Scooter

I bought the V-DAC for my system and I think it sounds terrific. But, I don't have anything to compare it to as this is the first computer audio based system I have set up or heard. I liked the price point from a Musical Fidelity brand name. I also liked their approach to this line of components: they state that most components breakdown cost of 30% to electronics and 70% to chassis and enclosure. They decided to reverse the ratio for this series. I'm assuming the "V" stands for Value. Granted, it upsamples all input to 24 bit/192kHz. I didn't have any reservations about this aspect because as noted above I didn't have a reference point to begin with. It looked to me like something that would get the bits right, both in a literal and figurative sense. My first choice was to go super cheap and see about a Devil Sound DAC but their website had 'em sold out until March. May consider one for a secondary system slated for the near future. At the same time, I purchased a SimAudio Moon i-1 integrated amp and DALI Lecktor 6 speakers. I proceeded to purchase the Macbook White plastic laptop for the computer portion. Side note: was considering a Mac Mini but didn't have an extra keyboard or screen. What's funny is the aluminum case Macbooks are sans firewire where it's available on the White Plastic affair -- which is also three hundred bucks cheaper. Go figure. And a further note: ain't it great having a clean credit card and that oblivious attitude from seeing your investments take a hit over the months and figuring I may as well invest in some personal assets instead of watching it disappear on its own. I finally got it set up and am quite, quite pleased with it. What I liked about the Moon is that it didn't color the sound. I was comparing it to a Naim 5i, which did sound good but I preferred the Moon. What I also like about my set-up, granted these are initial impressions with no prior reference, is the "honesty" of the sound. Some ripped files sound incredible and others not so great with all levels of quality in-between. I conclude I'm getting the real sound that was mixed for the master. I don't know how much the V-DAC affects this quality. Oops, forgot to mention that everything is being ripped to AIFF. So, I'm spending my time ripping and and listening as the amp and speakers go through their factory stated break-in period of 100 hours. I'm looking forward to what is to be better sound while pleased with the initial take. Will report as I learn and experience. Regards, -Scooter

Good timing. I just left the Apple store and had a similar discussion regarding the tradeoffs of going with a mini or the lowest priced Macbook (i.e. "white). Since I don't have a keyboard or monitor lying around the Macbook looked like a winner. There was also the ability to upgrade to 4 Mb of RAM in the Macbook vs 2 Mb in the mini, which may or may not be required or helpful. Both can run the "remote" application with the iTouch. My alternative approach was to purchase the mini and not worry about a keyboard or monitor by running it from a new Macbook Pro. Feasible but why not have the keyboard and monitor convenience for direct access provided by the Macbook. My initial foray is going to be via the G4 Powerbook that is currently in use to run around the Web and then see what debuts from Apple in January as well as what goes on sale. Once I get most of it out of the boxes the initial set-up will be a G4 Powerbook into a Musical Fidelity V-DAC, into a Simaudio Moon i-1 integrated amp, and DALI Lecktor 6 speakers. I'm looking at a G-Tech external drive for initial storage -- I like the fanless design. I plan on ripping to AIFF as a safe method instead of Apple lossless as the G4 PC chip may not be up to putting together the lossless files in decent time. This is based on a comment made in a previous thread regarding the flat sound from an Apple Cube playing Apple lossless vs AIFF. Right now storage is cheap and affordable and I only have about 500 CDs to rip. Will report back on how it goes and any changes or upgrades. I appreciate all the contributions made on this site, especially for this newbie. Regards, -Scooter

I have been lurking around and gathering info so I can get started in this musical realm. Tom is a step ahead as he knew what questions to ask. My components are rather long in the tooth besides being in storage. In a mission to get them out of storage and upgrade the speakers I ended up coming home with a new Simaudio Moon i1 integrated amp, DALI Lektor 6 speakers, and a Musical Fidelity V-DAC. I have a five year old Macbook Pro -- 1Ghz PC chip -- which is going to be the signal director. I figure it's good enough to run iTunes and direct traffic. As I sat looking at the boxes I was pondering where to start with the iTunes set-up. And then Tom spoke up. Much appreciated. I plan reripping my CDs to AIFF and then see if I can get some bits and bytes to move through and come out the speakers as sound. Will check in when or if I get it running. Thanks for creating this site -- absolutely what is needed. Regards, -Scooter