dac + speaker query!

toxicdrift

toxicdrift

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hey guys.. first thread here .. my system specs are in the sig/ using a atom based 24/7 rig .. its basically for dvd rips / alot of music listening. i listen to alot of trance / house / hip hop / hindi music . there is no gaming done on this machine. none possible lol. been in and out of the whole a/v scene for a while..im wanting 2 get a decent soundcard either a pci or external or a usb dac + active bookshelf's. dont mind a amp + passive setup either. budget is sorta a save money and get what u guys recommend type.. just need 2 buy something i can build a decent setup with..any suggestions are welcome. :D
 
What's your budget?

I picked up a pair of used PSBs off the market for 7K, building a small amp to mate with them and a USB Alien (search for my posts) in one case. The DAC is already built, just need to get some casework in place.

You can get ready-built Aliens quite easily, they are quite a piece of equipment for their price. I finally heard the much-talked about Wharfedale (though I heard the 9.0). For about 8K you can't really go wrong with them, though the sound is a little more nasal than I prefer. A locally made amp should be around 7K, and the combo should be good to go. For combos, either the AE2 (9K) or AE5 (17K) can substitute this combo. A built Alien off eBay (US) should be around 2.5K afer shipping, so that's a total of 20K.

Then you can pick up a Xonar or Auzen entry-level card and the MX (I just read about some Edifiers - I do plan to check them out if I can). the combinations are endless.

You might be well-served by trudging the used market. I've never had a bad deal there.

[shameless plug]I had an open offer on some Alien DACs and a soundcard, and both are still up for grabs though my market post is currently inactive. PM me for details.[/shameless plug]
 
Sangram just curious what amp you built for them. I need a cheapo amp for a pair of jamo e700 i picked up for a steal from buy.com. Have a loaner amp right now but it has some issues since its really old. I'd be glad if you could share the details.
 
I've built one for one forum member which I'm duplicating for this build, it's based off National LM4766, which delivers about 30wpc (the chip is rated to 40 and will deliver 50 cleanly, but I like to rate conservatively). The amp is not yet built, though.

I had one of them running off a NAD CD player and the Jamos (when I had them now with the same forum member) in my bedroom. A bit light on the low end due to low current output of the chip, but excellent for bedroom use! Would be lost with more demanding speakers. I tested them with my Dynes and it held up fine, and with sufficient output to fill a large living room.

How'd you get the E700s shipped to you? Doesn't it wipe out the price advantage? Or am i missing something?
 
I definitely need to get something that is high current as these speakers love to be driven. They have very low sensitivity (lower than the ushers) and seem to be a pretty tough load.

I had a friend carry them to india for me. They are very small so he didn't really have a problem.
 
dont really like the Wharfedale sound.. ive heard them.. will probably look to pick up a dac + powered monitors pref.. although i havent had a demo i might take the ae2 plunge ... just need 2 figure a good dac or soundcard with the ae2... suggestions?.
 
@Chaos: My main amps are capable of 44 amps per channel, and I built those myself. You're guaranteed to run out of speaker excursion before the amp runs out of current.

Jamos are never particularly current hungry though, but yours have much lower sensitivity than other Jamos (which always seem to have >88dB sensitivity). Still, you shold be fine with anything above 30 watts a channel.

@toxicdrift; a lot of people have picked up the AE2 unheard and are quite happy, so maybe you will too. The forum favourite for soundcards seems to be the Xonar/DX and the Auzentech entry-level cards. I wouldn't be able to help you more there, as I only use pro cards. If your budget goes there, a Juli@ is a fine choice, at about 7.5K.
 
thank u .. one last question.. which dac do u think fits the best with ae2? im thinkin goin with a dac coz of the driver issues with sondcards and different os's. a plug n play method will be the best :)
 
@toxic: if you can spare the budget for A5, get it....sounds much better for a biggish room....with a bass like this, you can't go wrong for trance/house stuff - me a big trance freak and A5s just serve me fine...Amps works fine, but gets a bit heated in matter of hours - no problems with sound....

But then at that budget(~18k), you start to get wharfedale8.1/mordaunt short 902i and norge amp setups too...

If on a constrained budget (<10k), pick up between mx5021/AE2.
 
gonna demo these babies first.. more then the money might have a space issue..but i definately wanna check the a5's coz alot of people who own them praise of the bass and how good they are.. so cant wait.. will go during this week!
 
I got a 19 year old Musical Fidelity A1 integrated amp today for a steal. Its a pure Class A 20Wx2. I thought this would be my backup amp but seems like this cheapie is actually far better than my primary amp - the McCormack DNA :P.
 
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