twom17

Thanks, ecwl. I should clarify, I used Audyssey during my initial set up of the system a couple years ago and then recalibrated it about a year back. When I listen to music it's usually through either Stereo mode or Pure Audio. I really like the clarity of the Pure Audio mode but the sound seems somewhat characterless and flatter, if that makes sense.

ecwl, I last recalibrated with the Audyssey almost a year ago. Unfortunately, I didn't notice any improvements (this was my second calibration with the Audyssey on this system). The set up is in a living room of about 10 x 12 with 11 foot ceilings and is open at one end. The main listening position is about 7-8 feet from the BX5s which are slightly toed in and about 6 feet apart. I imagine the open end which extends the length of my apartment doesn't help with acoustics but I'm stuck with it. I will eventually be in the market for a new sub but that's going to be down the line after the HTPC build. At that time I'll hopefully be able to test a few options in search of the best pair for what I've got. But ideally, I'd love to get the most balance possible out of a 2 channel system before resorting to a new sub and 2.1. Thanks for your comment and if you have any follow up, I'm all ears!

Thanks for the reply, Eloise. I am happy with 2 channel generally. I'm not sure if it's the Onkyo receiver or my Monitor Audio speakers (I suspect a bit of both, although maybe more so the speakers) but the sound is really heavy in the mids and somewhat with highs. It's lacking in bass response. You can connect a powered sub to the Nova though, which I figured I would play around with if I end up getting it.

I’m new to all of this so forgive me if I sound amateurish. A couple years ago I put together a home theater system at the heart of which is an Onkyo tx-nr709 and Monitor Audio BX5s. My intention is to build an HTPC through which I’ll play all my music and video (lossless audio and primarily blu rays). My question is whether the DAC in my Onkyo AVR is adequate to handle exclusively digital music or if I would notice a significant improvement (quite obvious to even an amateur like myself) for 2 channel listening by incorporating a Peachtree Audio Nova (I’m able to get one used at about half off). I'm not so naive as to think that the Onkyo AVR is in the same league as the Peachtree when it comes to playing music but money is an issue and I'm curious if you all think the gains would be substantial. Or if a better and cheaper option would be to tweak the HTPC build with a better motherboard or to incorporate a soundcard. Again, I’m out of my league here so any help would be much appreciated. Thanks!

Thanks for the advise! i'll play around with optical and see how that sounds.

Thanks Chris and Bikemig. I appreciate your thoughts. I'll definitely check out that book/dvd, as I feel like I could use all the help I can get coaxing the most out of my system. Perhaps I'm barking up the same tree here and I'm sure there are already forums discussing this issue but any thoughts on a dedicated sound card? Overall, I'm very satisfied with my sound but any changes I've made have led to some improvements and even more appreciation (I can see how this can get addicting quick...).

Thanks for your reply, bikemig. I'm connected with HDMI. The internal DAC on the Onkyo was something that always confused me a bit. If receivers have DACs, why would anyone ever purchase an external one (unless for headphone use)? I understand one of the problems with internal DACs in PCs is interference with the other components in the unit creating noise. Do receivers not have this issue with their internal DACs? Regarding streaming, I've put off connecting my receiver to my network because I was concerned that I might lose some quality but perhaps I'm completely off base.

I don't know if this matters but I listen mostly to indie rock, alt-country, and folk-rock.

At this point, here's my system: Onkyo tx-709 receiver Monitor Auidio BX5 HTPC I'm a novice when it comes to putting together a system which is probably apparent from my entry-level system. Any help selecting an appropriate DAC would be much appreciated. It seems like a base price point for a decent DAC is around $500 but that seems overpriced for my system. Thoughts?