Living room: USBridge > DCS Scarlatti Clock > DCS Pucini Player > Ayre K1xe > V1x > B&W 800 D3
Office: Chord Poly+Mojo > Unison Research S6 > Impulse 74
and B&W MM-1 at the desk
Kitchen: Allo BOSS > Arcam A39 > B&W CM1 S2
– ifi iDSD Micro
– SBTouch, SBRadio, SBBoom
– Schiit Bifrost Multibit
– Devialet Expert Pro
(and hopefully soon taking a look/listen to the new OrchardAudio PecanPi DAC/Streamer)
NUC8i3 (Rock) > IQAudIO Pi-Digi+ (Coax) > RME ADI-2 DAC > Unison Research Unico Primo > Opera Prima 2015
The DAC price is around 1000$
Here’s a question for this wise group…
Building a Roon endpoint system to power a pair of new Buchardt Audio S400 speakers. Considering two options and would like some suggestions and feedback:
Option #1:
- Allo USBridge into a Rotel 1592 amp. The Rotel has a built-in DAC that looks on paper to be pretty great and it has USB input supporting most formats up to and including DSD256. Do I really need a separate external DAC in this type of setup. Is the audio quality differences worth it using something like the RME ADI-2 DAC? The Rotel is about $2300 and I already have the USBridge.
Option #2:
- Lower cost amp like perhaps the upcoming Schiit Audio Ragnarok 2 but paired with an external balanced DAC like the RME or, if going crazy, an Allo Katana into the Schiit via Single-ended RCAs.
Both these options price out about the same (unless using the Katana as my main DAC). The Katana seems to score very well in measurements but I know people feel like the musical complexion is not the same as measurements. This is all for a room/office about 12x18’ in size.
Would welcome some input.
For my hall HiFi setup I use Holo Audio Spring DAC.
Review: https://www.stereophile.com/content/holoaudio-spring-kitsuné-tuned-edition-level-3-da-processor
For my room HiFi setup, I use Topping DX3 Pro DAC/headphones amp.
Review:
Portable music on the go. Fiio X5 mk3 player/DAC.
So many people cant read. Its like texting my Mrs all over again lmao. If ask her more than 1 question in a text, she answers the first one and completely ignores the others.
Make, model and PRICE guys.
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Mola Mola Tambaqui.
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Some people prefer not to discuss PRICE $$$. I get that. Some may deem posting that information as “boastful.”
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It cant be considered “boastful” when it was asked for in the first place. For example to volunteer your DAC was £££+ then maybe but not in this case.
I mean this respectfully but the time to Google the currency conversion is about the same as Googling local pricing, once you have the make and model…
I’m the same. Nothing worse than receiving a multi question text … 
I’m new to Roon and have just finished setting this up in my main room:
ROCK on fanless NUC i5 (DSD128 conversion) —> Ropieee on RPi3a —> Marantz NA8005 —> Marantz PM8005 —> Kudos X2 speakers.
All other rooms use Airplay endpoints.
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Hi Michael, maybe your request is OT in this thread…anyway…I would go with your Option #1 and no, an external DAC would not significantly change audio quality in such setup. In my opinion it is better to spend more on the amp side, providing to have anyway a decent DAC.
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If you listen to/stream mostly 16/44.1 and you’re after a stand-alone DAC, I would highly recommend Chord DAC’s. What they do with RB material is sublime.
I use a Chord Hugo TT for headphone listening, fed by a Google CCA, and its superlative.
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Good to hear. I did so much research and testing before I bought my Chord DAC. They just sound pure analogue to me with Rob Watts and Chord’s proprietary chipset. They match up so well with Naim amplification and PMC speakers.
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Yes, Rob Watts is a genius IMO.
I run a Linn system myself, and the Chord adds a bit of ‘meat to the bones’. The Linn system is very engaging, but a little ‘lean’.
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Yes, sorry. Wasn’t sure where to post my question and since many people were posting here on their setups it seemed like a good place to ask. Apologies.
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FiiO X7 player/DAC paired with K5 Amp for headphone listening.
PS Audio Perfectwave DAC II with Brdge II $1600 US Paired with Mac Mini (Ethernet)
Naim DAC-V1 + HiFiBerry Digi+ Pro
Astell & Kern SP1000 price: $3,499.00
Hello Omar (Question on settings used for SP1000 DAC)
This is a very specific question and depends on your equipment. I have attached an example. Take a look at how I adjusted the DSP settings for the band Simple Minds. You can do this for all of your music. I have HD800 headphones so they are a technical sounding headphone. In some music, like rock etc. I like to put more bass into them to give it more warmth while at the same time tightening it up by dropping the 1k significantly. It makes it more live and removes flatness in my opinion. However, you can change these settings as you like of course. I use this only when I have to for certain types of music. I love the HD800’s and the SP1000 together. For portability I use UE 18Pro CIEM.
Hope this helps you and sorry it took me so long to reply to you.
Best,
Tom
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