My Music Setup :)

[rohitmusic]

Dear Friends,
My audio setup is slowly taking form.

Say "Hi" to my latest addition to the family
The Acoustic Portrait Pre-Power amplifiers. Just received these new amps yesterday from AP (These are the non remote version in black.)

So the setup now is:

Acoustic Portrait Premap -> Acoustic Portrait Power amp -> Paradigm Monitor 7 FS

I will be getting some interconnects followed by a nice source.
I am considering using a Laptop or my DVD player as a source for which I will be getting a decent DAC (or maybe even a CDP)

I have opened threads for interconnects and DAC recommendations. Any inputs most welcome.

Warm Regards,
Rohit
Music is full of silence and silence is full of Music

 

[BLASTO]

Music is full of silence and silence is full of Music

wonder why you need any setup.

BTW, getting without a remote is a mistake..
the songs in same/different albums have heavily varying volumes which is very evident in hifi setups.
Even with same volume levels, it is impossible to listen all songs in an album with same volume. Melody etc should have lesser volume..
Add to that it is difficult to gauge the volume from near the speakers, amp.

Remote is very much required at least for volume.

 

[rohitmusic]

Yes bro.. completely agree a remote is nice to have. Kuch paaneke liye kuch khona padta hai... B... B.. B.. B...... Blasto.....

BTW I may consider getting a DAC with remote (like Emotiva XDA1) having volume and source selector

 

[srinisundar]

Not worth connecting the Emotiva DAC with Acoustic Portrait.. What a degrade in music Suggest to buy the acoustic Portrait DAC which is one of the best I ( we few guys in chennai) heard

 

[rohitmusic]

Not worth connecting the Emotiva DAC with Acoustic Portrait.. What a degrade in music Suggest to buy the acoustic Portrait DAC which is one of the best I ( we few guys in chennai) heard

AP DAC!.... Dreaming.....

Gotta wake up before my family lose their cool...!

Well, on a serious note.. you have a point worth noting. What would you suggest in <15k range. Need to arrange something and can upgrade later

Which other DAC would you recommend? Or should I just get a entry CDP?

Thing is I dont have a large CD collection, mostly will be FLACs or high quality mp3s.

Cheers!

 

[Flash]

A DAC to control volume gain considering you have a Pre.

Not a very good idea.
Atleast in my books

 

[captrajesh]

BTW, getting without a remote is a mistake..
the songs in same/different albums have heavily varying volumes which is very evident in hifi setups.
Even with same volume levels, it is impossible to listen all songs in an album with same volume. Melody etc should have lesser volume..
Add to that it is difficu lt to gauge the volume from near the speakers, amp.

I have similar setup. After the Chennai show, I had asked the designer if I can upgrade to the setup that was showcased there. He dissuaded me from going for it; according to him, the preamp without the remote which has stepped attenuator is sonically superior to the one with the one which has remote control as the latter has a potentiometer.

BTW, I do not find the requirement to fiddle volume more than once or twice in a session. YMMV

What would you suggest in <15k range. Need to arrange something and can upgrade later

Which other DAC would you recommend? Or should I just get a entry CDP?

Thing is I dont have a large CD collection, mostly will be FLACs or high quality mp3s.

Your setup deserves a better source than entry level CDP. Since you do not have a huge collection of CDs, you must seek out for a good DAC. If you are low on budget, I suggest you look for a decent pre-used DAC and save up for the AP DAC for later.

 

[rohitmusic]

according to him, the preamp without the remote which has stepped attenuator is sonically superior

+1 I was told the same by Siva Sir!

BTW, I do not find the requirement to fiddle volume more than once or twice in a session. YMMV

Your setup deserves a better source than entry level CDP. Since you do not have a huge collection of CDs, you must seek out for a good DAC. If you are low on budget, I suggest you look for a decent pre-used DAC and save up for the AP DAC for later.

Thanks again Sir for helping me decide on this setup! Will need more inputs in future as well in this musical journey

OK, I will try to get a decent DAC.

Humble Regards!

 

[jls001]

Which other DAC would you recommend? Or should I just get a entry CDP?

Music PC. With Juli@ or Asus Xonar sound card. And quiet fans If in case you are not too happy with the analog out from the sound card, you can always buy another D to A box in future.

 

[ravi_d]

Once you get used to your set-up you would know at what volume level you would be comfortable listening to it and wouldn't want to play with it most of the time just to find the comfortable listening level.
If you want to mute/ lower volume level when attending a phone call or someone talking or the volume level is unbearable for a certain track to you here is a work around.

Use the remote of a CD Player or a Network player if you have one just to pause the track while attending a phone call or talking to someone and can resume the playback after your are done with that. Or the volume level is unbearable for a certain track you can pause the source walk to the amp lower the volume and resume the playback from the remote.
If you have a computer + DAC as a source you can install a remote app on your smart android/apple phone (which works via wireless router) if you have one to control the playback of your app on the computer. The volume control of the app can be controlled too from the remote control app on your smart phone but it is advised to leave the volume level on the app at max.

 

[rohitmusic]

Music PC. With Juli@ or Asus Xonar sound card. And quiet fans If in case you are not too happy with the analog out from the sound card, you can always buy another D to A box in future.

