Some proper room treatment: "Construction of the new room utilized 1,532 sheets of one-inch–thick medium-density fiberboard (MDF). Ninety tons of MDF were cut and milled to a final cut weight of 40 tons. Beginning with a room footprint of 36' x 25' x 27', the one-inch square MDF pegs come out of the walls and ceiling in lengths that vary from 6 to 40 inches — and no two of the hundreds of thousands of “tines” are the same length. The room uses 2D diffusion, whereby two-dimensional diffusers offer depth variation in two perpendicular directions, forming a lattice of divided cells or steps of varying depth. “Studio C utilized the largest prime number sequence that has ever been actualized in a room,” notes Massenburg. “Our prime number is 138,167.”"
Thought I might as well say hi and list my stuff so far: Headphones: Audio Technica ATH-AD700 Grado iGrado beyerdynamic Custom One Pro Grado SR125i HiFiMAN HE-400 (with velour pads & HE-500 silver cable) Amp: Fiio E11 Kilimanjaro (portable) Portable music player: Cowon C2 8GB Next upgrade will be a DAC/amp combo like Schiit's Über Bifrost + Lyr. When watching movies or playing games on the 360 or PS3: Panasonic SA-HE75 a/v receiver Magnat Stylus 7000A 5.1 system Both are almost 10 years old now but still going strong.
Nice to see an audio thread. Whilst there is some seriously nice gear shown on here, i have been trying to improve my setup, to a better level, although wont compete with some gear shown here. After making some speaker shelves from cherry at work, i decided i would take it a little thurther though. I just managed to pick up a Pioneer SClx86 for £1500 and am liking it so far. I like the USB-DAC feature to avoid the pc soundcard when i require. Not to impressed that you cant attenuate the multichannel input as you can with the other analog ins. I picked up some Shark 12awg speaker cable, my speakers are ok, but probably budget type to most Diamond 10.1s at front diamond 6s at rear and a Yamaha rear center. I would like to upgrade a touch thurther possibly, but unlike alot of theese audiophiles i never really notice that much difference between cables and all the budget speakers ive had. No doubt i could measure the difference with a O.Scope, so wanted more upgrades that would be noticable better quality, just by using my ears.
Yes, nice to have this thread back! So far, I've still got my 598s running from my Xonar DG and as much as I love it, I need something to breathe new life into the setup, be that a recable or something else. Alongside that, I've constructed a budget HiFi for when I have people over. Got a JVC D4T (400 quid back in its day!) for free and made some repairs to the CD changer, and got a pair of Pioneer SZ74s from the local British Heart Foundation shop for just 4 quid! It's a great little setup! Anyway, regarding headphones: GENTLEMEN! I need recommendations of a DAC (no DAC/amp) for under 120 quid. It must take input from a 3.5mm jack or optical (no USB basically). What would be some good options?
I've never been able to keep up with high end audio stuff, but i'm hoping to expand a bit when i move to my new place next week. first task is to find a table to put my tt on. I'm aware there are some really nice expensive tables, and also that a lot of people seem to use modified ikea lack coffee tables. does anyone know of anything in between? the lack appeals as I could keep my htpc (bitfenix prodigy) underneath with enough clearance for cooling and without any physical contact to transfer vibration so long as i can find suitable spikes. I was then considering having another lack tabletop with soft feet for decoupling on top but i find a lot of conflicting opinions online. it'll be connected to a 20+ year old NAD 3020i and gale monitor gold mk2s. anyone have any good links for sopikes, or know where i'd get a second NAD? this one cost me a tenner back in '04 but they seem to go for 60-80 quid on the bay.
Even with my usb-dac amp, i find i have to use a soundcard still as my dac on amp only allows stereo? Well unless i can use it in surrounds, but i cant work it out as yet. In windows speaker settings it only shows as stereo for tyhe Pioneer usb-dac audio device.
Having been interested in making audio equipment for the past 5 years I have pretty much mastered it at the age of nineteen... I say this in the terms of reality, it's not hard to design audio despite what the manufacturers tell you. In electronics audio is just one step up from power supplies! After working in an audio R&D department listening to their utter rubbish I'm getting tired of trying to advise people how they can really make their HiFi sound better than the usual crap. The thing is the consumer is totally unawares of the deceitful lies the audio manufacturers hand out - it's disgusting. Reviewers also don't have a clue and just magnifying the lies by backing them up with a third party. The reviewers love the manufacturers and so justify their often bull**** claims with their imagination and conjecture. If you actually read the science of how we hear, remember what we hear and how we process it you'll see what I mean. It's a real shame because it's products I would love to offer for people however it's impossible in such a corrupt industry. Sorry about the rant. Rant over!
Here's my gainclone using the case of a Cambridge amp I killed. Currently not set though. Wiring has been also been cleaned up since that was taken as well.
Right, shove it. Any DAC for under 120 quid. Must be able to output to my 598's with a 1/4" jack and have a 3.5mm jack for mic input (not vital, but would be nicer). If it's optical, it can be DAC only. If it's USB, it MUST- MUST be DAC and amp and have a mic input (that is vital)!
Goodmans Magnum K2 dead tweet and bass replaced, all mounting foam replaced JBL LX20 NAD C340 NAD 3020 needs some repairing NAD 3020 needs some repairing NAD C541 ROTEL RD-18F JDS Labs ODAC <-- RasPi in a NAD C520 case under construction Currently it's just C541 --> C340 --> K2s. Plan is C340 as a pre-amp to the 3020s and driving the LX20s one 3020 taking the bass of the K2s and the other the mids and tweets. It's full of holes I'm sure, and much tinkering will be required, but it should be fun. Creative SB-XFi Creative Inspire 5.1 5300 Sansa Clip+ Sennheiser CX300
you might find an EMU-0404 USB in that budget. It meets all your criteria for both USB and optical use (might need an adaptor for the mic, it has an odd XLR/1/4" and something combo socket). I have one that i've used as a DAC+headphone amp and for mucking about in guitar rig and it's been great. Admittedly I don't have 598's.
I have a Fiio E17 and a Asus xonar DX, my audio sounds way better when i use my sound card compared to the Fiio E17 USB DAC.
Im using a Pioneer sclx86. Im still debating whether its usb-dac is better than the one (in real listening) than my Asus Hdav deluxe. Im just giving the Pioneer amp the edge so far, but there isnt a lot in it. Anyone got any thoughts on biamping front speakers? I would need run more cable , but not sure if its worth the hasstle. Would a large part be dependant on the speaker itself? Maybe my ears arent what they were or people who have top end gear are trying to over justify their extra spend, maybe a placebo affect? Want some updates that i will truly notice a difference.