Hi

[sinktothebeat]

Hi everyone, I'm Robin :)

All of my music collection is on my laptop and I'm now finally looking to get it hooked up to a DAC and amp. I stumbled across this forum whilst researching DACs and it looks like a great community and a good place to come for some advice.

Check out my last.fm for my musical taste. There's some guilty pleasures on there so don't be too harsh.. Any recommendations welcome!

Last.fm (http://www.last.fm/user/sink2thebeat_uk)

[Reid Malenfant]

Hi Robin, welcome to AoS :) I think we all have guilty pleasures music wise :eyebrows:

Hope you find the DAC you want to sort you out fella, you have probably come to the right place so you don't feel rushed & make a bad decision ;)

Enjoy your stay & all the best :cool:

[The Grand Wazoo]

Hi Robin,
Here's a warm welcome to AoS from me.
Top marks to you for coming straight to the Welcome forum for your first post as requested!

Are you planning to use speakers or headphones in your set up?

Cheers

[sinktothebeat]

Hi, thanks guys :)

I'm on a limited budget but any kind of modest DAC/amp/speaker setup will be a marked improvement from what I have (laptop, y-cable, hifi system).

I probably use them an equal amount so I'd be planning for speakers and headphones. A friend has recently upgraded and is kindly letting me have his Wharfedale Diamond 9.1s. I also have a pair of Sennheiser 595s and I'm itching to find out what they're capable of - haven't got anywhere near the best out of them running straight from my laptop or briefly through an external X-fi Go USB soundcard.

2 of my friends have and recommend Marantz amps and they seem a solid buy so I think I'm set on the PM6003. It's supposed to be good but I'm not sure if it's worth the extra £100 for the latest one.

So the only thing left is the DAC, got some thoughts but I think I need to post a thread asking for some advice..

[Spectral Morn]

Welcome to AOS Robin


Regards D S D L

[The Grand Wazoo]

I'm on a limited budget........

It's supposed to be good but I'm not sure if it's worth the extra £100 for the latest one.


Those two statements are important here!
The art of making a better amplifier is a very slow moving technology. When I say slow, I mean glacially slow. Your extra £100 for this year's model over last years model is so often spent on trying to keep it the same by using cheaper components or methods. The result may be different, but it's not often all that better.
If you want proof of how slow moving amp design is, then take a look at an amp like this one (http://theartofsound.net/forum/showthread.php?t=14164), which is currently for sale on AoS. Do a little Googling to learn a bit about just what a fantastic bit of kit it is & then try to work out how much you would have to spend on a new amp to better it.
Here's a clue: There's a pound sign on the left, but the decimal point is w-aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa-y over there to the right!

I have no connection whatsoever to Kirk, who's selling it.

[Alex_UK]

Hi Robin, welcome from me too.


I think we all have guilty pleasures music wise :eyebrows:

Nah, not me! :D

Enjoy AoS. :)

[MartinT]

Welcome to AoS, Robin. Don't listen to Alex, he is one big guilty pleasure :eek:

Regarding DACs, there is plenty of advice here in the forums and we have Stan Beresford's presence too should you take an interest in a Caiman, for instance. I can vouch for the quality of replay via its USB interface.

[sinktothebeat]

Haha thanks for all the replies guys :)

I think I'm leaning towards getting a Caiman, it seems to get pretty universal praise. I like the fact that you can upgrade them and it's cool that Stan posts here.

Is it worth looking at the basic 7520 though? Only say this because I won't be listening to lossless rips the majority of the time and only through modest speakers/headphones. Oh yeah, and it's less cash!

The other options I've considered are the Audinst HUD MX-1 which would be a cheaper alternative or perhaps the HRT Streamer and a separate headphone amp?

:scratch:

[MaccaAu]

hello Robin welcome to AOS xD