wpsands

I'm very happy with the Rs1 speakers. I've been listening to them for several months now and I've never once thought about adding a sub. The music sounds quite crisp. I mainly listen to high quality mp3s from my Mac Mini. I added Pro-Ject Debut III turntable earlier in the week. When listening to vinyl, I did think to myself that I wish I had a bass control knob but never an actual sub. I am very pleased with my setup. You really can't go wrong with Rega equipment. Page

I'm still enamored with the sound. Cheers, Page

I wanted to get an integrated amp and set of bookshelf speakers to replaced the powered audio engines. My budget was 2k and there was some debate as to whether or not I could improve the sound. I went with the following equipment. 1. I picked up the new Rega Brio-R integrated amp. http://www.rega.co.uk/html/Brio-R.htm 2. Replaced the AudioEngine 5 (A5) speakers with Rega's RS-1 bookshelf speakers. http://www.rega.co.uk/html/RS1.htm I came in at roughly $1700 for both components combined. I listened to the newish James Blake album and this is when I new my upgrade was way beyond satisfactory. My ears did not struggle to figure out if the sound was better. This was hifi! I'm very pleased with Rega. The quality of the components is high and they are priced at a value. Highly recommend both the integrated and the speakers listed above. Update: Changed the title of the thread and moved into Speakers. It's more relevant here than in the General forum.

Thanks for all the suggestions. I decided to wander down to some local hi-fi shops in Seattle and do some listening. I listened to a variety of integrateds and bookshelf/floorstanding speakers. There is lots of nice equipment out there. After listening to the new Rega Brio-R integrated amplifier and a pair of Rega RS1 bookshelf speakers, I placed an order and I came in under budget. From what I understand, the Brio is new and the reviews are quite good. When paired with the RS1 bookshelves, the sound was radically improved over the Audioengine 5. I was gitty. New rig looks like this: MacMini>Vlink>Music Hall 25.3 DAC>Rega Brio-R>Rega RS1

I'm going to keep my DAC so that will rule out the Nova.

Thanks for the information. I'm starting to think about floor standing speakers. I've heard good things about the PSB Imagine T-6 speakers although they are just outside the budget. Would like to get the integrated plus speakers for 2k. As far as integrating the Mac Mini, I have a Musical Fidelity's V-Link from the existing system. Any suggestions on interconnects? Page

I'm currently running a Mac Mini with a Music Hall 25.3 DAC and a pair of Audio Engine 5 powered speakers. It has been a nice setup but I'd like to move the Audio Engine 5 speakers into the guestroom and replace with an integrated amplifier and new pair of bookshelf speakers. I'll be listening to my system in a small 12X12 room which open out into a kitchen/dining area. There is no door between the two rooms. I'd like to optimize the system for the 12X12 room and then make it usable for when I'm in the dining area since the music will be on low. Budget is 2k for both the integrated and the speakers. Thoughts? Page

Which of the Cherry amps are you thinking about? Could you provide a link please?

If so, how do they sound?

I picked up a V-Link today and I'm listening with and without the unit in place. I'll post my thoughts over the next couple days. Page

This is the eternal question

Hey Paul- Thanks for the reply. I'm going to experiment with a vintage tube as well as the V-Link. I do have a followup question from your response. Can you elaborate on this comment from your post? Second, I think you are pulling the signal for the Audioengines out of the headphone jack with a "Y" cable so you can use DAC as a volume control. I would try connecting the Audioengines to the RCA outputs with a decent set of interconnects, and using the volume control on the Mac or AudioEngines. Pure Music or Amarra will do a great job of digital volume control for you. What I have right now is the RCA "Y" Cable. The male ends (Red/White) are in the DAC and the "headphone" end is going into the Audio Engines. Is your comment suggesting that I just use nice cables or are you suggesting that I change the config? Again, thanks for your thoughtful response. Page

Hey JP- I have the Music Hall Dac25.3 as well. Do you need the V-Link with the 25.3? I have thought about getting one. What is your impression of the v-link with the DAC? Page

Hey there- I'm new to Computer Audiophile but I've been reading the forums for a few months and picked up some components in order to get started. I'll post some details below and followup with a couple questions I was hoping to get some help with. 1. I have a Mac Mini, Music Hall Dac25.3, and the Audio Engine 5 bookshelf speakers. Configuration looks like this: Mac Mini>USB>DAC>RCA Y Cable>Audio Engine 5 speakers 2. I'm running a demo of Pure Music which I might purchase at the end of the demo period. 3. I use the Open Source Music Streaming software Subsonic but I'm not certain if the DAC plays a role when playing FLAC files through this software. 4. I listen to lots of bands that allow taping in flac format Questions 1. What is the preferred method for hooking up the Mac Mini to the DAC? My sense is that USB is best. However, I'm uncertain about the RCA Y cable that plugs into the Audio Engine 5 speakers. Seems like that cable is not what I was expecting to hook up the components. 2. When playing a FLAC HD file (24 bit / 48KHz) will the Music Hall DAC upsample this automatically? Do I have to configure anything in Itunes or the Dac to do this? Or even Subsonic? Many thanks for any help. Page