PC + Hi Fi, What do I need?

[admin_exported]

Hi there, im kinda new on the HiFi world and im thinking in a stereo system to listen mostly FLACs and whatch movies... I wonder what will i need to get. I listened to Klipsch RB61II Bookshelfs and likes it. So what im gonna need besides the bookshelfs? A DAC and a amplifier? Is that it?

 

[Alec]

Yes, that's all you need to get started. 3.5mm to two phono lead from PC to amp then a USB DAC. There are some DACs that require optical or coax connections, but you will already have USB if you don't have the other two, so it's easier that way. Strictly speaking, you don't even need a DAC, but it may well make things sound better; I'd get one.

I'll leave more specific reccomendations to those with more, and more recent, experience than I.

 

[idc]

Hi and welcome to the forum.

What do you use to drive the speakers at the moment? Your alternatives are - if the sound card in your PC is good enough to do the work of the DAC you can get a minijack to phono cable to connect PC to amp. I would try that first as it is the cheap option. Or you can use the USB out to send a digital signal to DAC, bypassing the sound card and then phono cables to the amp.

 

[simon3102000]

if you want to stream it wireless then i recomend getting an apple airport express, THEN YOU WILL NEED AN OPTICAL CAble to go from the airport express into the dac then some phono leads from dac to amp... But then if ya talking about flac files etc then i dont know if that would work with an airport express? probably have to go wired from the pc to dac, optical seems to sound alot better than usb so if you have an optical out on ya pc i would use that.

 

[Anonymous]

An Airport is a no-no where FLAC is concerned. I'd be looking at something like the Arcam rDAC/ rLink with a decent integrated personally but ff you didn't want to go the separates with an amp and DAC route there's also receiver options like the Onkyo TX-8050, this has digital inputs and network capability.

 

[steve_1979]

there's also receiver options like the Onkyo TX-8050, this has digital inputs and network capability.

This sounds like a good option to me.

 

[Anonymous]

Yep - a Dac and an amp should cover it. I connect my netbook with all my music to a Dac via a decent USB cable. It sounds great! Connect the Dac to the amp... and you have great music. I use MusicBee software -its free- to play my Flac files and VLC for video. Keep it simple!

 

[the record spot]

there's also receiver options like the Onkyo TX-8050, this has digital inputs and network capability.

This sounds like a good option to me.

Count me in there...

http://www.uk.onkyo.com/en/products/tx-8050-43158.html :read:

 

[Hi-FiOutlaw]

For audio and if you want to go wireless, i recomend Squeezebox touch, can deal with all audio formats, and stream Hi-Res as well.

A Dedicaded DAC for me is the right way to go, you can choose a amp with an internal DAC as well like the Onkyo.

It depends on your budget...

For video you can buy a media player, like: popcorn, lacie lacinema, WD etc... With or without an internal HD.

 

[bigmoose]

You can try the audiolab 8200cdq - it has an integrated dac, and an usb connection. This means your PC will recognise it as a soundcard... Isn't life beautiful?

I have tested the audiolab 8200cdq as a cd player and dac, and it excels at both. Hope this helps!

 

[bigmoose]

Btw, I don't have the audiolab.. I went for a Linn Majik DSM which accepts hdmi input from my pc. I think the audiolab may be more elegant, and is definitely much cheaper. The Linn sounds beautiful though... :dance:

 

[Anonymous]

So, the options are:

PC -> USB -> DAC -> AMPLIFIER -> BOOKSHELFS

PC -> AMPLIFIER WITH DAC -> BOOKSHELFS

PC -> AMPLIFIER -> BOOKSHELF (my soundcard is onboard, so it should sound terrible right?)

Is that right?

In my city, sound equipments are very expensive and hard to find. I think the best choice for me is a amplifier with DAC in the same equipment, something to bypass the crap sound that i would get from my PC soundcard (onboard soundcard). So, the thing i need is to bypass in someway the hardware from the computer.

You can try the audiolab 8200cdq - it has an integrated dac, and an usb connection. This means your PC will recognise it as a soundcard... Isn't life beautiful?

I have tested the audiolab 8200cdq as a cd player and dac, and it excels at both. Hope this helps!

I really liked this idea, a amplifier with a USB DAC built in! I coudnt find this model in my city, can someone name more models that have this same feature? Maybe this is the way i need to go!

An Airport is a no-no where FLAC is concerned. I'd be looking at something like the Arcam rDAC/ rLink with a decent integrated personally but ff you didn't want to go the separates with an amp and DAC route there's also receiver options like the Onkyo TX-8050, this has digital inputs and network capability.

I found this onkyo model in my city, how does it work? I would need to stream the musics from PC to the amp or i could plug my pc into the amp and it will convert the digital signal to analogic?

 

[DIB]

So, the options are:

PC -> AMPLIFIER -> BOOKSHELF (my soundcard is onboard, so it should sound terrible right?)

Is that right?

In my city, sound equipments are very expensive and hard to find. I think the best choice for me is a amplifier with DAC in the same equipment, something to bypass the crap sound that i would get from my PC soundcard (onboard soundcard). So, the thing i need is to bypass in someway the hardware from the computer.

