Noob's Proposal For New System - A Request For Assesment & Wisdom

[Gary.D.Olson]

Greetings from a humble new member of your forum!

 

(bow)

I'm attempting to create a reasonable 2-channel system for music only (music style: everything). No movies. But first a little background...

I was a pro musician in the 1980's and spent lots of time in recording studios with the best sounding audio systems, but I'd always had an appreciation for high quality sound. Like many others, I made compromises when “home theater” hit. My existing audio gear went in the closet to make room for HT gear, because the popular position was and is that quality 2-channel music listening is far less important than hearing BOOM! when big bad T-Rex is coming. (Is there anyone who didn't hear a demo or two of Jurrasic Park?)

Anyway, my internal audiophile is back, and the old gear with it. (But WOW! The landscape is so different.) It's time to figure out what old stuff goes and what new elements need to be added that might substantially boost performance without breaking the fargin' bank. My proposed system is detailed below in order of process. Component I already own are indicated with “***” but I'll replace anything your collective wisdom so requires. Your experience is what I'm needin' so here we go:

1. ***FLAC files

2. ***Internal Hard Drive (WD 2TB Sata hdd installed in below computer)

 

3. Homebrew computer – tentatively comprised of the following (incl. Newegg's part#):

-Bare bones computer kitwhich includes small case, 200w Power Supply, 1155 Sandy Bridge motherboard, USB 3 (model: Shuttle SH61R4 - NeweggItem #: N82E16856101124)

-Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit (Item #: N82E16832116986)

-Intel Processor (Celeron G530 Sandy Bridge BX80623G530 Item #: N82E16819116409)

-Ram (4 Gigs of G.SKILL NS F3-10600CL9D-4GBNS Item #: N82E16820231394)

-Optical Bluray Drive/Player/DVD & CD Player/Writer (ASUS Black Blu-ray Drive SATA Model BC-12B1ST/BLK/B/AS Item #: N82E16827135247)

-Wireless Adapter for occasional Pandora streaming (BUFFALO USB WLI-UC-GNHP Item #: N82E16833162032)

-20” Monitor (Acer G205HVbd Item #: N82E16824009314)

-Wireless Keyboard with Laser Trackball(IOGEAR GKM561R Item #: N82E16823176018)

-Sound Card with optical out (PCIe ASUS Xonar DGX Item #: N82E16829132052)

4. Software Music Player (I'm open to suggestions. Winamp, iTunes, MediaMonkey, etc)

5. Unknown optical interconnect from optical out on sound card to optical in on DAC

6. DAC - Schiit Bitfrost

 

7. Unknown RCA interconnect from DAC analog out to receiver RCA preamp in

 

8. ***Preamp/Amp: Denon DRA-1025R 2-channel receiver (Class-A amplification and Denon's top-of-the-line model when I bought it new in the late 1980's at Federated's going-out-of-business sale.)

 

9. Unknown LONG RCA interconnect from Denon's “Main Out” to RCA “line in” on sub woofer

 

10. ***Sub Woofer: Velodyne F1200 (circa 1995, 12” woofer, 20-85hz +/- 3db, internal amp produces 100 watts RMS, bass management which I plan on using [adjusted to 80hz])

 

11. Unknown LONG RCA interconnect from “line out” to “Main In” on Denon receiver

 

12. Unknown speaker wire (or gauge) from Denon to speakers

 

13. ***Speakers: stand-mounted Canton Karat 920 DC bookshelf speakers (circa 1996, 7” woofer + tweeter, none bi-amp)

 

14. ***My 52 year old ears

Thanks.

Gary

[NOMBEDES]

Wow. I like the vintage gear so I am recommending you keep the Audio Gear!!

 

DAC is fine.

 

I would replace the computer with a mini mac. (you may not like Apple - so check out the forms on this site) Your homebrew computer, indeed, maybe ok, but what about noise?

