Where do I go from here with my new hobby?

[mistersprinkles]

I have another thread going called "Today I am a Man" about my recent purchase of an entry level HIFI but that seems to have gotten a little ugly for some reason so I thought, since this is a different topic, I would start a new thread.

 

I currently have:

 

Marantz PM5005 integrated amp

KEF Q300 speakers (on 24" stands)

A TEAC UD301 (going back to the store sadly for financial reasons. Will re-purchase later)

An ARCAM rPAC (will be filling in as my DAC for a few months. Then I will sell it)

PSB Subseries (325??) Subwoofer (It's not very good but I got it for chump change)

A SUPRA USB 2.0 cable for PC>>DAC

An AudioQuest Evergreen RCA>RCA for DAC>>AMP

Some brand of 18AWG speaker cable I've never heard of. I couldn't afford good stuff. I have the speakers bi-wired.

 

And the following computer, which is FAR from ideal:

 

Antec P100 ATX case

ASRock Z97 Anniversary ATX mobo

2X2GB G skill DDR3 1600 Cas 9 1.5V

Pentium G3258 CPU

EVGA B500 (A horrible little PSU with pretty high ripple apparently)

 

This is all currently plugged into a MONSTER "Clean Power" power bar which is plugged into a regular 15 amp socket.

I have a Corsair CX500 that I could swap into this computer if that would make any kind of SQ improvement. It's not a problem.

 

I want to get the most out of this system by buying the best components I can afford. I do plan to upgrade my speakers (and possibly my integrated amp) later down the road.

 

I was told my next step should be cleaner power and to buy a high quality wall power socket and a high quality all copper power cord with a certain brand of ends on it for at least my AMP.

 

When I have a hobby I tend to dump a lot of money (well, a lot to ME. To many of you it may seem like a comically small amount of money but I digress) into it.

 

What upgrades can I make to my system from here going forward? I am not a "cables make no difference" person. I think they make a massive difference and I have heard it myself. Sadly. Very sadly actually... room treatments, carpets, acoustic dampening, bass traps, and etc are out of the question. My significant other has forbidden such things.

 

I do know that I need a fully passive computer with no moving parts ideally with paul pang memory and maybe a paul pang motherboard and a high quality USB card. And a linear power supply for said computer. And that it should have Windows Server 2012 on it... but that's going to cost a few bucks... If someone could throw together an example parts list for such a computer I'd be interested in looking at it. This isn't the kind of question I can ask over on Tom's Hardware, after all.

[toddrhodes]

You seem a lot like me impatient... Learn your system my friend. You won't know what will be a true improvement until you know your baseline and this involves weeks and months of getting to know it. Sadly your best ROI comes from room improvements but since that's forbidden, you'll already be behind the 8 ball IMO. Silence and neutral listening spaces will make the biggest differences you're going to find AND that setting makes it so much easier to ascertain differences. If I were in your position I'd buy a CAPS and be done with it. Silencing my PC and my room made a the biggest difference so far.

[mistersprinkles]

Thanks Todd. Can you give me an example of what parts I'd build a CAPS with? I have no clue.

[toddrhodes]

There are quite a few articles here that detail the steps involved to create a caps machine but they can actually be purchased from smallgreencomputer.com if you want a rough idea of cost. you mentioned paul pang earlier and one of his sata cables will cost more than the sub you just got. its up to you to measure the value of such an exercise.

[Jabs1542]

For reference I looked into doing my own CAPS and once I located and priced all the parts I was only slightly lower than what Small Green Computer sells them for. Offset the labor and experience (how many CPUs have you glued cooling piping onto lately?) and it became a no-brainer - I purchased the CAPS v3 in a Micro Zuma case.

[mistersprinkles]

Audiophile VortexBox

 

So I would get something like this guy? Anybody know what CPU/mobo is in there?

 

What operating system does it come with? Would adding Paul Pang RAM help things?

 

Should I get it with the linear power supply? What about SATA shielding? Or are they using M.2 or something?

[JakovH]

If you're not familiar with Linux, I'd be inclined to stick to the CAPs from those guys with windows 7/8. Much easier in general to resolve issues in that OS.

 

All the Paul Pang kit isn't going to do squat to your SQ. Best sorting the source and seeing where your missus is willing to make compromises. Such as GIK acoustic art panels maybe over their plain acoustic panels for room treatment. You can do a lot there and honestly, you'll more than likely get more out of the room treatment than dicking around with tiny, tiny incremental changes to a PC hardware configuration imo.

[mistersprinkles]

As I have mentioned already, I am not allowed to do any kind of room treatments. So saith the wife.

[EuroDriver]

As I have mentioned already, I am not allowed to do any kind of room treatments. So saith the wife.

