rajmando1

I hear you Jud. But since i cant test different hardware and connections and cards myself(too pricey and timeconsuming), I rely on what I read here and in other threads on the net. It seems to me that USB is to be avoided. So thats what I will be doing. Well I will get a DAC and try to test myself different connections to see which performs best. I know nothing beats that. And im no expert, so my money is on a non-usb connection. This is a excellent thread, and I hope that more big tests will be done to see which kind of soundchain from music-file to speakers is the best and best value for money.

Any suggestion to which signal is the best from a pc to a dac? And which kind of card is suggested? Some say spdif, some say aes-ebu, some say usb. I dont have the option to test all kinds of connections and cards, so if anyone can suggest a affordable solution to get the sound-data from my win7 pc to my dac(still havent been bought but looking into several 1500$ dacs atm) i would appreciate it. I know there is not 1 single perfect solution, but USB as I read it in this and other threads, is the worst option, and spdif the best? And does it matter how I output the signal, does it matter which kind of soundcard or other dedicated card I buy? Dont have the optical out on my MB unfortunately.

If you have the option to skip USB output, if you have a DAC that accepts AES-EBU or I2s or SPDIF or something like that is that a better choice than buying a converter to convert usb to spdif? And if yes, or its way more costeffective to keep the DAC and avoid the USB connection to start with, which kind of device do I use to output from my PC? I have all my files and music stored on my pc, and needs to output to a DAC(which I havent bought yet still wondering what to buy in 1500$ range), should I buy a dedicated soundcard or pci-e card(whichever gives the best output), or just buy any kind of cheap soundcard for 80-100$ and it will do fine? I mean id rather save money on a dedicated soundcard for 500-700$ and/or a usb-spdif converter and spend the money on the DAC and amplifier. So which solution is the most costeffective?

Any other inputs?

Hi guys. First post here. Looks like a good supplement to Head-Fi.Org, ComputerAudiophile. The Software part: Okay here goes. I have always been in need of a cool music system, built around Flac files and Windows xx. Am now running Windows 7 Ultimate. When i think of cool entertainmentsystems i think of Digital jukeboxes with touchscreen and cool graphics and such. Also Mame frontends come to mind, like Maximus Arcade Frontend Hyperspin is a more cool frontend. I cant recall the name, but there is a MUCH more cool frontend out there, with great graphics and previews and such. I found Jriver Media Center which im running atm. Seems cool, but im sure it can be improved. Thats the actual flac/mp3 player. Does a frontend/gui(or whatever its called) exist for music playback like Radio, Youtube, Jriver musicplayer(or similar like MediaMonkey or Foobar2000), Stream like Tidal and Spotify, and such? Kodi may be the answer. But compared to a good MAME frontend how does Kodi compare? I want it as cool as possible, with the best musical quality output. Maybe its wishful thinking. The hardware part: Atm im running. Windows7 Jriver Media Center(and Tidal and Spotify Stream) Flac and Mp3 music - USB 2.0 - trends ud-10 Usb dac(150$) - Optical SPDIF(15$ cable) - Marantz PM6005 Stereo Amp(with a built in dac 500$) - Yamaha NS-555 Floorspeakers(300$ each 600$ Pair). So not an expensive system by any means, but its okay. I like it atm. I read all about Usb to Spdif converters, and I2S interface and such. Now I wonder if thats a converter i need in my system, and if the output of I2S is what I want to go for, from Dac to Amp. What i also really want is an improved visual look, when I playback my music. Thinking about buying a touchscreen(maybe a tablet), and maybe build a computer around musical playback, a dedicated computer. So how should I approach my musical project? Its not like people usually make a music-center with touchscreen and such, with frontend. Here in Copenhagen Denmark I dont think you can get a custombuilt computer like that. It would be nice, to have all sorts of options and demands, and then let somebody build and configure and run support on the product. Instead I have to build everything and configure and spend a LOT of time doing that.