 

I would go to Blue Jeans Cable, or some other high build quality - low price vendor and replace all the cables and interconnects. (please do fall for the "super" cable BS. ~ You want nice quality, not rare earth packed in snake oil)

[Gary.D.Olson]

Oh, that's right! A used Mac. I could pick one of those up for less than the cost of a whole new pc and os. I would have to buy an external USB drive on which to store the music library. Would any good drive do?

[Paul R]

Nice speakers and sub. No idea about the amp, but it probably sounds great.

 

I would focus more on the source, as in spend money on the computer and possibly the DAC.

 

I would buy either a Mac Mini or a C.A.P.S. box, depending upon if you are allergic to Winders - or to Macs.

 

The software on a C.A.P.S. machine is JRMC, and on a Mac, you can choose between a whole bunch, and yes indeed, even JRMC. (JRMC for MacOS is scheduled to be available on 2/22.) Then you can use the hombrew machine to RIP the disks on and transfer them to the new computer over the network.

 

Also invest in a few external disks to backup and make safe your precious music files! VERY important!!

 

For the DAC I would add the USB interface, or purchase a different DAC. That's big rabbit hole to head down though, as there are quite good DACs that can replace the Preamp part of your system, or even the preamp and the amp! Lots and lots of choice.

 

But I would definitely change up the computer first.

 

-Paul

[Gary.D.Olson]

googling C.A.P.S........

 

reading article...................

 

Oh, sh?t, lots more to read. Reading....................................................

[NOMBEDES]

Some Bitfrost have USB some don't, I highly recommend USB.

[Gary.D.Olson]

Why? This is something else I've heard but haven't been able to figure out why. Why would USB offer more than optical? After all, there's far more bandwidth in a fiber optic cable...

 

Some Bitfrost have USB some don't, I highly recommend USB.

[NOMBEDES]

My USB recommendation is based upon my satisfaction with the product. You will find an equal number of recommendation based upon satisfaction regarding optic, firewire, lamp cord, what have you.

 

Remember, I am the guy that recommended good quality LOW COST cables!!

 

There are many, many DACs out there. I think you have a good one, and I would keep it for now.

 

PS. I have had the same speakers in my main system for 35 years. (which might have nothing to do with anything)

[bluesman]

As both my hardware and my ears are a decade+ older than yours, I recommend that you stick with your current audio hardware (checked and cured of any of the ravages of time, of course) and get comfortable with the digital end before worrying about what will almost certainly be little more than minor incremental improvement unless you break the bank........and I'd keep your ears.

 

A Mac Mini is a great idea, as is a CAPS. I think you can get fine sound from almost any PC or Mac with a current processor, 4G of RAM, a half-decent sound card (or even from most MB's digital out) or a good USB DAC and appropriate file storage. I use separate 2 TB x 2 (RAID 1) NAS units for music and for photos, and my "front end" is currently a 3 year old AMD-powered Gateway running Vista because I was too lazy to upgrade it to 7 the right way (i.e. reformat the HD and start fresh). My CD transport is an LG external USB drive (horizontal with tray) that I got on sale from MicroCenter for about $30.

 

I'm not as DAC-sensitive as many on this board, but the USB Bifrost looks good to me - I use an Emotiva DAC that keeps me happy, but the Bifrost should sound a bit better. I strongly recommend starting with Foobar 2000 both for ripping and for playing. It's free and works extremely well. That's my 2c - have fun!

 

David

[Gary.D.Olson]

Thanks Nombedes & David.

I checked out the CAPS (Zuma) components and it uses a $350.00 sound card. David's advice leads me to believe this is not a necessary choice. It would be great to save $250-$300 if a $50-$100 PCIe card would yield close to the same sound quality and s/n ratio. I'm also convinced the i7 processor as overkill for a rig that will never do anything beyond sound output and the occasional web surfing. I've made a few other economical adjustments that shouldn't affect performance, but I would really to hear some good opinions.

