New to Audiophilia

biatche

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Apr 6, 2012
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Hi, I'd begin by saying I'm an audionewbie or audiomoron, whichever relevant. I've just scattered the ashes of my X-FI XtremeMusic and it's time to look for a descendant.

Current setup:
Logitech Z-5300 (5.1 -- There's a mode to make it 2.1 and that's fine I guess since I don't require sounds coming from the rear)
Realtek Onboard Audio (Replacing the X-Fi temporarily, and the X-Fi sounded way better)

Usage:
Music, a lot of lossless audio (40's jazz, classical, retro)
Movies (stereo will do)
Minimal gaming (stereo will do)

Budget:
~$150 (to begin with)

I want sound to sound better in looking for a replacement. The Realtek is unacceptable. I have a speaker setup and I'd like to stick with speakers than headphones.

I've been gathered information for days and it'd be the first time I've heard of DACs. For ~US$150 what are my options to cover my needs? I do not need extremely perfect audio as if I'm a professional listener, but perhaps something better than the Asus Xonar or Creative X-Fi Titanium might be nice.

From what I've gathered, ideally I'd have:

Audioengine D1 Premium (I begin with this)
M2Tech HiFace2 (enters wishlist)
Audioengine A5+ Speakers (enters wishlist)

Is the HiFace2 compatible with the Audioengine D1? Should I be looking at another product?

Thanks in advance.
 
Audinst hud mx1, it is slightly above your budget at 180$ but highly recommended.
If you dont need volume control/headphone out, look at HRT Music Streamer 2, for 150$.
 
Audinst hud mx1, it is slightly above your budget at 180$ but highly recommended.
If you dont need volume control/headphone out, look at HRT Music Streamer 2, for 150$.

there are many frustrated "HRT Music Streamer 2" users including our HFv members !! how r u recommending
 
I have just bought the Audinst HUD MX1 recently and quite happy with the performance though it is slightly above what is your indicated budget. With that on the music path, I guess your speakers would be the next in line for an upgrade. Powered speakers like the Audio engines would work just fine, but are expensive (about 400 USD). You can also look at second hand market for amp+speaker combos. Alternatively, the most recent issue of What Hi-fi has had a review of desktop hi-fi options and the Epoz Aktimate Micro active speakers come in at about 27k INR and have been very highly rated and that should be pretty much all you need along with your existing setup - but perhaps given your budget limitations you mention you may want to wait for some time?
 
wanna b audiophile ?
that term is very .much exploited ..hmm Eg. like the people who adjust mic levels in stage shows some people call them as "sound engineer!!"

we with basic audio gear are audio-enthu and in future may be somehow audiophile..

so any ways to start ... In 20k or less

instead of many ready made stuff how about Horn loaded full rangers DIY + and a LinuxGuru amp. ? It will be excellent Mids and decent for Low..
use the LOgitech with LPF for LOw extn for rock etc ..not ideal but viable solution
 
Biatche?

Hi there. I am not a big fan or Logitech because I have yet to hear a set from this brand that halfway tempts me to part with my money. I think you should consider if your speaker brand is the strength or weakness of what ultimately you are trying to accomplish. I can't speak to Realtek either. I have not heard in bad comments. However, have you considered Realtek is unacceptable so your evaluation of your speakers could be compromised? Afterall in the sequence of source to digital to analog Realtek is right smack dab in the middle of all the works, so to speak. I don't know how Asus Xonar and Creative X Fi Titanium compare to Audioengine D1.

However, I have two Audioengine D1's in use. I cannot recommend the D1 highly enough. Music is revealing, rounded it has good weight sounds realistic and all styles of music becomes even more musical. What I hear my D1 through is a much different set up, so that too may influence how you hear your music. Nevertheless AE D1 is a superb buy because they have used one of the better chips in the unit (Burr-Brown PCM1792A 24-bit/192) which is one of the more coveted chips for audio and leaving plenty head room for future uses of higher quality recordings. Today you are doing good to be at 16-bit/48 which is not bad in anyone's book. You can see the difference in the numbers in how much more improvement can be gained from your source material. Should you have a moment look up Burr-Brown PCM1792A this little chip is the key ingredient. Which leads me to my next point. We are fortunate that we live in a time, that we don't have to spend an arm and a leg to get really high end stuff because its in the processor, not merely the brand name. If one scratches below the surface you will find that the chip then the brand is the proper order to make the best spend yielding notable overall improvement.

The same can be said for amplifiers and speakers. My set up is a mix of young, old and familiar, low and high tech, the bottom line the sonic clarity puts a fixed smile on your face.
If your music is sourced from a computer, consider a few changes in this direction. Look to stream your music with an Apple Airport router or Apple TV, Roku can perform the same duties, the audio quality is either maintained or enhanced (depending on the quality of the source material). If you listen ato mp3 files at 128bkp nothing helps, however, 256 kbp on up to lossless or wav files your music could be smokin.

Audioengine has a stellar amp worth its money in gold. The D1 and Audioengine's N22 amp were born to work together seamlessly. Never mind the 22w rms the unit has a peak of 80w which gives plenty of sonic headroom. Take a look at getting a pair of full spectrum speakers from an even more reputable brand like Energy, Polk, Klipsch to name a few. These speakers can be sattelite speakers which will have limitations but that's quite alright. Purchase a set of small speaker stands, hook up the satallite speakers directly into the N22 amp, connect the D1 into the N22 amp then plug the amp into the apple airport. The music will be streamed from the computer into the amp. Prepare to be impressed. This will put you in far better shape than you are in with the Logitechs.

Don't be afraid of picking up refurbished or five year old high end satellite speakers. The brands I recommended "old stuff" is still the "good stuff."

Enjoy
 
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