noway

I have this on the wall of my listening room. It's Marilyn Monroe as Theda Bera. Photographed by Richard Avedon for Life (1958)

Are your adapters DIY or did you buy them? I might prefer using an adapter out of my PC instead of taping over the 5V pin if the sound quality gains are similar.

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I picked up a Matrix Mini-i Pro 2S from http://matrix-digi.com/en/products/133/index.html It seems very well made, sounds great and Arthur is very knowlegeable and easy to deal with. Feel much better buying from a USA source than from China. A bit more than your budget at $619.

I would spend more and get something that will work with high resolution files. Used is okay. Try Canuck Audio Mart if you are in Canada. Unlike the one you were looking at, the high resulution usb converters will be using a supplied driver. Another option would be to add a sound card to your computer, with coax and/or optical outputs.

The Matrix Audio Mini-i Pro 2S is another option: http://matrix-digi-usa.com/mini-series/mini-i-pro_2S

I think you are going way too cheap on the hardware. Throw that topreviewhut link you posted away and never go back! If you don't need to use them too often you might consider renting from a PA/Music store. You would be spending much less than your $300 outlay and you will be using much more expensive and better equipment with no risk of damage. A decent powered PA system with sub (s) would cost multiple thousands of dollars if bought outright, not $300.

Benchmark. Even the DAC-1 meets those requirements (but no remote on entry level models) and you can get a model with remote if you move up the food chain. No fears of buying used. If you live in North America, you won't have to ship it across an ocean if you need service. I use the balanced outputs to my Bryston power amp and the RCA outputs to my sub.

A desk is not a suitable place to put speakers if you are concerned about sound quality. They should be put on sturdy stands, where they sound best in the room. Not on a desk which was designed for writing letters. That way you can better adjust crucial listening parameters such as height, distance from walls, separation, etc.

Also good to see what happens after a power outage when using software volume control...I woke up in the middle of the night a couple weeks ago and my e-mail notification sound was played at full software volume instead of how it was left before the outage. No harm done but back to using active preamp to adjust volume.

Post count has nothing to do with expertise and this isn't the only forum on the internet. Forum users as a group are here because it's their hobby, not because they are experts at audio. With some exceptions, most of the experts are just too busy and absorbed in their work to be posting on internet forums. I bet if a list was made of the top 100 most influential audio pioneers most of them haven't posted once on the internet. Why hi-fi experts disagree (dated 1963):

If I am using Thesycon XMOS USB with Foobar2000 -->Stello usb converter-->24 bit DAC-->active preamp-->power amp...and I temporarily removed the active preamp from the chain...would using the volume control in the TUSB control panel be superior to the volume control in Foobar2000 or would the results be identical? Thank you for your insight. Windows 7 64-bit

Would like to read your report. I am considering the same upgrade.

Just get some JBL or EV PA speakers. Rock on. Speakers don't deafen people. People deafen people.

I'm not a "sub guy" but I would go with 2. The sound from the subs is not just from their cones. The boxes themselves have resonances you may be able to localize. Also if they are sitting on something resonant (ie. floor boards), those may also be excited. Now both of these are not desirable but if they are "in balance" rather than on just one side you might be happier. If you are only able to buy one, you might want to keep it between the 2 main speakers to minimize the above potential issues.