 

Here's the new configuration using an ugly Zuma CAPS wannabe. Any thoughts?

1. ***FLAC files

2. ***Internal Hard Drive (WD 2TB Sata hdd installed in below computer)

3. Homebrew CAPS (ZUMA) tentatively to be comprised of:

exact parts as Zuma:

$90 same win8 64b

$100.00 same mobo: Intel DH77EB / BOXDH77EB

$65.00 same SATA Power Noise Filter: SotM

$79.00 same psu + picoPSU-150-XT + 102W Adapter Power Kit (will it fit in my case? Check first.)

$50.00 same JRMC

Substitutions:

$75.00 Creative Sound Blaster Recon3D PCIe 24-bit 96KHz PCI Express x1 Optical Out

$60.00 Silverstone Black Aluminum Case Micro ATX Media Center

$50.00 cpu Intel Celeron G540 Sandy Bridge 2.5GHz LGA 1155 65W Dual-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics BX80623G540

$60.00 internal ssd ADATA Premier Pro SP900 ASP900S3-64GM-C 2.5" 64GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

$26.00 ram ADATA XPG Gaming Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model AX3U1600GB2G9-2G

$655.00 total cost(add $275 if Zuma's sound card is necessary)

4. Software Player (I'm open to suggestions. Winamp, iTunes, MediaMonkey, etc)

5. Unknown optical interconnect from optical out on sound card to optical in on DAC

6. DAC - Schiit Bitfrost

 

7. Unknown RCA interconnect from DAC analog out to receiver RCA preamp in

 

8. ***Preamp/Amp: Denon DRA-1025R 2-channel receiver (Class-A amplification and Denon's top-of-the-line model when I bought it new in the late 1980's at Federated's going-out-of-business sale.)

 

9. Unknown LONG RCA interconnect from Denon's “Main Out” to RCA “line in” on sub woofer

 

10. ***Sub Woofer: Velodyne F1200 (circa 1995, 12” woofer, 20-85hz +/- 3db, internal amp produces 100 watts RMS, bass management which I plan on using [adjusted to 80hz])

 

11. Unknown LONG RCA interconnect from “line out” to “Main In” on Denon receiver

 

12. Unknown speaker wire (or gauge) from Denon to speakers

 

13. ***Speakers: stand-mounted Canton Karat 920 DC bookshelf speakers (circa 1996, 7” woofer + tweeter, none bi-amp)

 

14. ***My 52 year old ear

 

 

Thanks again, folks.

[mayhem13]

Some Bitfrost have USB some don't, I highly recommend USB.

 

Why?

[mayhem13]

Thanks Nombedes & David.

I checked out the CAPS (Zuma) components and it uses a $350.00 sound card. David's advice leads me to believe this is not a necessary choice. It would be great to save $250-$300 if a $50-$100 PCIe card would yield close to the same sound quality and s/n ratio. I'm also convinced the i7 processor as overkill for a rig that will never do anything beyond sound output and the occasional web surfing. I've made a few other economical adjustments that shouldn't affect performance, but I would really to hear some good opinions.

 

Here's the new configuration using an ugly Zuma CAPS wannabe. Any thoughts?

1. ***FLAC files

2. ***Internal Hard Drive (WD 2TB Sata hdd installed in below computer)

3. Homebrew CAPS (ZUMA) tentatively to be comprised of:

exact parts as Zuma:

$90 same win8 64b

$100.00 same mobo: Intel DH77EB / BOXDH77EB

$65.00 same SATA Power Noise Filter: SotM

$79.00 same psu + picoPSU-150-XT + 102W Adapter Power Kit (will it fit in my case? Check first.)

