just keep the DVD player, as what good is a video HT rig that can't play any media?

My question here is whether I will get better sound out of a

$100 DVD or CD player>gilmore>HF-1 setup ($100 + $250 = $350)

Or a PC>Silverstone EB01 USB DAC>Gilmore>HF-1 setup. ($100+$250 = $350)

Or a PC>Turtle Beach Audio Amigo 7.1 ($40)>Gilmore VIA mini to RCA>HF-1 setup. ($40 + $250 = $290)

The Silverstone obviously brings the added convenience of a computer as opposed to a simple CD player. However, if the CD player has significantly better sound, I might ignore that convenience as a compensation.

 

[Cousin Patty]

I dont know anything about the Silverstone DAC, but assuming its decent,I'd go with that setup. Use FLAC>DAC>Gilmore Lite>HF-1. Should sound pretty good. Plus the convenience of the PC.

 

[Uncle Erik]

Get the SilverStone EB01. Just picked one up for my brother-in-law and fiddled with it a little. (Please don't tell him.)

I gave it a shot with, among other things, the HF-1 and a Dynalo (DIY Gilmore Lite). I was happy. It's a good source. I'd buy one, but I'm enamored with the PreSonus and am keeping it.

But yeah, you'll get good sound. Use lossless files and you'll be surprised how good your Dell sounds.

 

[dqniel]

So you could set up a bit perfect output from your USB to that Silverstone DAC and get better music SQ than with any sound card in that price range?

 

[Uncle Erik]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dqniel So you could set up a bit perfect output from your USB to that Silverstone DAC and get better music SQ than with any sound card in that price range?

Yes. Well, arguably. But the sound is excellent regardless of what side of the fence you're on. And it's certainly the least expensive route to an excellent source. Try it.