eugenius

Why doesn't this object have an internal PSU and digital inputs again? And why have a streamer with no multi-room audio in 2016? Sonos is how many years old? How many orders of magnitude is the CPU in the Aries faster than the one in the Sonos? To me this is a software defined product that is in a stable alpha, not even in a beta version.

StereoMojo is a typical hype website for separating fools from their money. It's a spin on advertising, nothing more. When you're talking about these infinitesimal noise levels and huge dynamic ranges, you have to be aware that the background noise level in most rooms is at least 20dB, more like 30dB if you live in a city and it's daytime. This makes all those measurements completely pointless in real life, never mind the actual dynamic range of records, which laughably low compared to the worst measuring DAC on the planet. You're paying through the nose for something you will never hear. More rational is to switch to active crossovers because passive crossover components have bad tolerances, degrade over time and are the first thing manufacturers skimp on. Also rational to have enough power to never clip under any circumstance since power is cheap. That doesn't mean better DAC specs are a bad thing, it just means unless the rest of the system (room, speakers, crossovers, power) is optimal, it's not worth even bothering with.

Deqx express II + three external DAC's (multibit for the bass and delta-sigma for treble and midrange) + more pass labs pure class A amplifiers for treble and midrange + professional setup and room treatment or just: professional setup and room treatment and I have another idea: professional setup and room treatment !

There are many matx boards with pci slots that fit into the fc5 - you can use a flexible PCI to PCI riser for those. There's no reason a pcie to pci riser will not fit the H1, that pcb is not that big, certainly not wider than the slot itself: I don't think temperature will be an issue, not with both sides of the H1 cooling the CPU. If you're worried about heat just limit yourself to a 35W cpu, you don't need more for a HTPC anyway. There's a 35W quad core in the haswell lineup if you really want to throw money out the window.

A 3300$ dac that needs a cheap PSU upgrade? Really?

I recommend you buy the TTVJ Flat Pads for the SR325is, they will bring back the bass.

Used Jamo C803 is the best deal in bookshelf speakers I know of. That is if you like a warm bassy sound. If you like a tight detailed sound, Jamo again, the D830 is a legendary speaker for lovers of tight bass and detail. Both of these speakers have ridiculously low used prices on the second hand market.

The headroom balanced desktop amp is well suited to the K701. It has a slightly warm sound, good bass and the crossfeed setting boosts the bass, which the K701 needs if you play modern music.

I have listened to the D7000 w/j$ vs. CD3000 - no comparison. The D7000 sucked. Here's my stuff: Assemblage DAC2 modded up the wazoo, CEC HD53N, Headroom Balanced Desktop DAC/AMP, CEntrance DACport, Grado HF2, Beyer MMX300. How do you like the Skylla? Compare it with the Lavry DA11 for example, if you heard it.

Haha, skylla, balancing act and then a crappy Denon .... What happened, did the dog chew the good headphoned?