$50.00 same JRMC

Substitutions:

$75.00 Creative Sound Blaster Recon3D PCIe 24-bit 96KHz PCI Express x1 Optical Out

$60.00 Silverstone Black Aluminum Case Micro ATX Media Center

$50.00 cpu Intel Celeron G540 Sandy Bridge 2.5GHz LGA 1155 65W Dual-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics BX80623G540

$60.00 internal ssd ADATA Premier Pro SP900 ASP900S3-64GM-C 2.5" 64GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

$26.00 ram ADATA XPG Gaming Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model AX3U1600GB2G9-2G

$655.00 total cost(add $275 if Zuma's sound card is necessary)

4. Software Player (I'm open to suggestions. Winamp, iTunes, MediaMonkey, etc)

5. Unknown optical interconnect from optical out on sound card to optical in on DAC

6. DAC - Schiit Bitfrost

 

7. Unknown RCA interconnect from DAC analog out to receiver RCA preamp in

 

8. ***Preamp/Amp: Denon DRA-1025R 2-channel receiver (Class-A amplification and Denon's top-of-the-line model when I bought it new in the late 1980's at Federated's going-out-of-business sale.)

 

9. Unknown LONG RCA interconnect from Denon's “Main Out” to RCA “line in” on sub woofer

 

10. ***Sub Woofer: Velodyne F1200 (circa 1995, 12” woofer, 20-85hz +/- 3db, internal amp produces 100 watts RMS, bass management which I plan on using [adjusted to 80hz])

 

11. Unknown LONG RCA interconnect from “line out” to “Main In” on Denon receiver

 

12. Unknown speaker wire (or gauge) from Denon to speakers

 

13. ***Speakers: stand-mounted Canton Karat 920 DC bookshelf speakers (circa 1996, 7” woofer + tweeter, none bi-amp)

 

14. ***My 52 year old ear

 

 

Thanks again, folks.

 

Your Asus card via Optical with a glass TosLink will be just fine. It's what's on the other end that counts.

[Gary.D.Olson]

Thanks, Mayhem. I'll give this a bit more time before finalizing, but I have tweaked the proposed system a bit more based on your help. Here's the flow:

 

Flac file

2TB internal sata hdd >

PCIe sound card > optical output >

tbd optical cable

> Optical input on DAC (Schiit MODI) > analog output >

tbd rca cable

> Aux input on Preamp/Amp (Denon DRA-1025R receiver) > main out >

tbd 15-20' rca cable

> line input on sub woofer (Velodyne F1200) > line output >

tbd 15-20' rca cable

> Main input on preamp/amp (Denon DRA-1025R receiver) > speaker output >

tbd speaker cable (gauge also to be determined)

> stand-mounted speakers (Canton Karat 920 DC)

 

Thumbs up? Thumbs down? Anything else?

 

Thanks again.

[robbbby]

If you are building this strictly for audio playback and light websurfing why even bother with the zuma? Something like the lagoon or topanga with a Intel DN2800MT would serve you just fine I would think.

 

Computer Audiophile - C.A.P.S.

[Paul R]

Hey Gary -

The C.A.P.S. machines use very specific hardware to achieve very specific results, and changing the hardware changes the machine to not be a C.A.P.S. machine any longer. Not that you can not change the hardware and have a very good machine, but it will be different. That seems a little odd to people used to dealing with commodity hardware, but it's true none the less.

 

Basically, why not look at one of the smaller C.A.P.S. units, like a Lagoon? If not that, consider a Netbook or some small battery powered portable computer. You really want to control the machine noise as much as possible, and generic "bit perfect" music playback does not need a 800 gorilla for a CPU. Most folks think that, for whatever reason, the lower powered units sound a bit better too.

 

On the other paw, you can have a lot of fun just mixing and matching up parts, but if the goal is to put together a machine that plays music really really well - stick with a proven design, a Mac Mini, or with one of the players out there on the market. They range in cost from $100 to upwards of $100K.

 

-Paul

 

 

Thanks Nombedes & David.

