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warrior05

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  1. I can't remember if a PSU came with it but if it did, I would've pulled it and sold it. I prefer Seasonic PSUs. I also put an 12 cm adapter on my CPU heatsink and using Nexus fans for both the CPU and the one case fan I mentioned. I have both of those fans plugged into a controller and they are dialed down to about 50% of their voltage which keeps things very quiet. I think the only noise I'm hearing is from the case fan so I'm thinking of surrounding the exhaust with sound deadening material and direct it away from me. One of these days I plan on building my own case from scratch using 3/4" furniture grade plywood for an exterior and then building a separate interior that doesn't touch the shell since wood is pretty resonant. That or come up with the cash for one of Zalman's fanless cases that acts as a huge heatsink. :-)
  2. Currently I take the coax digital out from the Olive and feed it into my Presonus Central Station. The CS has two built-in headamps and I have it also feeding my Darkvoice tube headamp. I plan on upgrading my DAC and headamp but my current configuration is pretty darn nice sounding. I'm not sure what the onboard DAC chip is used but I think the analog output is somewhat hampers the unit. There certainly are advantages of using the analog feed from the Olive since you could then control volume via the included remote control. As mentioned, I plan on sending my unit to Reference Audio Mods (RAM) for some upgrades. They will upgrade the voltage rail caps and replace the proprietary AC output with a Furutech IEC connector. This way I can use power cords that I build myself. These two mods should help clean things up on the power end. Then they upgrade the input op-amps and jettison the output op-amps and do point to point direct wiring from the internal DAC. They also upgrade the RCA connectors on the back. The above upgrades should do away with the slight grain I hear through my high-end headphones. RAM offers a host of increasing levels of mods including turning it into a battery powered device for ultra clean power supply. You can check out all their mods for the unit here. After I replace my CS I'll probably feed my Olive with the sound sig from my computer so I can continue to use my Swans M10 computer speakers for my non-headphone listening from both my computer and, of course, the Olive. Keep in mind - only digital and line out is available in regards to the audio sig out. Couple other things I hadn't mentioned: The Olive can be connected to a network either wired or wireless. It also has 4 ports in the back so it can act as a router. Because of its network connectivity it can "tune" into Internet radio stations and do direct firm/software updates direct from Olive's servers. And you can add external HDDs if you run out of room. My unit is an 80gb model and only put FLAC files on it which are largely ripped via EAC.
  3. Good idea! Another way to go - which is what I'm planning on - is using a NAS. I've found Qnap's NAS are highly regarded and reasonably priced.
  4. When I was taking a digital feed from my computer, I preferred SPDIF. But, honestly, it wasn't due to any A/B testing. In my warped mind it just seemed it was the better way to go. :-) Of course, I have heard wonderful USB DAC/amps and can be a terrific solution especially when using a laptop for a source. EDIT: Totally forgot I am feeding a tri-path amp via USB in my living room. Sounds pretty darn good through my Swans speakers!
  5. I got very lucky with these speakers. I bought them from someone who never really used them and was trying to unload them since he was moving. They were an absolute bargain which is exactly what I was looking for. I do most of my music listening through headphones so I wasn't willing to spend an arm and a leg on speakers. I have my Swans powered by a Kingrex USB tri-path amp and they sound absolutely delicious. I'm amazed at the quality of bass I'm getting from this budget set-up. I queued up an organ symphony and it did pretty well with the extreme lows that organs can produce. I'm extremely happy with them and highly recommend them. Beautiful workmanship as well.
  6. I realize the Olive Symphony is rather pricey but I wanted to divorce my music from my PC and wanted a sleek solution. I considered building a dedicated computer to act as a music server but didn't want to have to incorporate a separate monitor. The Olive is virtually silent - no fans and the HDD is very quiet. The CD-ROM is a tad clunky sounding but I rarely use it. I've had zero problems with it and find it to be the perfect solution for me. I am planning on having RAM do a couple of mods on it since there is a slight hint of grain. I have read that some people have had issues with their units. I can only assume this is a very small percentage. From my experience - I can't recommend it enough.
  7. I use an Antec NSK2480 desktop case (micro ATX) that has been my quietest. I'm running very reasonable temps with only one 12cm case fan. It is a real nice design. Since it is a desktop style, it fits - aesthetically speaking - on a stereo rack. Love the case!
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