Wondering if there is a weak link in my system; Airport - Musiland MD10 - Rotel amp - Paradigms

[burzel2]

Hi everyone. Getting back into 2-channel audio after a long break. Original setup: Windows XP, a Juli@ sound card to a Musiland MD10 DAC via coax (I think) to a set of Rotel separates to a pair of Paradigm Studio 60 V.4s. Much of the system was also used for surround sound/movie watching.

 

Current setup: Windows 7 64 server sending mostly lossless CD rips to an Airport Express (wired) to the Musiland MD10 via optical then directly to a Rotel RMB-1066 and finally to a pair of Paradigm Studio 10 V.5s. Analog cables are a pair of DIY cables I built years ago. Decent quality. I use iTunes and control it with the Remote app.

 

It sounds great, but I was hoping for a bit more. My memory is telling me the previous setup sounded better. Obviously the 60 series Paradigms had more low end, however I was expecting the highs to be at least as good. I should probably just do an A/B comparison. Here are my actual questions: Is the Musiland DAC a weak link? There seems to be newer/higher quality DACs out there for a few bucks more. Also wondering if not using a preamp is a problem. The Musiland has volume control. Last question is regarding placement of equipment. Everything is fairly close together. I once read someone heard a noticeable improvement by moving their Airport much further away from the other gear. I'd really appreciate your much more experienced opinions.

[Audio_ELF]

There are a few week links...

 

First off the Airport Express is quite jittery (depending on which version) so that is your first week link.

 

Secondly the Rotel 1066 digitises all the inputs. The only true analogue bypass is via the multi-channel input so try using that.

 

Eloise

[burzel2]

The Airport is the latest version. What options do I have to deal with the jitter?

 

The RMB-1066 is just an amp. I think you may have thought it was a receiver. It's a 6-channel amp, however I'm only using four channels bridged to stereo. It's a bit overkill for my application I admit.

[Audio_ELF]

The Airport is the latest version. What options do I have to deal with the jitter?

There's not a lot of options: there are a few reclocking devices out there, otherwise use a DAC with better jitter rejection. Other than that you need to look at alternative connections to the DAC.

 

The RMB-1066 is just an amp. I think you may have thought it was a receiver. It's a 6-channel amp, however I'm only using four channels bridged to stereo. It's a bit overkill for my application I admit.

Ahhh, you maybe need to look at your .sig then - it says RSP1066 (an AV processor) along with RMB985. I assumed that's what you were meaning.

[burzel2]

Oh, sorry about that. That sig had my old setup. I've updated accordingly.