I checked out the CAPS (Zuma) components and it uses a $350.00 sound card. David's advice leads me to believe this is not a necessary choice. It would be great to save $250-$300 if a $50-$100 PCIe card would yield close to the same sound quality and s/n ratio. I'm also convinced the i7 processor as overkill for a rig that will never do anything beyond sound output and the occasional web surfing. I've made a few other economical adjustments that shouldn't affect performance, but I would really to hear some good opinions.

[Gary.D.Olson]

Paul, nombedes, bluesman, mayhem13, and robbbby.

 

Please accept my humble appreciation for the help you've already given. Much obliged to you & anyone else who takes the time to chime in.

 

I'm VERY open to the idea of a Mac or Mac Mini, but I'm also shooting for an optical connection between DAC and computer. I've observed a lot of systems on this forum with Mac laptops & Minis, which leads me to wonder if they have optical out. Is this true? If so, which "used" models should a frugal budding audiophile look for for a music-only system?

 

Please forgive. This is a lot to learn for an old-schooler. I woke up this morning having never heard of this forum, knowing nothing about Mac (aside from their reputation for style & reliability), & having never heard of CAPS. Nothing worthwhile is ever easy, is it?

 

Thanks for all the help!

 

Gary

[Paul R]

Paul, nombedes, bluesman, mayhem13, and robbbby.

 

Please accept my humble appreciation for the help you've already given. Much obliged to you & anyone else who takes the time to chime in.

 

Apologies for what? Great heavens, people here love to answer questions. Wait until a few other folks find this thread and you will be swimming in hog heaven with suggestions! All of wich will be good, and many of which will contradict each other.

 

This is all meant to be fun, not agonizing! If you read any other tone into my reply, please accept my apologies! It was unintended.

 

Please keep asking questions until you have answers you like and are comfortable with. It is quite okay to change your mind or make mistakes, and even more okay to take your time getting it right. You live with an audio system for a long time.

 

I'm VERY open to the idea of a Mac or Mac Mini, but I'm also shooting for an optical connection between DAC and computer. I've observed a lot of systems on this forum with Mac laptops & Minis, which leads me to wonder if they have optical out. Is this true? If so, which "used" models should a frugal budding audiophile look for for a music-only system?

 

Please forgive. This is a lot to learn for an old-schooler. I woke up this morning having never heard of this forum, knowing nothing about Mac (aside from their reputation for style & reliability), & having never heard of CAPS. Nothing worthwhile is ever easy, is it?

 

Thanks for all the help!

 

Gary

 

Every modern Mac has optical outputs. Comes out of the same jack as the headphones, you just plug in another cable. Some people like the optical output, some avoid it because of worries about jitter. (Essentially jitter is a timing error, sort of like the digital eqivalent of wow and flutter...)

 

l rather like the optical output myself, but it is limited on Macs to a max sample rate of 96k. Many folks bypass that limit using USB connected DACs, or even Firewire connected DACs.

 

Truthfully, there is not a lot of content yet at sample rates greater than 96k, so, in my opinion, using a DAC that sounds really good to you on cd quality material and up to 96k is the sweet spot on terms of cash outlay right now. That is changing quickly though!

 

I would probably go for a new Mac Mini if I were you, at $599. 90 days of complimentary support, one year warranty, a wide selection of players that work with iTunes, which by itself sounds prrtty darn good, an i5 processor, 4gigs of RAM, built in optical output, a d so forth. Easy to setup and maintain, and you do not need to conndct a monitor or keyboard to it except to initially set it up. That takes about a half hour.

 

Yours,

Paul

 

Typos courtesy of my iPhone.

[Gary.D.Olson]

Paul,

 

You may have already noticed I meant to convey humble "appreciation", not "apology". None of your replies made you seem bothered to answer questions. On the contrary; you've been nothing but kind. This brings to mind how different things are in the computing world today. Not long ago, most everyone was tethered to a Windows or Apple desktop. Then the laptop was the ticket, and now it's the iPhone, iPad, & other such devices. I'm typing this on a wireless keyboard 15 feet from a LCD HDTV hooked up to an HTPC I built two years ago. I don't know about you, but I've never miss spelled so much in my life (lol).

