New Desktop System
CCNJ
Posts: 384
I just hooked my new desktop two channel system. I can't believe how good it sounds:cool:. I posted a picture of what I was listening to music with at the computer and my new system. I switched out the Harbeth P3ESRs for the Silverline Minuets due to size.
Here are some pics old and new:
Here are some pics old and new:
Rig1 - Totem Hawks, Benchmark HDR, Parasound A21, Sonus, Samsung 52 LCD, Audioquest Type4
Rig2 - LFD LE IV Integrated, Harbeth P3ESR, Rega Dac, MF V-Link, IMAC, Audioquest Type4
Rig2 - LFD LE IV Integrated, Harbeth P3ESR, Rega Dac, MF V-Link, IMAC, Audioquest Type4
Post edited by CCNJ on
Comments
-
Just wondering, but what audio card did you use?
-
I'm bypassing the sound card in the computer. I pass a digital signal from the computer to an external dac via a Belkin Gold USB cable.Just wondering, but what audio card did you use?Rig1 - Totem Hawks, Benchmark HDR, Parasound A21, Sonus, Samsung 52 LCD, Audioquest Type4
Rig2 - LFD LE IV Integrated, Harbeth P3ESR, Rega Dac, MF V-Link, IMAC, Audioquest Type4 -
I'm bypassing the sound card in the computer. I pass a digital signal from the computer to an external dac via a Belkin Gold USB cable.
Looks good, man!:biggrin:
what media player are you using. Running in ASIO?2-Channel: PC > Schiit Eitr > Audio Research DAC-8 > Audio Research LS-26 > Pass Labs X-250.5 > Magnepan 3.7's
Living Room: PC > Marantz AV-7703 > Emotiva XPA-5 > Sonus Faber Liuto Towers, Sonus Faber Liuto Center, Sonus Faber Liuto Bookshelves > Dual SVS PC12-Pluses
Office: Phone/Tablet > AudioEngine B1 > McIntosh D100 > Bryston 4B-ST > Polk Audio LSiM-703's -
I use iTunes right now. May check out MediaMonkey or other software when I get a chance. I just ordered Musical Fidelity V-Link to sit between my computer and my Rega Dac to reduce jitter. I should get it in couple of days.falconcry72 wrote: »Looks good, man!:biggrin:
what media player are you using. Running in ASIO?Rig1 - Totem Hawks, Benchmark HDR, Parasound A21, Sonus, Samsung 52 LCD, Audioquest Type4
Rig2 - LFD LE IV Integrated, Harbeth P3ESR, Rega Dac, MF V-Link, IMAC, Audioquest Type4 -
I use iTunes right now. May check out MediaMonkey or other software when I get a chance. I just ordered Musical Fidelity V-Link to sit between my computer and my Rega Dac to reduce jitter. I should get it in couple of days.
Awesome. I use a v-link and love it. It is a great little piece of gear at a great little price! Let's you go from zero to a PC rig in one external DAC flat!
ASIO is the way to go, and it's easy to do. Here's a blurb from wikipedia:
"ASIO bypasses the normal audio path from the user application through layers of intermediary Windows operating system software, so that the application connects directly to the sound card hardware. Each layer that is bypassed means a reduction in latency (the delay between an application sending audio information and it being reproduced by the sound card, or input signals from the sound card being available to the application). In this way ASIO offers a relatively simple way of accessing multiple audio inputs and outputs independently. Its main strength lies in its method of bypassing the inherently high latency and poor-quality mixing and sample rate conversion of Windows audio mixing kernels (KMixer), allowing direct, high speed communication with audio hardware. Unlike KMixer, an unmixed ASIO output is "bit identical" or "bit transparent", that is, the bits sent to the sound card are identical to those of the original source, thus having higher audio fidelity."
In order to play audio in ASIO, both the media player and supporting hardware must support ASIO.
I recommend the foobar 2000 media player. It's free, easy, and very customizable.
Foobar has a plugin that supports ASIO.
For the v-link, you download the free "asio4all" driver, then set it up in foobar.
Done.
When you play music in ASIO, not only does the windows volume control not function - it doesn't even know that there's audio playing! I love tricking windows.
I can attest that running in ASIO vs. not is a big improvement, especially if you're getting a v-link with the hopes of eliminating jitter.
In my system, lossless files > foobar 2000 running in ASIO > USB out > vlink > SPDIF out > external DAC (any of the 4 that I'm currently sampling :rolleyes:) sounds just as good if not better than using my Parasound CDP-1000 as a transport to the same DAC.
Now, the cdp1000 is not a luxury transport by any means, but it's damn capable, and the fact that I could get my PC to rival it made me very satisfied.:cool:2-Channel: PC > Schiit Eitr > Audio Research DAC-8 > Audio Research LS-26 > Pass Labs X-250.5 > Magnepan 3.7's
Living Room: PC > Marantz AV-7703 > Emotiva XPA-5 > Sonus Faber Liuto Towers, Sonus Faber Liuto Center, Sonus Faber Liuto Bookshelves > Dual SVS PC12-Pluses
Office: Phone/Tablet > AudioEngine B1 > McIntosh D100 > Bryston 4B-ST > Polk Audio LSiM-703's -
wow....thanks for the info. I was not familiar with ASIO. Iwill definitely check it out. I'm always looking to improve sound quality. I recently put my Harbeth speakers back on the desktop and bought a good set of isolation pads for them to sit on.Rig1 - Totem Hawks, Benchmark HDR, Parasound A21, Sonus, Samsung 52 LCD, Audioquest Type4
Rig2 - LFD LE IV Integrated, Harbeth P3ESR, Rega Dac, MF V-Link, IMAC, Audioquest Type4 -
... I'm always looking to improve sound quality.....
Yep, that's the fever, isn't it!
The great thing about this ASIO "mod", is that it's 100% free!:biggrin:2-Channel: PC > Schiit Eitr > Audio Research DAC-8 > Audio Research LS-26 > Pass Labs X-250.5 > Magnepan 3.7's
Living Room: PC > Marantz AV-7703 > Emotiva XPA-5 > Sonus Faber Liuto Towers, Sonus Faber Liuto Center, Sonus Faber Liuto Bookshelves > Dual SVS PC12-Pluses
Office: Phone/Tablet > AudioEngine B1 > McIntosh D100 > Bryston 4B-ST > Polk Audio LSiM-703's
