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Advice greatly appreciated


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Hi, Ive been following computer audiophile for quite a long time and this is my first posting.

Im after some advice as Im looking to upgrade from my basic system, which is just an imac hooked up to my tivoli 2.

I was using a behringer uca202 dac but for some reason when using mog, I would get no sound. The computer sounds would come through the speakers but not the music......

 

Im looking at upgrading, but still I do not have a lot of money to spend. Im looking at the schiit modi dac. For an amp im looking at getting the appj miniwatt tube amplifier, hooked up to bookshelf speakers. Possibly something like the q acoustics 2010's or similar. I need it to be something simple, which my wife can operate with ease.

I dont mind spending a little bit more money if they are quality products which will get years of music listening out of.

Any suggestions on the products Im looking at or others which I should think about it, would be greatly appreciated, cheers in advance.

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Welcome to CA.

 

I am sure you will get many suggestions. Given your stated needs, I think a great option is an all-in-one solution, such as the Wadia 151 PowerDAC. You get a terrific bang for the buck and avoid the cost of all the interconnect cables and power cables, which can really add to the cost.

 

The Wadia 151 is a preamp/dac/power amp rolled into one box, and can be had for peanuts at the moment ($679 shipped for an "open box" model from an authorized dealer on ebay, for example). I have heard the 151 at my local Wadia dealer. I have owned several Wadia products over years, and they have a terrific reputation. I think you would be hard pressed to find something with this level of performance for this kind of money. The cheap chinese tube amps on ebay are generally terrible products in terms of performance and reliability, but they look cool. I would avoid them, personally.

 

Good luck in your search.

 

Digital Audio Review by John Darko » Wadia 151PowerDAC Mini amplifier review

Speaker Room: Lumin U1X | Lampizator Pacific 2 | Viva Linea | Constellation Inspiration Stereo 1.0 | FinkTeam Kim | Revel subs  

Office Headphone System: Lumin U1X | Lampizator Golden Gate 3 | Viva Egoista | Abyss AB1266 Phi TC 

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One point of clarification to my earlier post- when I wrote that the Wadia 151 can be had for "peanuts", I did not intend to convey that $680 is a small or inconsequential amount of money. My intent was to convey that $680 is a small amount to pay given the specs and performance of the Wadia 151. The original retail of the Wadia 151 was $1,200.

Speaker Room: Lumin U1X | Lampizator Pacific 2 | Viva Linea | Constellation Inspiration Stereo 1.0 | FinkTeam Kim | Revel subs  

Office Headphone System: Lumin U1X | Lampizator Golden Gate 3 | Viva Egoista | Abyss AB1266 Phi TC 

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I would also recommend going with a simple setup, but in the following way: USB DAC + Active Bookshelves, thats it.

It all depends on your budget, but for just a little more than $1k you could build a good quality system that would give you years of listening pleasure. I would buy the following:

 

Micromega MYDAC + Emotiva Airmotiv 6 monitors + Audirvana software for your Mac

For power and signal cables, you can look into signal cable, dhlabs or the even more economic bluejeans. For a USB cable, the audio quest forest is more than ok.

 

Good luck!

PMC MB2S-A / Event Opal ← Audio Horizons TD3.1Sv custom Control DAC ← Berkeley Alpha USB ← Pure Music + ARC 2 ← MacMini i7 ← PS Audio P5 ← Xentek Extreme isolation transformer. Click here for cabling and other details

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