The Music PC seems to be the safest and most promising bet as of now on budget. It is moving to top of list by the day

Need to explore some used DAC options as well. Can someone please suggest if any good option available. PM me if required

Best Regards,
Rohit

 

[rohitmusic]

Once you get used to your set-up you would know at what volume level you would be comfortable listening to it and wouldn't want to play with it most of the time just to find the comfortable listening level.
If you want to mute/ lower volume level when attending a phone call or someone talking or the volume level is unbearable for a certain track to you here is a work around.

Use the remote of a CD Player or a Network player if you have one just to pause the track while attending a phone call or talking to someone and can resume the playback after your are done with that. Or the volume level is unbearable for a certain track you can pause the source walk to the amp lower the volume and resume the playback from the remote.
If you have a computer + DAC as a source you can install a remote app on your smart android/apple phone (which works via wireless router) if you have one to control the playback of your app on the computer. The volume control of the app can be controlled too from the remote control app on your smart phone but it is advised to leave the volume level on the app at max.

Thanks for looking and caring to share! Really appreciate it
Hmm... these are handy inputs

Absolutely,
I will be trying to see if any of my below gadgets can participate in the music setup:
1. Cisco Linksys wifi router
2. Sony Bravia LCD TV - may use as screen for track selection,etc maybe
3. Apple IPhone 2G & a apple Shuffle 2GB
4. DELL laptops (2 of them as mentioned in this mail)

Many of these devices are inter operable and have these options. So would be fun to explore these possibilities.

Thanks and Regards,
Rohit

 

[Thad E Ginathom]

Music PC. With Juli@ or Asus Xonar sound card. And quiet fans If in case you are not too happy with the analog out from the sound card, you can always buy another D to A box in future.

You might be surprised just how good the analogue out from a card like juli@ actually is. Could save you a lot of money.

As to fans... I spend on fans like some of you guys spend on DACs :lol:...

I've just upgraded to my third set of two cabinet fans (Noctua, over a 1,000 each from Flipkart) and I think I just might be satisfied . It has gone from quiet to very quiet. I won't really know until the summer is over and I can turn off the AC

If you want to build a music PC from scratch, that is a whole different area of research. Oddly, you'll want to keep some things cheap: avoid top-of-the-range, fast CPUs! Avoid high RPM HDDs. These things just create heat that you then need noisy, fast fans to get rid of. You'll need a good case, though, and a good power supply. And nice fans

 

[jls001]

As to fans... I spend on fans like some of you guys spend on DACs :lol:...

Thad, I need some light on fans.

Recently I blew up the SMPS of my music PC. I went to the market determined to buy an SMPS with a fan of the lowest noise. I couldn't find any SMPS with such special fan. Does such a creature exist?

Also, is it possible to change the stock CPU fan to something that makes lesser noise?

Lastly, on the PC cabinet I see a place on the side where one can possibly affix an extra fan. Does this extra fan help?

 

[Thad E Ginathom]

Here's my thread on getting a new CPU cooler: Cooling: Hanging a Kilo off your Motherboard?

Stock AMD 80mm [?] CPU cooler fan running at thousands RPM: very unpleasant noise.

Noctua cooler with twin 140mm fans, running at hundreds RPM: pretty much silent.

Small fans are always going to have to run fast, so it is probably better to change the whole heatsink/cooler. My Noctua NH-C14 is an expensive monster, and, as far as I know, still not available in India, which makes it even more expensive. Many other alternatives --- but I got fixated on this brand and design.

For the PSU, I think the answer is to go for something much more powerful than you need, and to make sure that it regulates the fan speed. Mine is rated at 850 watts, but my PC is using less than 150watts*. Its fan is silent. It is a non-standard Antec PSU that only fits a small number of Antec's own cases. Driving a Mercedes at 40kph, it is hard to hear the engine!

For case fans, my Antec P183 case came with two Antec Tricool fans. These have three-speed switching. Not bad: IIRC, I had one on slow and one on medium. But not quiet enough --- and I wanted variable speed control by BIOS/software/

I then experimented with Cooler Master Excalibur (good, moves a lot of air, needs to be mother-board controlled as it will be noisy at full speed) and Silverstone SST-AP121.

I had a 1Tb HDD that ran very hot: as much as 45C, and I put the Silverstone to blow on it. It failed, and my new WD Green only gets to low 30s.

Now I have a new pair of Noctua case fans, NF-S12B from Flipkart. This combination seems to be a winner. My motherboard has four fan power points, but only two of them can be controlled by BIOS/software. One is for the CPU, my case fans are paired on the other, and, controlled by software, they are pretty quiet.

I can still hear the PC: nothing is perfect, except completely passive cooling!

Silent PC Review is an excellent source.

*This is what my UPS reports that everything is drawing: PC, monitor, modem, router, 5w desklamp

My PC Summary:

Case: Antec P183

PSU Antec CP-850

In top section of case:

CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-C14

Extraction, top and rear: two Two NF-S12B

Sucking in, front: Silverstone SST-AP121-WL on 5 volts.

In lower section of case:

PSU: Antec CP-850

Sucking in, front: Antec tricool on low. I'll change this to a Silverstone that I now have spare.
​

This all should be in the computer audio section!

 

[corElement]

Where are the photos dude lets see!!!

 

[rohitmusic]

I will be uploading soon Will get some nice pics soon

 

[rohitmusic]

:yahoo:

:cheers:

 

[mpw]

lovely set up..enjoy the music..

 

[Audiodoc]

Below 15K buy an audioGD DAC. They are great VFM. Wolfson 8741 based.