Home Source Components

Considering how awesome the 2 channel EHHA amp is and how cheap the kits are I have been considering going balanced (if balanced actually sounds better, seems to be differing opines on this) what is a decent balanced USB (pc only) DAC that is cheap as dog poo? The Gamma 2 with mods will do it but we still don't have a price or date on that yet and the Buffalo is over what I can afford. Would a balanced opus with a USB receiver do well enough? I've never heard a balanced rig so I don't know if they're worth the extra or not.

The first review for the Sony box thing is out: http://www.whathifi.com/sony/uhp-h1/review $349 USD seems like a reasonable price if it competes with the Oppo BDP players. I'd love to see a head-to-head comparison of their video and audio performance.

Finally have a little cash to become active around here again. Looking for a USB DAC to match up with the Lambda normal bias + SRM-T1 I just bought from Birgir. I've narrowed it down to these 2. Any have any personal experience with either? Anything else you'd recommend? Looking to keep the price under $500.

I've finally accumulated enough SACD and DVD-A titles that both of these players are cheap enough to probably warrant a purchase. A used 2900 on Audiogon is roughly $200. And there are so many Oppo models I don't know which are the good ones. Video playback doesn't matter, it won't be used. Or any other options in the $200 range that I didn't think of. I like a slightly warmer sound, not the stereotypical "digital playback", so from reading this is sort of pushing me towards the Denons. Modding capability is a plus since I wouldn't be opposed to that in the future. Basically I'm tired of spending so long figuring out the copy protection on DVD-A discs tearing my hair o…

A friend of mine who is a music producer and is not nor ever will be a DJ wants to build a phono rig for digitizing vinyl. His budget is $1000. He needs a phono pre with a line out (he's got the ACD covered), a turntable and needle. He's asked me, but my phono knowledge is too DJ-centric. Any HCers have some suggestions for those three components that fit within his budget constraints? Are there any turntables with built in pres in that range that are not utter crap? Also, he'd like to be able to play back 16 and 78RPM records but that requirement is is secondary to the above needs.

For all you guys who are banned: Granodemostasa, another fellow Berkeley Head-Case'r, has graciously dropped off his Lavry DA10 for me to compare against my newly acquired Stello DP200. I think this will be a good comparison because both units are DAC/headamp combos, both can act as a pre-amp. That's where the similarities end. The Lavry is a non-upsampling DAC employing op-amps in Class-A mode in its analog output stage, while the Stello is a upsampling DAC (up to 192, with an option to bypass upsampling altogether) using fully-discrete, Class-A, balanced output stage. The Stello has a remote-control while the Lavry does not. Some pictures will better illustrate th…

I'm considering getting a cheap cd player/transport so I can conveniently put on discs without the need to rip them first. I would be feeding (probably) the toslink to my miniDAC and from there balanced out to my Beta22. The player would need to sound at least as good as the ripped CD's do when fed from my H120s' toslink out. The player doesn't need to be portable and the only format it will need to play are redbook standard CD's. I've tried using my cheap technics system but that is thin and tinny compared to my H120. Are there players that fit this bill ? I will be saving up for a Cambridge Audio 840C in my future but as this will likely take until the winter…

http://www.referenceaudiomods.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=Oppo_Units&Category_Code=MODS&Product_Count=37 Anyone heard one of these? Any thoughts? The price of the mods is crazy high for such an inexpensive player. I own a stock Oppo 970HD which I use as an upsampling DVD player. I am very pleased with it. Deadwood looks fantastic! I've used it to play music, but only through my HT setup, which isn't as resolving as my headphone rig, so I can't really judge its sound quality. Anywho, I've been considering hooking up my Oppo to my headphone rig just to do a shootout between it, the Modwright, and the Aqvox. Maybe I'll do it this we…

Schiit just announced a DAC: http://schiit.com/cart/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=0&products_id=7 Can anyone speak for their choice of parts? Input Receiver, USB: C-Media CM6631 D/A Conversion IC: AKM4399 Kinda tempted even though I don't need a DAC right now....

An interesting new DAC with bluetooth and USB input by Chord, looks like a good computer source. Chordette Gem

So I'm kind of a dummy when it comes to speaker wiring. Right now I have two large spreakers that are also subwoofers(Pic 1). It's an old system but it still sounds great. The problem I'm having is that I don't want the large clunky thing that connects it all together(Pic 2) I only use it to play my iPod and to adjust the bass. The CD player/tape player/ and radio all don't work. Only AUX works, which is fine because I don't need the other ones. What I need is a converter so I can just plug the speakers into the iPod. It's not so simple however since the speakers are subwoofers AND speakers(Pic 3) So anyone know what kind of converter I could use? I'm not trying to …

