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Buckets ordain

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  1. Hi all, Looking for some thoughts and suggestions on possible upgrades to my current set-up. I currently have a Windows desktop PC running W7 professional to which I have a Creative Soundblaster X-fi HD (Sound Blaster X-Fi HD) connected via USB, i.e. acting as an external sound card. In turn the X-Fi HD is connected to a set of Logitech Z 2300 2.1 desktop PC speakers (http://www.logitech.com/assets/35688/setup-installation-guide.pdf). I mainly listen to 16 bit flacs, but have a growing 24bit flac & SACD collection covering mainly rock/pop/acoustic artists with a particular focus on Dylan, but also featuring Ryan Adams, Springsteen, Dire Straits/Knopfler/Neil Young/U2/The National etc... With huge thanks to Ted and others here, I have succeeded in ripping most of my SACDs using an old PS3 bought for that purpose. I mainly use Foobar for listening (I have also used Winamp) and I currently listen to the SACD ISOs using Foobar. And a chunk (maybe around 50%) of my desktop listening is done via headphones with Grado SR 80s plugged into the X-Fi 'phone socket. There isn't anything "wrong" with my current set-up as such - it does sound good to my ears, albeit that I've never really had exposure to any high-end gear. And I particularly get a huge kick out of being able to listen to my SACDs at the desktop (thanks again to Ted & co for all their work in sharing their knowledge & experiences). But I've had this setup for a few years now and I guess I'm developing a bit of upgraditis at the moment! So I'm beginning to wonder about what the potential improvements to my desktop setup could be. I don't have much cash to throw at this (maybe Eur500 initially, possibly more over time to facilitate a phased upgrade if needed). My initial thinking has got me contemplating: (1) the merits of replacing the X-fi HD with the iFi Micro iDSD (2) possibly upgrading to a better 2.1 speaker set I think I'd only really consider shelling out if I was confident that the extra spend would result in a material improvement in sound quality. Where I live there are very few opportunities to demo the stuff I read folks here discussing so I'd be very interested in and hugely grateful for any thoughts and suggestions from all you guys on what you would suggest, and where I'm likely to get the best bang for my buck as I explore upgrade options. Cheers in advance!
  2. Hi Ted, Thanks for all your efforts on this thread - could you please send me your updated SACD ripping guide? Many thanks in advance
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