help! im just starting out!

[starcat]

And I would recommend you first read http://www.lavryengineering.com/documents/Sampling_Theory.pdf and if you do not understand everything than at least the beginning and the end.

 

Regarding equipment, I would recommend you get the UD-10.1 and pair it over crimped 75ohm coax or AES to the Lite DAC-AM wich uses the same AD1853T as the Benchmark DAC1, cost only $299 and has a variable analog out which you can connect straight to a power amp. In order the Benchmark to sound right you need to invest $2k in upgrades (plus the $1.2k for the DAC1 itself).

 

[msharpie]

I am completely new to Hi fi audio as well.

 

Since graduating college and where i passed the time researching which plasma tv i was going to buy once i obtained a job, i have narrowed down my desires. I have settled upon the fact that i constantly move around, have no need for a plasma let alone the theater system to go with it, and am perfectly content watching TV and Movies on my iMac.

 

What is lacking though, is my sound system. Through talking to a local hi fi dealer, and doing a bit of dudiligence online, he has pointed me toward a pair of Monitor Audio RS6's.

 

Next he said that NAD makes a killer integrated amp. But this is where i was lost... how to connect my iMac to my stereo. After finding this website, I learned can not just buy a magic cable with a usb on one end and RCA on the other, but that I need a DAC.

 

Now, my constraints are my budget. I am open to all forms of suggestions and have taken in a lot reading this forum. Ideally I am looking to spend under two grand. I think it would be awesome to skip a traditional pre amp, so if I can get away with just having a DAC and AMP that would be ideal.

 

Starcat, you stated above that a UD-10.1 and connected to a Lite DAC-AM would be a great way to go. Is there anyway of squeezing some sort of volume dial in there? Does anyone else have an opinion on this setup?

 

 

 

 

 

 

[The Computer Audiophile]

Hi msharpie - Welcome to Computer Audiophile. The absolute easiest route to go hear is to use a Devilsound DAC. It has USB on one end and RCA on the other. It has a built-in DAC. Then the options are endless for the rest of the configuration. An integrated is the way to go in my opinion for this specific situation.

 

iMac >> Devilsound DAC >> Integrated Amp >> Speakers

 

 

That's it!

 

[Labarum]

It has to be AVI's one box solution surely?

 

http://www.avihifi.co.uk/

 

http://www.computeraudiophile.com/avi_adm_9_1_review

 

Plug in your iMac, and it works. Pick them and take them away for the weekend, if you like!

 

[Innertuber]

"I learned can not just buy a magic cable with a usb on one end and RCA on the other"

 

Not true ... buy a magic cable with a stereo minijack on one end and poke it in the mac, split rca jacks on the other end poke into any inputs on the amp/receiver and you should be good to go.

 

Go peek at an Outlaw 2150 as well as the NAD.

 

Adding a DAC would be an upgrade, but not mandatory. Listen first and see if you feel something is missing.

 

[starcat]

This is a highly recommend 24/96 DAC (not upsamling) with volume control, all kind of digital inputs and chinch and balanced outputs. It even has a headamp in there. Just connect to power amps and you are done (not that powerful and matched to your speakers so that the volume control is at least kind of 50..60%).

 

But remember the speakers are the most important part of your system. Try to spend about 50% of your budget in there. Followed by the amp. Get a class-A amp if you can (and there are small amps like Musical Fidelity A20 which operate in class-A).

 

Listen to B&W speakers, if you can afford try to find used Nautilus 805 (now the new 805D is out so that you can find them on ebay for less than $1k). You can not get this quality somewhere else and those are used as reference speakers in a lot of very prestigeous studios all the way up to the $20k N800.

 

[queequeg]

There are many good speakers available and although B&W's are perfectly fine, they're just one of brand - I would hardly say that they're unbeatable at any given price point.

 

You may want to consider bypassing an outboard amplifier and pay some attention to a powered monitor configuration. This solution cleans up real estate and makes for a perfectly wonderful performing system. There are a number of high quality brands available in this category.

 

[nicolePer]

Peter,

how do you do sound mixing using WASAPI in exclusive mode? I am trying to use Visual Studio to do some C++ audio programming... Bacause Vista is so great in handling sound I need to get

[Wombat Pete]

1. Where do I read up on the problems which require bypassing elements of windows?

 

Due to space constraints, I am temporarily compelled to rely on my computer (a PC box I put together myself a few years ago) for sound - for sound to go with movies (I just got a projector), music, everything.

 

I've been using on-board sound and I've quite dissatisfied with it, although, honestly, I can't say how much of it is the speakers, but surely part of it is because the DAC is inside the computer - buzz at higher volumes).

 

I'd like good sound, but I don't want to spend a lot. Is there a basic set-up most people would recommend? For an under-$200 budget? (I could get my snell acoustics speakers out of storage, although they require a reasonably powerful input...)

 

Thanks in advance!