Please, criticize my setup choice

An active LS50W is not the same as a passive LS50.

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Hey there!
I intend to use this whole setup mainly for speakers.

I do have B&W PX7 and have AudioQuest Dragonfly Cobalt and it fits my needs. When I’m on the go – I’m on the go. On top of that I have Shure 846, which works great with Cobalt. Don’t see any reason to change that.

I’ve watched John Darko’s review of Qutest and noticed his comparison to Hugo2. So I assume that the choise would be between the Hugo2 and Qutest If I choose to use external DAC rather than the one in h190.

Believe it or, that I’ve figured :grinning:

If you were using it strictly as a home system and were not using headphones with it, I’d pick the Qutest. I run my Qutest into a PS Audio Stellar Gain Cell DAC/preamp. The Qutest is not portable - AC power only. The Hugo2 is portable (AC power or battery) and has a headphone jack. Those are the big differences as far as I can see. The Qutest is less expensive but has fewer features.

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Got it. Will consider this for sure. Appreciate it :raised_hands:

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Well. Maybe. Depends on what you like about the active version (I was suggesting - not entirely joking - the passive version). It also depends on room size, and many other factors. There are many different theories about how you should split funds between source, amplifier and speakers. The real answer is always ‘it depends’. The only thing most people can’t change is their room, and even then some (discreet) acoustic treatment and putting the speakers in the right place can make a huge difference.

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Well, the most popular or the one I’ve seen at least most is that you should start with the speakers and then proceed with a DAC. Seems to be, in my case it would be a bit different :grinning:
Thanks for the help!

Budget? Standmounts or floorstanders? Dynaudio pairs very well indeed with Hegel.

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Say, up to 5k. Any. I’m relocating from NY to FL so I’m not sure about my future space dimensions yet.
Also, does it make sense to go after h390 instead? I hate buying something and then realize that in some time I have to upgrade. Especially in a time frame like 1-3 years.
Thanks a ton :raised_hands:

Your in luck. If you like KEF’s sound or concentric drivers. Then stay with KEF. On there website they have there Referenece 1 bookshelf speakers as a B stock item for $4999 regular $7999.

I love my LS50W, I bought the Nocturne ones, just cause they looked cool. I’ll never part with them. They will always serve a purpose in some room.

I like the sound, yet I was unpleasantly surprised with the fact of double conversion analogue to digital through ADC. I was lucky enough to listen to the Hegel’s sound, so I’m adamant that I’ll be dancing around it as my Northern star, therefore building the setup base on that. The rest is pretty much negotiable.

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Cabasse is also a manufacturer specialized in building speakers with concentric chassis. I still like my pair of Baltic 2 (current model is 4).

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Thank you, will look into that :raised_hands:

Yes it does!

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Thank you!
Then, it’s h390 then. At least some clarity :slightly_smiling_face:

I missed that. An i5 makes a good Roon Core server but a lot of noise from all the switching power supplies is going down the USB cable into your DAC.

A lot of people have tried USB cleaners and even linear supplies for the MAC but you hear a real improvement if you use a network player.

This makes a big difference on a more reveling DAC like the Chord.

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Yeah, I’m very happy with that choice. Truth be told, I’m using it as well as a Plex server so it currently fits my needs.

I have an audio jitter from AudioQuest. It might be a ‘snake oil’, but I can hear the difference, so that I’m very well aware of, but thank you for proving the point. On top of that, recent commentators only proved, that my current setup, as well as a fantasy one, is quite bad, therefore I’m going to sell everything. Pronto.

I’m leaning towards one of the Chord’s DAC eventually, but my question – will I need one if I will be using Hegel H390? Seems to be H390 have a solid internal one, but is it still worth buying a separate DAC in that case? At that point, It’s not even a question of money, rather the reason. As I’ve explained above, I’ve already made several foolish mistakes. I understand it’s a learning curve, nevertheless, I prefer to not repeat such in a foreseable future :grinning:

Late to this thread, but in my previous house I had a Hegel H360 with KEF Reference 1s and I would have been very happy to keep that setup except that my current house has a very complicated living space that demands fancy room correction, so I switched to a Linn Klimax system. Anyway, if the two Hegel integrated amps you mention are anywhere close to the H360, they should work beautifully with KEF Reference speakers. The DAC in the H360 was OK, but I preferred to use various external DACs and Roon endpoints (details not especially relevant, although the best combo at the time included a USB streamer like the UltraRendu and a Unison Schiit Yggdrasil A2). Never tried a Chord DAC.

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I don’t think there’s much to choose between H190 and H360 TBH. I auditioned both and bought the H190. H390 is in a different league by all accounts, closer to the H590 than it really should be. The H190 DAC has some limitations, especially via USB. These are great amps though.

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