 

Which leads me to something else. UI. My HTPC has been an awesome user interface for accessing and controlling content. (In case you wonder why not arrange this room for music listening; there is no sweet spot here due to the shape of the room and wife-friendly speaker placement.) Do most people here use iPhones & iPads as their user interface? I've never used anything from Apple but I'm very open to it as previously stated.

 

With limited knowledge, the best and least inexpensive options I know of for a user-friendly UI are:

 

1. Computer, monitor, and wireless keyboard/trackball (as I currently use)

2. iPhone or iPad

3. Android-based contrivance, such as our Kindle Fire

 

Am I missing something else? What is the preferred UI around here? Do you have a recommendation?

 

Thanks again for helping me put all this together. I've made more progress in the last 24 hours than I have in the 17 years since converting my audio system to a home theater.

 

Gary

[bluesman]

1. Computer, monitor, and wireless keyboard/trackball (as I currently use)

2. iPhone or iPad

3. Android-based contrivance, such as our Kindle Fire

 

Hi, Gary -

 

We have all of the above, and I think I like our Android tablet best for this purpose. My iPhone works great, but having the larger tablet display obviates the need for reading glasses. I have a Logitech wireless keyboard and mouse on the PC in my listening room, and having to walk over to the rack to see the display is a major drawback. Of course, using Foobar means having to use the computer's display.

 

Ahhh, here's to the "wife-friendly" listening environment.......I had to get rid of my Infinity Reference Standards many years ago because my generally tolerant wife couldn't get used to speakers as tall as she is. In fairness, she did give me a pair of the then-current Stax phones, so I can't complain too much.

[Gary.D.Olson]

"We have all of the above, and I think I like our Android tablet best for this purpose. My iPhone works great, but having the larger tablet display obviates the need for reading glasses. I have a Logitech wireless keyboard and mouse on the PC in my listening room, and having to walk over to the rack to see the display is a major drawback. Of course, using Foobar means having to use the computer's display."

Sweet. I already own a Kindle Fire - an android-based wifi device. The Kindle would be an excellent AND FREE UI solution with the right software. Any recommendations on that?

 

"Ahhh, here's to the "wife-friendly" listening environment.......I had to get rid of my Infinity Reference Standards many years ago because my generally tolerant wife couldn't get used to speakers as tall as she is. In fairness, she did give me a pair of the then-current Stax phones, so I can't complain too much."

 

I bought a pair of Stax electorstatic headphones in the mid-1980's while my band was on tour. This was a particularly fond memory. It was a high-end shop somewhere on the coast of California; I want to say San Luis Obispo or Santa Maria. The proprietor spared no expense in creating the most relaxed, rich atmosphere of any shop I've ever had the pleasure to visit. Funny; I was so clueless about details like that back then, yet it's the thing I remember today almost 30 years later. I have no idea what I paid for those headphones, I only remember it was A LOT. Good times. I still have them somewhere, and now you've lit the fire to find them. I've never heard a loudspeaker sound as good as those Stax phones.

 

Thanks.

[Paul R]

Sorry - early morning, iPhone, etc.

 

IRT to remote control software and especially the WAF, Karen loves JRemote and iTunes Remote.app, both of which only run on iPhones and iPads. JRemote on an iPad is about my idea of the best remote control software around. For music playing that is.

 

I use a MacbookPro laptop to manage the server via a remote screen and to RIP new music from CDs. The remote screen management works just fine for Mac or PC servers, at no extra cost.

 

It all works.

