If you listen to mostly music, go with a 2-channel rig. (suggestion #2) The Emotiva DAC is excellent, you will not be dissapointed!
Partial system Upgrade: Pre-Proc vs 2channel+DAC
Hi Everyone
As a "I've got no money but I do like music and HT enough to invest a bite of it to build a system" I need some help for a partial upgrade of my current 2.0 system in term of preamp.
My current system is composed of:
*iMac for dematerialized music(.flac; 320 kpbs .mp3; .wav files)
*B&K Reference 50 s2 as a preamp; 70% used for music and 30 % for HT; got the B&K almost for free from a lady who was getting rid of her ex-girlfriend stuff (crazy!!!).
digital music from iMac is managed via the Ref50 internal DACs
analogue music: Technics SL-7 and a TEC TC-450 as a phono preamp (cheap but surprisingly good when using a 9V batterie;(dont plan to change it for now!)
*Power amp: Gemini XGA-5000...Suprisingly good too!
*Front Speakers: Tekton M-Lore; A must have for anyone with a small room (mine is 4*3.5*3m)
*cables: I built them myself from parts bought on ebay. Very satisfied with the final result. My preamp is linked to my amp via XLR.
Sonically I am very satisfied of this ~1.5K USD setup.
However as from next week I won't have my B&K anymore since a friend o mine gave me 350 USD cash for it because he felt in love with it last week.
So far I have 3 options for upgrading my preamp stage:
1) either getting a better preamp/proc than the B&K; ex: Anthem AVM20 or 30 for their good 2nd price, good combo 2.0/HT and reputation of reliability.
2) go simply for a pure 2.0 system with a DAC; ex/Classe cp-35 + Emotiva XDA-2; Arcam FMJ C30 + XDA-2 for a couple hundreds more;
I believe DAC-wise the XDA-2 is hard to beat for its combo performance/price/sound/connectivity but I am open to other suggestion that can compete fairly with the XDA-2.
The Asus Xonar Muse might be better but too expensive for me...so not an option.
3)or go for one of those 90's pre-proc with highly regarded 2.0 XLR input and use a new DAC for the digital music sampling; ex/ Classe ssp25 + Emotiva XDA-2; Proceed AVP + Emotiva XDA-2.
let me know what you think guys and thank for sharing ideas with me.
As a "I've got no money but I do like music and HT enough to invest a bite of it to build a system" I need some help for a partial upgrade of my current 2.0 system in term of preamp.
My current system is composed of:
*iMac for dematerialized music(.flac; 320 kpbs .mp3; .wav files)
*B&K Reference 50 s2 as a preamp; 70% used for music and 30 % for HT; got the B&K almost for free from a lady who was getting rid of her ex-girlfriend stuff (crazy!!!).
digital music from iMac is managed via the Ref50 internal DACs
analogue music: Technics SL-7 and a TEC TC-450 as a phono preamp (cheap but surprisingly good when using a 9V batterie;(dont plan to change it for now!)
*Power amp: Gemini XGA-5000...Suprisingly good too!
*Front Speakers: Tekton M-Lore; A must have for anyone with a small room (mine is 4*3.5*3m)
*cables: I built them myself from parts bought on ebay. Very satisfied with the final result. My preamp is linked to my amp via XLR.
Sonically I am very satisfied of this ~1.5K USD setup.
However as from next week I won't have my B&K anymore since a friend o mine gave me 350 USD cash for it because he felt in love with it last week.
So far I have 3 options for upgrading my preamp stage:
1) either getting a better preamp/proc than the B&K; ex: Anthem AVM20 or 30 for their good 2nd price, good combo 2.0/HT and reputation of reliability.
2) go simply for a pure 2.0 system with a DAC; ex/Classe cp-35 + Emotiva XDA-2; Arcam FMJ C30 + XDA-2 for a couple hundreds more;
I believe DAC-wise the XDA-2 is hard to beat for its combo performance/price/sound/connectivity but I am open to other suggestion that can compete fairly with the XDA-2.
The Asus Xonar Muse might be better but too expensive for me...so not an option.
3)or go for one of those 90's pre-proc with highly regarded 2.0 XLR input and use a new DAC for the digital music sampling; ex/ Classe ssp25 + Emotiva XDA-2; Proceed AVP + Emotiva XDA-2.
let me know what you think guys and thank for sharing ideas with me.
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