 

No room treatments, then you need to go down the room correction road

 

You need to decide whether you want to do it in a PC or a stand alone box, such as MiniDSP

[mistersprinkles]

No room treatments, then you need to go down the room correction road

 

You need to decide whether you want to do it in a PC or a stand alone box, such as MiniDSP

 

What is MiniDSP? Just pretend I'm a total noob who knows almost nothing lol. (which is true).

 

Keep in mind guys that when I mention outlandish upgrades like a better power socket, better power cables, better speaker cables... a better PC... These are not my end game speakers, nor possibly my end game amp. I will be upgrading to better stuff within a year or two no doubt. That's just the way I am with hobbies.

 

I went from a 5 gallon with a total all in cost of $50 to a 90 gallon with an all in cost of $3000 when I was doing aquariums. No doubt I'll be getting bigger "sound fish" as well hehe.

 

To give you an idea of the kind of guy I am, when I had a 55 gallon freshwater tank I was running 2 Aquaclear 300s and an Eheim 2215 and a Tetra 20i. And a ground probe. And two digital thermometers. And two heaters. I'm just like that. If I started a band it would be called "Urge for overkill"...

[wgscott]

What is MiniDSP? Just pretend I'm a total noob who knows almost nothing

 

Let me Google that for you!

[wgscott]

 

I went from a 5 gallon with a total all in cost of $50 to a 90 gallon with an all in cost of $3000 when I was doing aquariums.

 

I finally got rid of the 100 gallon reef tank.

 

If you still have an aquarium, the best sonic upgrade you can possibly make would be to get rid of it, or move it to a different building.

 

A large aquarium, once stable, is much easier to maintain.

 

A more expensive audio system is harder to justify until you spend some quality time with your current one. You are at the point currently where you might benefit most form investing in some music.

[mistersprinkles]

Let me Google that for you!

 

Thanks dude.

 

I looked it up MiniDSP 2x4 | MiniDSP

 

I still don't understand what it is. Maybe somebody else can fill me in on what it can do for me.

 

Cheers folks!

[mistersprinkles]

I finally got rid of the 100 gallon reef tank.

 

If you still have an aquarium, the best sonic upgrade you can possibly make would be to get rid of it, or move it to a different building.

 

A large aquarium, once stable, is much easier to maintain.

 

A more expensive audio system is harder to justify until you spend some quality time with your current one. You are at the point currently where you might benefit most form investing in some music.

 

Ah yes a reef tank. Those are some of the most impressive setups. I was a freshwater guy. I could never justify the cost of a reef tank to myself. Even if I could justify it I never would have been able to afford it.

 

My favorite fish are freshwater anyways. My all time favorites that I had were my angels. I got really nice ones.

 

 

But I dont want to change the subject. Just wanted to share that picture.

 

I sent you a PM about aquarium stuff...

 

EDIT: Nope I didn't It appears you have PM disabled

[wwaldmanfan]

Keep in mind guys that when I mention outlandish upgrades like a better power socket, better power cables, better speaker cables... a better PC... These are not my end game speakers, nor possibly my end game amp. I will be upgrading to better stuff within a year or two no doubt. That's just the way I am with hobbies.

 

Replacing your wall socket, your power cables, your speaker cables will not make meaningful, or even audible, improvements just because these are simple things to waste small amounts of money on. Either save your money for big-ticket upgrades, like speakers, DAC, amps, or spend it on better masterings of your favorite music, where you can find them.

 

As far as the spouse issues are concerned, have you considered a good pair of headphones?

[mistersprinkles]

Headphones are my next purchase. I'm going to spend $500-$600 I think on a nice pair of headphones.

Apparently the headphone amp on the Marantz PM5005 can handle even really high impedance headphones.

I wonder how good it'll sound...

[firedog]

Thanks dude.

 

I looked it up MiniDSP 2x4 | MiniDSP

 

I still don't understand what it is. Maybe somebody else can fill me in on what it can do for me.

 

Cheers folks!

 

It's digital room correction. You use the device, software, a microphone and PC to measure the acoustics of your room. You then add the device to your hi fi setup and when you play music, it "corrects" the signal to compensate for acoustic problems in your room - your get proper "flat" playback, even if your room isn't flat.

If you still don't understand that, Google "digital room correction" or DRC and do some reading

[YashN]

As I have mentioned already, I am not allowed to do any kind of room treatments. So saith the wife.

 

Too bad, you will be missing out on the most important thing even prior to listening to your gear. Room correction by DSP is next in line, sure, but will not be as good. I would only use DSP after I have done physical and analogue room treatment first and if there were some stubborn peaks or troughs remaining. Still, perhaps less costly than changing wife.

[JakovH]

As I have mentioned already, I am not allowed to do any kind of room treatments. So saith the wife.

 

I saw that comment but have you investigated what you can do with the art panels? If you have actually looked at these, I'll say no more.