 

-Paul

 

 

Paul,

 

You may have already noticed I meant to convey humble "appreciation", not "apology". None of your replies made you seem bothered to answer questions. On the contrary; you've been nothing but kind. This brings to mind how different things are in the computing world today. Not long ago, most everyone was tethered to a Windows or Apple desktop. Then the laptop was the ticket, and now it's the iPhone, iPad, & other such devices. I'm typing this on a wireless keyboard 15 feet from a LCD HDTV hooked up to an HTPC I built two years ago. I don't know about you, but I've never miss spelled so much in my life (lol).

 

Which leads me to something else. UI. My HTPC has been an awesome user interface for accessing and controlling content. (In case you wonder why not arrange this room for music listening; there is no sweet spot here due to the shape of the room and wife-friendly speaker placement.) Do most people here use iPhones & iPads as their user interface? I've never used anything from Apple but I'm very open to it as previously stated.

 

With limited knowledge, the best and least inexpensive options I know of for a user-friendly UI are:

 

1. Computer, monitor, and wireless keyboard/trackball (as I currently use)

2. iPhone or iPad

3. Android-based contrivance, such as our Kindle Fire

 

Am I missing something else? What is the preferred UI around here? Do you have a recommendation?

 

Thanks again for helping me put all this together. I've made more progress in the last 24 hours than I have in the 17 years since converting my audio system to a home theater.

 

Gary

[bluesman]

The Kindle would be an excellent AND FREE UI solution with the right software. Any recommendations on that?

 

Add the TouchRemote DACP Server plugin to Foobar 2000 (if you go PC - FB2K is only available for Windows) and try FoobarCon, FooMote Lite, Foobar2000 Controller or TunesRemote+ on your Android. The level of enthusiasm for each of these varies from review to review, with supporters and detractors for all. FoobarCon seems to have the most consistently high ratings. I haven't tried them yet, but I'll download them all over the next few days and see how easy each is to set up and use.

 

As I recall, my Stax phones were SR-6s and cost my wife about $200 in 1976. I foolishly sold them about 10 years ago because the foam ear surrounds had disintegrated inside and out, and I couldn't find replacement parts. I love my AKG Q701s - I think the low bass may even be a tiny bit bigger and just as tight as it was on the Stax (if I can really remember detail like this so long after the fact). But overall, the Stax were fantastic and I miss them.

 

D

[Gary.D.Olson]

Greetings.

 

Please let me know what you think of my planned system. This configuration would take just $936.00 out of pocket plus probably a bit more tax & shipping. Here's the Macro flow chart:

Flac file

USB External hdd ***LaCie Porsche Design (1) $140.00

USB Cable ********AudioQuest Forest USB A to USB B (2) $35.00

Mac *************MacBook Pro 15” USED $360.00

Media Software ****JRiver Media Center $50.00

Mac Optical Cable ***C2G Cables to Go 27016 Velocity Toslink-to-Optical Mini 2 Meters (3) $10.00

DAC *************Schiit MODI DAC $110.00

RCA Cable ********Belkin 3' RCA (4) $11.00

Integrated Amp ****Denon DRA-1025R receiver $0.00

RCA Cable ********20' bluejean rca subwoofer cable (5) $73.00

Sub Woofer *******Velodyne F1200 Powered Sub Woofer with Variable Crossover $0.00

RCA Cable ********20' bluejean rca subwoofer cable (5) $73.00

Integrated Amp ****Denon DRA-1025R receiver $0.00

Speaker Cable *****16-gauge Accell B109B 100ft UltraAudio speaker cable (6) $60.00

Speakers *********Canton Karat 920 DC (stands yet tbd) $0.00

Other considerations:

Remote Control **********Kindle Fire and/or Harmony One $0.00

Remote Control Software ***Gizmo – included with JRMC $0.00

[h=1]Bluetooth Receiver ******* IOGEAR GBU421 2.1 USB Micro Adapter USB (7) $14.00[/h][h=1]$936.00 Grand Total[/h][h=1] [/h][h=1] ...and here are the links to most of this stuff: [/h]1. 2TB external hdd LaCie Porsche Design (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822154543