My brother asked me what I thought about using a Mac Mini as a htpc. Since I've never done this, I thought I would ask here. I know some of you use these as music servers. Any tips, recommendations, etc.? Thanks in advance

If any owners (or former owners) could offer impressions of the Wavelength USB DACs I would appreciate it. Or any good user reviews on other forums. Thanks

Just coming back to being interested in quality musical reproduction after 10 years away (kids etc forced a rethink of priorities), so please bear with me as things seemed an awful lot less complicated in the mid 90's! Just fyi i had an Arcam Alpha 5 (upgraded) with some Arcam Pre/power amps and some speakers which i cant quite remember if im honest, so i would like to think that whilst im no high roller i have a little more of an idea than your typical Ipod wearing youth.... Ive just purchased the following:- Beresford Caiman Dac Graham Slee Novo + PSU1 Headphone Amp HD650 Phones (on their way, currently using SR80i's) My main question evolves around sourc…

I'm not too good at home theater stuff, so I need some help. I need some suggestions on the absolute cheapest way to get 5.1 surround sound out of my tv, using it's optical out, and then going to Logitech Z-5300e speakers. The connectors for the speakers are 1/8's, so obviously this poses a slight challenge. I'm stressing cheapest, cause medical school is killing my wallet. Thanks, Dave

Per the review, it is quite good: http://www.6moons.com/audioreviews/shanling5/3000.html In the $2k range with basic mods, more for better mods http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?dgtlplay&1200364575, and another $400 to 'modify' the balanced outs. I'm thinking of taking a shot on the stock (or mini-mods pkg) and roll some tubes. Thoughts / experiences?

It is probably fairly lame by most standards here, but there is an interesting article on PC audio that has just been published on my favourite PC tech site, Anandtech. It particularly caught my eye in that the test involved a Twisted Pair Opus in dual mono config......

Howdy all, I just received an email from a friend. He wants a recommendation for a DAC to use with his Slim Devices Squeezebox. His desired price is <$1000 and didn't say if buying used was ok. Let's assume that a used DAC is ok with him. He mentioned the DAC-1 as a possibility. Lastly, he mostly listens to classic rock. I'm not a DAC guy and am hoping that you guys can give me some recommendations to pass on to him. Please note that this isn't for headphone listening. He has a system based on vintage Macintosh amps. I think that his speakers are Proacs, but can't remember for sure. Thanks in advance for your help. -ken

First, does anyone have dimensions and a guess on weight? Second, how's the headout on this unit? Decent or great job with Grados? Finally, anyone know of a good online source for purchase of this DAC?

I was on A'gon and saw this for 1000 and couldn't resist..... and i actually was the first to get it... i pondered, i searched, i asked and found no rea answers or reviews... except engineering jib jab about it's interface. So i went ahead and bought it. now i'm left wondering if i should sell it the second i get it... the insides don't look all that impressive... and the reviewers seem so enchanted by it's USB input that they forgot to check how it sounds.

Does anyone have any experience with any of the docks that bypass the iPod's internal DAC? I'm thinking about buying such a device to use with my home DAC, and would appreciate any relevant info. I'm aware of the Wadia and the Onkyo, any others of note? A decent used Wadia 170i goes for about $250, and that's appealing.

SACDMODS DENON 2910 I gave Matt Anker my Denon 2910 to mod at the meet. He is a very nice fellow and is eager to work with you. He does not talk above your level of understanding nor does he insult you by shortchanging you on information. I can do some of this stuff and some I can't. I understand the basic operating premmis on most everything but sometimes get overwhelmed by the details. However Matt will make it simple and understandable for you. I was able to visit "SACDMODS International LLC. INC.". It was the No.2 site in Columbus, Ohio on seventeen sprawling acres of land with more than nineteen buildings and wharehouses. He has his own Gymnasium and football …

Folks, just got an O2 and when paired to kgss and neko d100 i ended up with a sound sig darker than well for lack of a better word, dark..... After switching around with sources i have, i settled with stello da100. Its much better and suit my taste more or less. I also liked dacmagic my friend had. Are there any alternatives dac that would complement this rig well? Say price ranges between 1-2k ? And those that supposedly bettered than stello? Any advice as always is much appreciated

The AKM 32bit Dac is interesting to me as I commonly see people refering to it as a wonderful sounding Dac. Also to add that it seems to be found in a couple very high end sources such as the APL NWO 3.0 GO and Esoteric D-05 Dac. I myself have auditioned the APL NWO 3.0 and I do realize that it has something insane like twenty 32bit converters in each channel, but I cannot forget that smooth yet detailed sound I enjoyed so much. This is why I want to audition the D-05 and APL Denon 3910.(with the AKM dac) I have a couple questions about sources that would help clarify my understanding. First, im sure that its not just the dac in a source that determines the sound qual…

Has anyone heard their CD77 player?