Don't automatically discount your PC's onboard soundcard just yet without trying it. In my limited experience I have found connecting my Gigabyte soundcard direct to my amp via RCA cable does a good job. Certainly not as bad as some people would make out. If you've got an amp and speakers then all you need are some cheap RCA cables, and it's not costing you a fortune.

.

 

[chasefrench]

I currently do what you re talking about now. The asus xonar essence stx sound card is an excellent start as its like 100 GBP, provides an rca output with v good dac straight into an amp then speakers,

When the time came to upgrade I utilised the coaxial output of the asus card into an audiolab mdac and then rca into my amplifier.

 

[chasefrench]

I would also recommend Foobar with at least WASAPI plugin to flac files.

If you want to upgrade even further, buy the JPLAY plugin for Foobar. Its expensive at 100E but turns your PC into one of the best sources money can buy when music is played in XStream/ Hibernation mode

 

[Anonymous]

You can try the audiolab 8200cdq - it has an integrated dac, and an usb connection. This means your PC will recognise it as a soundcard... Isn't life beautiful?

I have tested the audiolab 8200cdq as a cd player and dac, and it excels at both. Hope this helps!

http://www.whathifi.com/users/ricardovaz

I really liked this idea, a amplifier with a USB DAC built in! I coudnt find this model in my city, can someone name more models that have this same feature? Maybe this is the way i need to go!

Do bear in mind that the 8200CDQ is acutally a pre-amp, it needs to be partnered with a power amplifier such as the 8200P. Whilst this is a fantastic system, I would probably look at spending a bit more on speakers before moving up to this level of electronics. TEAC do a cute little unit which I've acutally been thinking of getting for my computer desk, the A-H01. I'm sure some folks can think of others with in-built USB though.

An Airport is a no-no where FLAC is concerned. I'd be looking at something like the Arcam rDAC/ rLink with a decent integrated personally but ff you didn't want to go the separates with an amp and DAC route there's also receiver options like the Onkyo TX-8050, this has digital inputs and network capability.

I found this onkyo model in my city, how does it work? I would need to stream the musics from PC to the amp or i could plug my pc into the amp and it will convert the digital signal to analogic?

The "simple" route is to connect your PC by either it's optical or digital coaxial output, depending which it features to the Onkyo which then drives your speakers.

The networking feature would mean sharing your music collection using some form of DNLA server on your PC, Windows Media Centre has this built-in, although I'm not sure if it deals with FLAC as I've not really used it. There are plenty of others available, regardless. Once connected to your network the Onkyo will then pick up this shared music when you select the network input. You can browse your music collection using the LED display on the front, but ideally if you own an iOS or Android device then the Onkyo can be controlled via the much friendlier app.

 

[Anonymous]

I was thinking in the combo of Marantz PM6004 + Marantz NA7004. It would work like a soundcard when i plug it into the pc right?

PC > USB > NA7004 > RCA > PM6004 > BOOKSHELF

If i plug like this it would reproduce any sound from my computer right? Im really thinking about this combo but it will EXPLODE my budget... What do u guys think?

I was thinking in another option too: Marantz PM6004 + DAC HRT Music Streamer II (a very simple dac).

 

[Alec]

What is your budget?

Personally, getting a soundcard (M-Audiphile 2496) didn't make as much difference as getting an off-board DAC (Beresford), I don't think, but then I tested my system with and without the DAC several times, but didn't do that with the soundcard.

Soi far you seem a little, well, all over the shop. I like the AV amp idea too, in a way, but will you use it for anything else, and do you have room for it? How stuck will you be if you go way over budget?

A PC with neither soundcard nor external DAC will not sound terrible, just a bit less good than it otherwise might.

 

[Anonymous]

 

[byakuya83]

Have you considered the Cambridge Audio SLA25? USB speakers with onboard DAC.

 

[Overdose]

A PC with neither soundcard nor external DAC will not sound terrible, just a bit less good than it otherwise might.

Very true and it is something that is largely ignored or dismissed.

 

[MajorFubar]

Trouble is, there's too many ways of essentially getting to the same place, so no two people will give you the exact same route.
It all depends what you need.
For example if I had absolutely no legacy kit at all and I was starting, I'd probably buy a telly, a Mac Mini, a cheap USB DVD drive and some active speakers with a DAC in them. That would be it, other than obvious anciliaries like cables and speaker-stands.
In fact looking at it that way, you could probably have that option too: active speakers with a DAC built in, linked to your computer via a USB or optical cable. It certainly reduces the box-count.

 

[Anonymous]

OK, heres what im thinking...

Buying AMP and BOOKSHELFS and see if it will be ok pluging my computer direct on it. If not ok ill buy a USB capable DAC. What u guys think?

One more thing: marantz pm6004 have very good reviews... SOUNDQUALITY-WISE its a lot better than a onkyo TX-8050?

 

[steve_1979]

Have you considered the AVI Neutron Five 2.1 system? It has everything that you'll need in one package for £900. It includes a DAC, 3 x 100 watts of amplification, two bookshelf speakers, a 10" subwoofer, a remote control and a digital SPDIF cable to conect it to your computer.

I use this system with my computer and the sound quality is fantastic. Better than most hifi systems costing double the price IMO.

 

[Anonymous]

Thats impossible to find in my country =(