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General PC Audio Set-Up Question

Hello everyone!

I am interested in moving to PC based audio as my CD collection leaves too much clutter and I often can’t find the music I want to play. It would also be nice to see my floor again too. My plan is to replace my CD player (an Audio Research CD2) and preamp (a Bel Canto Pre2) with a Macbook (with SSD) + Apple Time Capsule + DAC/Pre combo. I have not decided which DAC/preamp model to purchase (actually I might keep the Pre2, but I do like the simplicity of a combined DAC + Pre), but I am heavily leaning towards a Blue Circle product. The rest of the system comprises Parasound JC-1’s for power and Talon Raven C loudspeakers; the cabling is Stealth and Kimber. My power conditioning is both Blue Circle and Shunyata Hydra 8. I listen to all types of music (jazz, rock, classical, etc- have 1000’s of CD’s) but typically at elevated volumes much to my neighbours chagrin.

Anyhow, my question pertains to the set-up itself. Here is what I plan to do:

1) Rip my CD’s to AIFF using XLD or Itunes
2) Store all my music as AIFF files on a 2TB Apple Time Capsule Hard Drive
3) Stream the music from the Time Capsule to the Macbook
4) Have the Macbook connected to the DAC via USB or Toslink (I’ll try out both)
5) Use Itunes as the audio player

Is this an acceptable way to go? Is streaming acceptable or is it better to have a physical connection to the laptop? My apologies if these questions have been asked before. All responses, general or specific, would be appreciated!
pard

Showing 1 response by drubin

drubin
3,277 posts
 
What's the reason for wanting to stream from a Time Capsule to your Macbook? If the Macbook is going to be co-located with your audio components, just attach a USB or Firewire hard drive to it and have that be the location of your iTunes music files.

The weak link in computer audio is the interface from computer to DAC. If you go Toslink, be sure to get a good glass fiber cable. If you want to go USB, either get a top-tier USB DAC (Ayre, Wavelength) or get a good USB to SPDIF converter, such as the HiFace, AR-T Legato, or Empirical Audio Offramp. That will open up your choices for DAC or Pre/DAC hugely. Be advised that most DACs that have USB inputs are doing a poor job of implementing and you will almost certainly be disappointed with the sound.
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