bulmanxxi

Don't waste your money on PM either - its too expensive and clunky. BitPerfect, Decibel or Fidelia (are your best bets). I would try them first before PM. BitPerfect integrates perfectly and it is the cheapest - only $5 or so - can't do much better than that other than free. Decibel and Fidelia sound great also! A5 are not bad speakers. Just don't expect a DAC to make them better than what they are. If you like what you hear - stop now! Your wallet will thank you;)

Basic rule of thumb - do not amplify amplified signal. An external passive volume attenuator would give you a precise volume control and channel balance. If you adjust volume through the speakers "sensitivity" control, you'd have to do one at a time (crazy idea!) and you wouldn't be able to match them anyway. Remote control is probably not needed for close listening and software volume control is generally "worse" than analog volume control. The Fostex is the cheapest "best" answer for your question. Try it and if you don't like it, B&H has a generous return policy (if you are in the US).

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/669400-REG/Fostex_PC_1EX_PC_1EX_Speaker_Volume_Controller.html DO NOT hook up amplified speakers to a headphone amp unless it has RCA outs (which the Asgard does NOT). Just plug the Fostex between your DAC and Powered Monitors and leave the Asgard out of it. You'll need a couple of cables for the fostex but it already comes with some, do not recall which ones. You need RCA dual to stereo mini from the Bifrost to the Fostex and then a pair of RCA interconnects to your monitors(or you can even do RCA to XLR/TRS if you monitors have them, however, if they have RCAs, just use the RCAs).

If you want to try a software player, the cheapest is BitPerfect. If you are using Leopard OS X, then you can try the older Audirvana free version as well (or any of the other ones for Integer Mode). I like Fidelia for (SQ and polished interface) and Decibel for SQ. But they are all good. Differences are very subtle at best, if any, but they do sound a bit better than just iTunes. For your "issue" though, the main need you have a is new speakers or a sub or headphones.

You are joking, right?? It's a subtle difference at best. And the A5 are not going to show much of it anyway. This is NOT the question raised in the original thread anyway. Don't go recomending Chakhta stones or whatever they are called next for a Winter/Summer difference... Gimme a break... The speakers can only do what the speakers can do no matter what you feed them. For better sound, better speakers or adding a sub is the FIRST step. All else should follow but the difference becomes much less incremental and sometimes even worse if you believe all the snake oil theories around... This is not a software thread. Keep it that way.

To the contrary, there are cheaper and BETTER options. Like M-Audio bx5a for example. But the Behringers Truth with ribbon tweeter will be even better at about the same price. So higher cost doesn't determine better sound, this has been well covered and plenty. As for the software, it will not make as a dramatic difference as a new set of speakers or the addition of a sub.

Any software player won't do much to fix the shortcomings of the A5 either. New speakers or headphones are the key to a noticeably better sound.

You can spend $10,000 on a DAC if you'd like but it won't do anything to make your speakers sound better than their actual capability. If you want better sound, you need new speakers or at least a sub. I use Behringer B3031A without a sub. Even the B3030A would still sound great. KRKs are also known for their "bassy" and "punchy" performance but they are not "airy". Have you considered headphones?

Well, the answer to your "bass" problem is quite simple then - the A5 simply do not reach that low (they are quite overrated anyway - you'd do much better with KRK, M-Studio or Behringer and CHEAPER too). If you are looking for more bass, you would need either a sub or a new set of speakers. The DAC and the cable are not the issue here.

You do not need to spend extra on USB cable especially with the HRT DACs which are both asynchronous and have a galvanic power isolation (i.e. minimum "inaudible" noise"). What is your DAC plugged into? There may be other components in the chain that are the "weak" link.

The HRT Streamer II is an EXCELLENT DAC and while have not heard the D1, I'd venture to guess, without any hesitation, that the HRT Streamer II is the SUPERIOR DAC. A better comparison to the D1 would be the HRT Headstreamer, which would VERY likely also be a superior DAC/AMP. HRT is a top notch brand with amazing support at that!

The iZotope 64 is the same in both Fidelia and Audirvana Plus. Thus, the "huge" differences (if any at all) in SQ that some people point out are simply not possible other than placebo. If you change speakers/headphones, then such differences would be that pronounced but not with two software players using the same audio engine with everything else in the chain staying the same. Techies may want to chime in as well.

If Audirvana Plus is using the same engine as Fidelia - wouldn't the two sound the same? The iTunes integration is fantastic and a nice plus over Fidelia, however.

Audirvana upsamples while in Integer Mode, PM does not? I also have a dac/amp that plays Integer Mode in Audirvana, but PM does not allow it? Not that important but it would have been nice to fix the interface - it is a far cry from Fidelia.

@bottlerocket Indeed Fidelia's library management and search is pretty much perfect and would be a good benchmark for Audirvana. Until then, at least ala Decibel search box would be much helpful as well. Damien has confirmed this is the plan. It would be very good if one or both of the above make it into 1.0 as this would make for a "complete" product. @wgscott&company Maybe this example would shed some light on the "should have been" obvious by now - some people like to bake their own bread and ride in horse carriages but most people do not... So, when Audirvana gets these very important and well established standard features, the former group would still be free to ride in their horse carriages while the rest go around in cars. Win-win, eh?!