2. AudioQuest Forest USB A to USB B 1.5m Digital (http://www.amazon.com/AudioQuest-Forest-Digital-Audio-Cable/dp/B00415AHFS/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1360787132&sr=1-1&keywords=audioquest+audiophile+usb+cable)

3. Optical cable C2G Cables to Go 27016 Velocity Toslink-to-Optical Mini Plug Digital Cable-2 Meters (http://www.amazon.com/Cables-Go-27016-Velocity-Toslink-/dp/B0002JFN1A/ref=sr_1_2?s=aht&ie=UTF8&qid=1360786912&sr=1-2&keywords=Mini+Toslink+Male+to+Toslink+Male+Optical+Adapter+Cable+for+Apple+Macbook)

4. Belkin 3' RCA (http://www.amazon.com/Belkin-PureAV-RCA-Audio-Cable/dp/B0001VWI58/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top)

5. 20' bluejean rca subwoofer cable (http://www.amazon.com/Blue-Jeans-Cable-Double-Shielded-Capacitance/dp/B005979L04/ref=sr_1_11?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1360785903&sr=1-11&keywords=blue+jean+cable+rca)

6. 16-gauge Accell B109B UltraAudio speaker cable (100ft) http://www.amazon.com/Accell-B109B-100F-UltraAudio-16-Gauge-CL3-rated/dp/B002YD7AUY/ref=sr_1_10?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1360786283&sr=1-10&keywords=speaker+cable

[h=1]7. IOGEAR GBU421 Bluetooth 2.1 USB Micro Adapter USB http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833139019)

 

 

Thanks again.

 

Gary [/h]

[mayhem13]

Other may disagree with me but I'm not a fan of Laptop/notebooks for audio file source direct playback....far too noisey an environment and plenty of design compromises for the sake of portability and space.

 

Didn't completely understand your first chart as to what you have and don't have but I 'think'? you already have a PC playing Flac files through an optical out of an Asus Card?

If I'm right, I say order up a glass optical cable and the Bitfrost first.

 

Some of what seems extreme costs with the CAPs servers is the expensive case used. There's much less expensive cases available if you wish to build a server based on CAPs. While my iTunes server isn't caps, I did use a nice, affordable Silverstone Lascala series

 

SilverStone Technology Co., Ltd.- LC13-E

[Gary.D.Olson]

Other may disagree with me but I'm not a fan of Laptop/notebooks for audio file source direct playback....far too noisey an environment and plenty of design compromises for the sake of portability and space.

 

At the risk of sounding too easily swayed, another post (yours) changed my mind - again. I'm going with CAPS! It seems like the clear winner from a purely performance view, and it looks great too. Hey, this is the beginning for me there is no better time to choose a path I'll never regret. A few hundred extra bucks is cheap when amortized over 3-5 years.

 

Didn't completely understand your first chart as to what you have and don't have but I 'think'? you already have a PC playing Flac files through an optical out of an Asus Card? If I'm right, I say order up a glass optical cable and the Bitfrost first.

 

Anything with a "$0.00" at the end indicates I already have it. I don't have a sound card on my HTPC; I use an HDMI cable through the video card (Asus) to send both audio and video to the AV receiver. But I could switch the sound to the mobo's sound and have a listen to the Schiit. Great idea.

 

Some of what seems extreme costs with the CAPs servers is the expensive case used. There's much less expensive cases available if you wish to build a server based on CAPs. While my iTunes server isn't caps, I did use a nice, affordable Silverstone Lascala series

 

I had already resolved to look for a cheaper case if going with CAPS. It's that $350 sound card that gets me. I can't see how an expensive sound card can make any difference when the outboard DAC is doing all the work. I guess there's more research to be done before pulling the trigger on anything.

 

Thanks.

 

SilverStone Technology Co., Ltd.- LC13-E