Hello, I just joined, primarily for the audiophile products. Looking at purchasing the NHT C3 speakers for our new living room. Space is about 15 feet wide by 33 long and they will fire long ways. Space is just for general listening, music room with all equipment is downstairs, so hoping they will fill it with sound nicely. Cheers.
Mar 18, 2024
It hadn't actually occurred to me that a straight DAC (no Amp chaser) would be so inexpensive and so butt simple to employ. I have the extra computer and probably the space both would need to occupy.
As for those of you who wanted to make that approach just a tad more complicated (and you know who you are), by adding the raspberry pi and the nifty-sounding HiFiBerry DAC+, you hadn't factored in the learning curve involved--doable, but I'd be a month or two getting up to speed.
I kind of liked the idea of bringing it all Back To The Past, but adding the CD changer and Turntable I once had connected to it--so many years ago. But I'm not willing to make the commitment to Vinyl just yet (never been an early adopter). I did like the idea of rediscovering all the stuff I sold to the used record stores way back then (really miss those damn Monkeys albums...
And then there's the ever-so controversial Bluetooth route. I have to say up front I once had this receiver connected to and AirPort Express, and I fed that from an old MacBook. Can't for the life of me recall weather that was a network connection or Bluetooth connection--but I can say it worked. I wasn't quite as demanding back then, but as some have mentioned, Bluetooth has come a long way. The SMSL AD18 got my attention because I like it, and have been trying to think of an excuse to buy one--but as I understand it, that would be great for powering a set of speakers, but not as in input for my existing amp? Meaning I'd still need to go the dongle route. Those are cheap enough to test and then toss out if I hated it.
@Evshrug all those cool toys (DAPs and the other very neato stuff) were very interesting--stuff for the most part I wasn't aware of. You also explained the whole optical/toslink thing well too. I'd always heard Macs had it, but didn't know where and how to get to it. I suppose buying the right cable would allow me to test it out? And yes, the Mac can be close to my bed (and I could use either a MacBook or and iMac to make that connection).
Appreciate all the links to the cool kit everyone suggested (that cable too @ElectronicVices). Most of it now safely stored away in my Amazon Audio list waiting for me to get weak and lose my discipline.
So, one way or the other, thanks to you all, I'll get the sound from the computer to the amp. Next question: What floor standing speakers (with a $1,000-ish for the pair budget) should I hook to the amp?
If you can copy files onto a MicroSD card (same as floppy disks), connect two lego bricks, and type a WiFi password, then you already have all the knowledge you need to set up a Pi DAC. I also didn’t want to start a new hobby just to get an old piece of gear working again... but it was as easy as my friend assured me. That said, it obviously wasn’t my first idea for you...
The airport express worked (well) over WiFi, and had a built-in DAC (a bit more expensive than the $25 cheapo DACs suggested earlier). Maybe a Chomecast would give similar functionality? EDIT: Yeah, the Chromecast is EXACTLY what you’re looking for, $35: https://store.google.com/us/product/chromecast_audio?hl=en-US
ELAC speakers. Easy. Check the reviews :D
Here's a question you'd know the answer to (being an ex-genius)--I have a perfectly good AirPort Extreme sitting in a box doing nothing, and I have good WIFI in the house. Can that APE find a role in this odyssey? Seem's it's little brother did at one time...what say you, O-wise One?
PS: thanks--will read up on the ELACs ;- )
I also had one with the AC WiFi standard, so I have it in my office, hardwired with Ethernet to my custom built PC (didn’t buy an internal WiFi card) and my first gen PlayStation 4 (which had the older, slower wireless N WiFi), which provides a stable, fast connection.
there’s a nice iOS app from Apple that makes it easy to configure an Airport, even without a degree in computer networking 😅 (My degree was in Graphic Design, but I’m years rusty)
Plex is a free, lightweight server software that I have also used stream movies and music from a NAS around my house via WiFi.
The Plex -> Chromecast Audio chain is easy and reliable. It allows you to spend more time listening to music and less time configuring gear.
Monitor Audio Revel (concerta) KEF (Q/R/LS) Focal ELAC Emotiva
Speakers are such a personal taste thing that I couldn't say which of those would be the front-runner but I don't think you'd be dissatisfied with any of their offerings in the $1000 range.
(I have heard them at shows, but in my budget, I’ve really been enjoying the Chane bookshelf speakers I got here on Massdrop years ago!)