metalgear 0 Report post Posted October 19, 2006 Hi, I'm new to this, and wanted to see how folks here are setting up their PC Audio systems to best effect: I hope to capture details such as: PC or Mac software ripper name e.g. lame ripping settings e.g. bitrate, file type audio output settings e.g. win xp driver or ASIO brand of external dac optical/coax cable brand/type etc I'm particularly interested in folks trying to setup for best sound, including lossless or near lossless. Please also include any interesting details/options like wireless streaming or NAS data setup. I'll post mine when I set it up ! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
evil-zen 0 Report post Posted October 27, 2006 Probably one of the more hardcore pc audio guys around. Below is my normal setup. Hardware: PC running a RME DIGI96/8 PAD soundcard -> Belden 1695A with Canare RCAP ->Ack! dAck! 1 -> amp Software: Win XP SP2 Latest foobar2000 with ASIO output. CDs are extracted with EAC Compression consists of mostly lossless. FLAC, wavpack and monkey's audio are the top three contenders. For lossy compression, it would be .ogg mostly. Good luck to your setup! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
aleksandr 0 Report post Posted November 19, 2006 For a cheap and dirty way to encode your cds, check out www.ubernet.org. I feel their uberstandard is a good compromise between quality and file size. Basically it's 192kbps VBR using EAC, encoded using lame. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sicknature 0 Report post Posted November 20, 2006 (edited) Heh, I'm using PC as source as well. Onkyo SE-90PCI -> IXOS Toslink -> Citypulse DA7.2x -> Canare L2t2s Neutrik RCA - TRS connector -> nEar 05 eXperience. Software: Foobar 2000 with KS CDs extracted using EAC Basically setup is using bit perfect from PC as source and mostly using FLACs or Wave files. I'd played around with a few sound cards including Audigy 4 Pro, LD II+ (pre) and the XMOD. This current setup is my favorite and I seriously doubt I'll be going for any upgrade in the near future. Freaking expensive hobby if you ask me about it. Edited November 20, 2006 by sicknature Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
absolut 0 Report post Posted November 20, 2006 Portable Setup iTunes -> Macbook Black -> Total Bithead(via USB) -> Shure E500 Small yet deadly. Home Setup iTunes -> M-Audio Audiophile 2496 -> Generic RCA -> Harmon Kardon AV-22 Reciever -> JBL LX440 Floorstandings JBL Control I Bookshelfs JBL Control Center PSB Subsonic II Alot bigger but alot more dangerous Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kyaw 0 Report post Posted November 21, 2006 Heh, I'm using PC as source as well. Onkyo SE-90PCI -> IXOS Toslink -> Citypulse DA7.2x -> Canare L2t2s Neutrik RCA - TRS connector -> nEar 05 eXperience. Hi, care to share your impressions with the Citypulse DA7.2x? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sicknature 0 Report post Posted November 21, 2006 (edited) Hi, care to share your impressions with the Citypulse DA7.2x? As I'd used only a few sources before the Citypulse, what I can use as gage is pretty limited. Here goes. The Citypulse is very neutral sounding and provides quite abit of clarity. The mids is a lil harsh, not too bad actually and the bass is tight. The sound stage is wide which made the instruments separation rather obvious. The build is rather solid. If ya using digital in, you'll be able to choose Fixed out, which uses only the DAC, or variable out, which uses it's DAC + discrete head/preamp. If ya using the Fixed out, then the volume knob and the volume buttons on the remote will be rendered useless. It's very enjoyable listening to the Citypulse and I heard that you'll need at least 300 hours of burning in to get the full potential out of it. It's a rather good investment if you ask me about it. Edited November 21, 2006 by sicknature Share this post Link to post Share on other sites