Ilovesfa13

Hi all, For anyone interested, i just finished building a Gaming PC that i've tried to spec for Hifi benefits as well. Basically, zero noise/vibration chassis with Sotm USB card, but also with the grunt for high-end gaming. A tricky marriage! Check it out here; https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/builds/edit/?userbuild=Bt2RsY Rest of Hifi; Sotm SDP1000 DAC Pre Focal Solo 6 BE Nearfield Monitors Clearaudio Performance DC with Virtuoso V2 Cartridge Lehmann Audio Black Cube SEII Phono Stage Denon ADH7000 Headphones via Marantz HD-DAC1 (for now) Nordost Blue Heaven cables throughout. Suggestions and questions welcome!

Hi Mash, sorry for delay replying to you. The X300s just represented a much more sensible choice, a lot less boxes, cables, and a WHOLE lot less money than the LS50s and whatever else you needed to drive them. The X300s are a lot better at low level volume, i think due to class A/B amp which is a trend im noticing in desktop systems. Also, the 'Desktop' EQ switch at the back genuinely works well. Also, the DAC seems fine, Asynchronous and isolated and all. The problem with LS50s is, despite the same UniQ driver, at low volumes the LS50 sound more separated and disjointed, like pressing your ears to a floorstand hearing the driver units independently. This is all relative to desktop usage however, and it is unfair to put the LS50s in that domain because they really weren't built for that role, and the X300s were. The LS50s honestly excel at bass extension beyond their size, but i compared them to the Linn Majik 109s which are only a little more expensive and they smashed the Kefs in terms of clarity. I just find it odd reviews go on about their transparency. The LS50s are okay desktop speakers, and a lot of people use them in that setup including myself since they first came out, but i think they are better suited to regular small room usage. Trouble with getting big amplification upgrades for the LS50s is you end up with a stonking great powerhouse of amplification for something only a couple feet away from you, so only really works when its stupidly loud. It just ins't economical in any sense of the word. I would encourage your interest in the Focals, if you want the LS50s then seriously see if you can loan a pair for a home demo.

To bring it back to the OP, on my nearfield desktop setup i used to use the Kef LS50s with 2 x Musical Fidelity M1 Powers, M1 Pre and M1 DAC with Chord Chameleons and Epic Speaker cable. Total cost? Over £3200 which is WELL over $5500 US dollars as you guys pay quite a bit extra for British Hifi after taxes and shipping etc. Then out of curiosity i tried the Kef X300s for £599. They were just as good as the more expensive setup, if not better in some respects. Moral of the story; hifi built for the desktop really is the way to go, and i would agree an active system is the best choice. If you HAVE to have passive desktop speakers, yes the Kef LS50s are decent. Are they THE best? Probably not - great bass but nowhere near as transparent or clean as all the reviews would have you believe. Don't confuse 'smooth' with 'muddy'! I'm now looking to build upon the X300s with something like the Focal Solo Be6s if i can fit them, otherwise the CMS range probably with a sub. Looking at either the Furutech GT40 or Naim DAC V1 as the front end DAC/Pre to front end the Focals. I am interested in the Antony Gallo Strada 2 since it gets such storming testimonials in desktop situations, but am now cautious about passive speakers. And would have to look at a power amp again. Boo

Thanks all! Crisnee - That's reassuring to hear, i won't bother with a server. Didn't know coax was generally avoided! Jud - That's very interesting. I do not have a dedicated sound card, all digital types are run straight off the on board audio in the motherboard. So are you saying it's best to use a SPDIF converter to get rid of electrical noise? I have a large noisy machine with a big 1KW supply powering a lot of components, not some dinky Mac Air/Mini. Worried it might be degrading quality a lot? Am using Russ Andrews Kimber Kable mains leads into a QED Qonduit and Tacima 6-way conditioners on both sources and amps. Zakus - My apologies, i was being gramatically poor there. The rDac very much is a proper DAC and a good one also, what i meant was 'properly' purchasing one for myself and not just borrowing one temporarily. I can vouch that the Rega DAC is great but yes, if you favour USB as a connection method then i would not suggest it. It is isolated from the rest of the circuitboard which helps, but is capped at lower bit-rate so no good if you have lots of HD tracks. So to conclude - are we suggesting USB as best low-jitter format to be converted into SPDIF to isolate electrical noise?! Would i not just use toslink from the beginning? I only have a small selection of high 24bit 192khz music because i have found it very difficult to find much music i like available in that format (huge majority of what i have plays at 16bit 44.1khz CD quality). Thoughts?! Also, does anyone have good suggestions for finding good Indie/Alternative music at those high bit rates online? Many thanks

Interesting - many thanks. Without just blind listening, are there any general rules on how to know whether or not my connections are very jittery or electrically noisy? Is it unique to components?

Hi all, long time reader first-time poster Hope you guys can help a bit, before i get into my questions i should probably outline my system first; Source: Windows 7 64bit with J River Media, very high spec desktop gaming machine using digital coaxial out for audio directly into hifi. Storage: 2TB Seagate Barracuda 7200rpm internal HDD dedicated to media storage. Operating system installed on Crucial 128GB Solid State Drive. Hi-fi: Arcam rDac, Cyrus PreVS2 (with PSX-R upgrade attached), Cyrus 8Power, Kef LS50 Monitor speakers (new 50th anniversary edition). Also a Project RPM5.1 turntable Now i have been reading a lot about computer audio, and i work in a Hi-fi shop myself so have good industry-insider knowledge but there are a few things nagging on my mind. 1). What is the best digital format to use, connection wise? I have a comprehensive motherboard with optical, coax and USB3.0 options. People on here seem to talk about USB all the time but is that just because people are using laptops? Digital coaxial definitely seems the best and most 'Hifi' type to use, tried USB before and wasn't impressed by performance or track switching stutter (maybe just the DAC's fault). However i read something by Audioquest saying that USB3.0 is the best thing out there for audio? 2). A lot of people seem to be storing music on servers? Is there an actual performance benefit to that? I have no need to network my music across the house as i am literally wiring it straight into my hifi, so can i forget about using a server? 3). Is the Peachtree Dac It really that good?! I am just borrowing the Arcam rDac at the moment and am looking to buy a proper DAC soon, was originally going to get the Rega DAC as it is the best one i have heard going at the price (though Musical Fidelitys M1 and V-DAC II dacs are both great for the money also, rDac isn't too bad either). Not listened to the Peachtree though, being UK based they aren't as big as they are in the USA. 4). On top of that, i spoke to a company today who said a new Peachtree DAC IT was coming to the UK in August...anybody know anything about that?! 5). What's the best setup for J River? I had a look at other posts online and they didn't mention anything about turning off the virtual subwoofer settings, or changing channel type to 2.0 and other room/environment equalisers off which seemed to be 'on' as default when i installed it. I've subsequently adjusted a lot of those things for the most balanced, neutral and traditionally best Hifi set up possible. Hope you guys can help shed some light by the way if anybody needs to know about how some Hifi performs then let me know and i may be able to describe them a bit since it may be something i work with. American brands largely excluded i'm afraid! Cheers