ummaya

Other than that, they are perfect for music servers: small, quiet, etc I will have the possibility to test one during the next weekend.

What are the noisey parts of your old PC? A hush box, quieter fans, reduced clocking speed and fan speed control software would go along way. Thank you for the advices. I will try to find out this weekend what is the noisy part (or parts) and look to replace it. Buying a new computer will be 'no other choice' option.

I have decided to go the way of computer audio instead of buying an expensive high quality CD player. My present system consists of : a preamplifier + an amplifier + a pair of speakers + a DVD player + a 42 inch LCD TV. I will buy and add a DAC and a computer dedicated only to my 'music center' (on which I will have a software like J.River MC or Foobar installed) A month ago I purchased a brand new computer to replace my 5 years old rig which is now in my living room; I thought to use the old computer as the dedicated computer for my music center but it is too much noisy. Loud Rock and Roll music or symphonic music may cover the noise of the computer but I cannot imagine myself listening to any quiet music specially not piano sonatas or any solo instrumental music with the computer's noise in the background. One of my friend suggested a ASRock Ion 330HT as a quiet computer but in several forums I have read many posts of people complaining about the noise level of the 330HT. I need your advice to help me choose a computer (PC not Mac) as quiet as possible (my budget is more or less $450) or maybe a way to make an old and noisy computer quiet.

If it was me, I would upgrade my Naim stuff last Hi Gregor, The Naim stuff is being serviced and upgraded right now. The reason for the upgrade is to have an amplifier that can drive the Sara more easily than it did until today. When I purchase my system in 1985 I picked excellent elements but that did not work well together. The Naim 42/110 combo was great by itself but not powerful enough to efficiently drive demanding speakers like the Saras. The bad choice was my mistake. Among all the speakers I auditioned then, the Saras where the one that impressed me the most and I badly wanted them. I did not know that you never listen to a pair of speakers but to a whole system: speakers, amplifier, turntable or CD player and of course the room where the audition takes place. The dealer warned me that the 42/110 was not the best set to drive the Sara like the more powerful amplifiers used during the audition did. I decided to pick the Saras anyway and upgrade the amplifier in the near future, which I never did. I am the one to blame for the wrong choice, but what is done is done. Today, financially, I have not the same possibility than when I purchased my system in 1985 and I will not be able to spend, and by far, the same amount of money on my system than in the past. I have to manage to get the best that I can with the elements I already have + a budget of about $1000. Among my options: Option 1: Keep the Saras and have them checked and serviced Have the the NAC42 serviced and upgraded to 42.5 + add an external power supply and upgrade /tweak of the NAP110 Buy a DAC and until I can buy a new computer use my DVD player (instead of a cheap CD player). All that cover $1000. Option 2: Sell the Saras for which I may get around $400. Service the 42/110 without upgrade Buy a DAC and use my DVD player All that will leave me with more or less $500 + the $400 (from selling the Saras) to buy a new or a second hand pair of speakers that my 42/110 could drive easily. Option 3: Sell the Saras and Naim 42/110 for about $700 at best. Get an entire high quality new system with my $1000+ about $700 I doubt that with $1700 I can buy a entire new system that will be better than with the two first options.

I totally agree with the comments above about convenience. Computer audio also totally changes the way you listen. You will find you listen more and to more of your music collection The instant access to my collection is really appealing, no doubt. As far as equipment to buy, with a limited budget I'd get the best DAC I can afford and use it with the DVD player. Later you can put more money into the digital source. I agree with those who say audition first, as you want to be sure your are spending your money on an SQ upgrade The audio technician who is servicing and upgrading my amplifier and speakers right now, advised me to buy a $200 Valab DAC on ebay and he could easily tweak or upgrade it, according to him, maybe not to the level of the best DAC but to that of many of far more expensive DAC. Since my budget is tight this could be a good solution. I Google a lot right now to see what people think about the Valab.

If you plan to upgrade at some point, I suspect the loudspeakers would be the first candidate. The suspensions of both the woofers and tweeters must have lost much of their elasticity by now, which could greatly impair the frequency response, directivity, and distortion...Amplifiers and preamps of that vintage probably have a certain fuzziness compared to those today, but that may be relatively innocuous I am upgrading. My NAP110 amplifier is being serviced right now and the NAC42 preamplifier is also serviced , then upgraded to NAC42.5 and an external power supply added. The speakers have been checked and no problem of loss of elasticity was found at least from a first quick physical checking by an excellent audio technician who has a huge experience with Linn products. Once the service and upgrade done the speakers will be tested more thoroughly and we will see if they still can sing. At the beginning of the week I have heard an other HI FI system almost as old as mine but more 'powerful' than mine: Naim NAC32.5 pre and two NAP140 amplifiers ,each one serving one of the speakers and I did not find any fuzziness in spite their age. The old beast (which of course has been serviced) can reproduce music as beautifully as many brand new 'advanced' and expensive system. For me, I do not have the keenest hearing, so I'm reaching the point of diminishing marginal returns to scale. Its hard to hear the difference between a good $300 CD player and a $1K CD player I have listened for several hours many kind of music from Rock, Symphonic orchestra, chamber music(trio, quartet,solo piano),Jazz. I listened to each track several times on the same system but with 2 different CD players : a Advanced Acoustic MCD200 (around $300) and a Arcam FMJ CD37 ($1000)and I could not hear any difference. The dealer tried to convinced me that the trumpet sounds more 'metallic' on the Arcam. To me it sounded the same trumpet, same guitar, same piano, same violin on both CD players. Maybe my hearing is not what is was and I cannot distinguish small differences anymore. If it is so, I won't put 3 time more cash on a CD. Sorry for the long reply - hope this helps! Not at all. Thanks for the links and the recommendation.

The best thing is to join an audio club where you can have shootouts or get first-hand experience with the gear Thanks Steve, I will definitely do that.

Thank you all for your comments. It's flexibility in playback while maintaining (or in the case of 24/96 files exceeding) quality sound The idea of having all my CDs organized and ready to play like with my iPod is very attractive , no doubt about that. My concern is about the quality of the sound. My budget right now is quite limited and I can only buy a CD player around the $500 - $600. My question is can I with these $500 - $600 get something of the same level of sound quality (or maybe even better) with a DAC + my DVD player (a basic JVC, nothing really fancy). Later on, step by step,I could upgrade the DAC or buy a better one and purchase a computer dedicated only to my audio system.

Hello, My old HI-FI system which I bought new in 1985 and has not been in used for different reasons for about 8 years, is right now out for check up + service and upgrade: preamplifier - Naim Audio NAC 42 + amplifier - NAP110 + speakers - Linn Sara; beside my DVD player I have nothing to play my CDs with - no CD player, no old turntable, nothing. Once my system comes back home I will be listening my CDs with my DVD player until I choose which way to go: to buy a CD player that matches my system or to go the computer + DAC way. Of course I use iTunes on my computer and I enjoy my iPod but the thought of ripping my CDs and listening to my music from my computer + DAC instead of a CD player, the connection between audiophilia and computer still seems quite odd to me. It may sounds strange to you but the term DAC was unknown to me a week ago. Right now I have no idea which way to choose and I would like to hear from you why I should go the way of computer audio. Thanks.