notbald

This seems really similar to my question. I want a nice DAC for under $500 too. Really considering: Devilsound, Dac Magic, Apogee Duet, and all the low cost options I read in these forums. Someone need to lay down a complete comparison from one perspective (In sound quality) I can look at features. Chris feel free to combine my post from earlier into one thread. I feel we are asking similar questions and I have searched these forums for a good comparison and not been successful. I know you liked the Devilsound, but I need someone to compare it to other things directly. People swear by the Apogee, but I do not record. There are also many discussions about these $200 DACs that people seem to like. I will not tinker with these electronics, plug and play.

What is the whole backup arrangement that you found so wonderful? I'm looking for a backup system and time-capsule seems like a ripoff. I need about 1T.

Has anybody compared the internal 2 channel DAC of the Denon 3808 to a Devilsound or Benchmark? Is the difference substantial? I need a DAC for the MacBook, Denon PMA-2000, PSB Platinum monitor system regardless, if it's noticably better (than 3808) I'll get 2. I'm thinking something like the devilsound and ease of use does count. I need suggestions! Also I'm not willing to order and return countless products, I'm looking to make a decision from the recommendations and return it only if it doesn't deliver. The price cap is $500 unless something amazing then just over $1k. IMac, Magnepan 1.6, REL B2 sub Denon 3808, Oppo, and PS3. Second, and Denon PMA-2000(under-rated) , PSB Platinum speakers, MacBook, Ipod touch 16g.

There are many of you that are extremely computer capable and you can discuss clocking, jitter, chipsets and the like endlessly. I can see many people looking for help in the threads that don't get it (like me). I have a capable computer and a nice audiophile quality stereo. I want to make the best sound possible with the fewest mistakes and the least amount of money possible. I'm willing to spend a couple grand total to replace my front-end, not including the basic computer. Please step back and talk to us like we are your wives, intelligent people who don't understand the technical discussions, but we want great sound from audio systems from our computers with a simple step by step approach. I see these questions in different forms over and over in the discussions, yet nobody really ever addresses them. If you have an adversion to making strong recommendations please offer simple choices. These are some of the basic questions that are not plainly answered. For PC users: 1) Do we rip to media monkey? What file type? 2) Is a sound card necessary if we are going to a DAC anyway? Is it important in the final sound? 3) Quantify the jumps in sound quality from DAC's from the $250 Devilsound, to the Benchmark, to the Bryston, to the Berkeley. Huge leaps in $$$. 4) Where does money spent pay the biggest dividends? It would be nice to put the basics in one section for the beginners (like me) to read and explore. The discussions jump around if you don't feel comfortable with the foundation principles. Some of us are looking for direction and just want to be told where to start. Then we too can enjoy discussing the nuances. Thanks in advance to whoever helps the helpless! I just want my stereo to sound amazing and have my whole collection on my computer totally accessible

I need somebody to lay it down so I can pick it up. I am set on speakers and amps. I need to replace what I used to call the front-end. Traditionally I had a transport / DAC setup. Time to move on. I have a PC with XP. First, what program is best to rip and store?? I-tunes, windows media ect. Second, what format should I use for best sound quality? I don't care about space or speed. Third, do I need a sound card or does the DAC do all that is necessary? if so which one? What is the connection to the DAC? USB? Fourth, which DAC for about $1k should I get? Can anything be used for 2 different rooms? From the DAC I assume regular audio. I know some DAC's don't require a pre-amp, but I can figure which is best. Thanks for the help I'm almost lost. My impressions from reading all the different posts is that a sound card doesn't matter if you run USB to a DAC. Media monkey seems to be well though of for the PC instead of using windows media player ( not sure why)? Can I just use a squeezebox to distribute the data to a DAC if if that's the case how 'bout the Transporter? There are way too many options for me to decipher without making a costly mistake. I don't understand all the file types available, but it seems as FLAC is lossless and slightly compressed. Why wouldn't I choose this as the format of choice? Just a few thoughts feel free to straighten me out with my errant ways. The DAC's that make sense seem to be the Transporter or the Benchmark? How close is the Cambridge for the second system?

I've been getting back into Hifi lately and run a set of maggie 1.6's and PSB platinum bookshelves. I've been trying to figure out what to front my systems with. In the past I would have went and bought a transport / DAC setup and been done. I find myself confused now, but this discussion makes me think I have a Muse model 2 in the garage. I'm going to look for it tonight and give it a try. It was a top rated DAC in the day for about $2k. My transport was stolen by the furniture delivery guys, so I put it somewhere thinking 10 years+ makes it obsolete anyway. My system doesn't have the involving quality it had back then. In the meantime, what is the setup I want? I'm sold on running the library out of the computer, I'm an idiot though and don't know what files to rip to "apple loseless or wav ect." use a squeezebox, my Denon 3808, buy a DAC, transporter? I'm totally confused and looking for a step by step "how to". This site seems the best I've seen. My traditional audio part is good "Amps and speakers" the computer file part is confusing for the computer novice. At this point in my life a 1k DAC seems more my speed, not the 5k Berkeley I see recommended. Where do I turn???