The $3K all in exercize.

[Hugo9000]

KEF LS50W  $2200

Oppo UDP-203  $550

 

A little left over for some decent stands, connect to your computer if you want.  Enjoy some magnificently performed (and beautifully recorded) Sibelius on BIS CD or SACD.

 

Don't have a clue how poorly recorded pop/rock/rap will sound on this setup, nor do I care how boring "audiophile" dreck like Diana Krall (today's Amanda McBroom? lol) will sound, since she is talentless as a singer and as a pianist.  Ella Fitzgerald, however, sounds great!

[Hugo9000]

3 minutes ago, chaskelljr1963 said:

 

Yes, they do.

 

I would use this to plug my PC into an external DAC, or in my hypothetical system listed in my post, a Preamplifier/DAC.

 

Here it is, right here.

 

Enjoy Your Day.

 

--Charles--

 

That's USB A to USB B, not HDMI to USB

[Hugo9000]

17 minutes ago, Ron Scubadiver said:

Yeah buddy, the trolls are feeding.  I am part way on the power supply for the DAC.  A Grace M9xx has a second USB 1.5 amp input so the power comes from a Samsung phone charger and not the computer.  I also tested it with iPad power supply, but couldn't detect the difference.  Anyway, it's not getting 5v off the computer.  Low bass isn't going to happen with LS50's.  I am using 3db of boost @ 43hz and a 2 octave bandwidth to approximate the frequency response of an LS50w in its default mode.  I suspect those who claim great superiority for the LS50w are hearing the bass.  Differences in frequency response are the easiest thing to detect.

 

Those who have spent a lot on their systems don't want to hear that it can be done for less.

Regarding the part I highlighted (bold), most probably started out with less, and were probably even happy with those earlier systems.  They might not remember, or want to remember, or to be reminded of how far "down the rabbit hole" they have gone through the years.  And then others might simply find it hard to believe that some things can be wonderful and still be really cheap.  I think it's amazing that the actual DAC chips from TI and other manufacturers can be so inexpensive.  Aren't most of them under $15 or so?  That's mind-boggling to me, while things that are actually easy to fabricate can be so expensive.

 

Also, many people were probably unlucky with their earliest systems, and may believe that it was the cheapness (in cost) that was at fault, rather than the fact that there will always be a lot of junk out there for sale, at whatever price point.  I was steered toward KEF at a fairly early age (1987, as a freshman in college), so I was lucky, I think.

 

And then some people are just unhappy and might want to spread that around, whether it's insisting that inexpensive always equals junk, or saying that expensive things are always a waste of money/overpriced/snake oil.

[Hugo9000]

It appears that the ES9038PRO was around $75 a year ago.  That's still really cheap considering the cost of many units it's used in, I would say.  I imagine volume pricing by now is a fair bit lower.  But there are plenty of good chips that have been around for a while that are dirt cheap compared to that, yes?