I am an audiophile addict! However, I love iTunes and the ability to instantly access all of my music from multiple locations around the house. Accordingly, I have been searching for a subjectively perfect system that balances my desires and still makes me say "WOW" when I sit down for a listen.
In addition, I now have a young daughter and my wife took away my office and converted it in to a guest room :-( Luckily for me, I am a master debater and was able to successfully negotiate for access to the two hallway closets downstairs ... I have now effectively turned them in to the world's smallest home office / audiophile listening room.
The System:
I have been playing around with components, software, and disc ripping formats in an effort to create a true audiophile sound system that uses a Mac Mini as the main source component. I feel that I have finally succeeded in my quest and have put together quite an amazing sounding system based upon the Mac Mini and iTunes.
I have been using the system for two weeks now. And, since the new speakers need at least 200 hours to break in and the new DAC needs at least 100 hours of use until it is truly ready, I will not be able to post an in depth review until next month. In the mean time, here is my setup and a mini review of my observations so far. A more in depth review will follow that will include my reasons for choosing each component of the system:
Computer Hardware:
Mac Mini 2.0Ghz
Newertech miniStack V2 500GB HD
Drobo 2TB HD
Audio Components:
Simaudio Moon I-7 Integrated Amp
Bel Canto DAC3
Shunyata Hydra Model 6 Power Conditioner
Dynaudio Confidence 1 Speakers
Nordost Tyr Balanced XLR Interconnects
Nordost SPM Speaker Wire
Software:
iTunes - CDs ripped using Apple Lossless
Indigo Home Automation Software
iRed IR Remote Automation Software
Initial Thoughts:
WOW!!!!! This is going to work! Already it is musical nirvana and the components haven't even broken in yet. Precise imaging, HUGE soundstage (considering the miniscule size of my listening room), perfect highs and a tight bass. When this system blooms later on this month, it will be a jaw dropper.
More to come ...
JUST ADDED:
My audio system, as well as my home automation system, can be accessed and controlled from my iPhone or from any computer connected to the internet from anywhere in the world. I have added a pic of the Indigo control page that allows me to do this ...
the bit rate when i use xld is 1411 kbps. if i don't use xld, i get around 1000 kbps straight apple lossless. using xld increases the size of the file to 3 times the size without xld. for example, a 4:46 minute song with xld is 48.2MB whereas apple lossless without xld is 14.2MB in size. But size does matter. disk is cheap!
i have heard the benchmark using the usb connection and i didn't like the sound compared to using the other connections. but i also think there are better sounding dacs than the benchmark and purchased other name brand dacs. if you really need a usb dac, the dac that looks/sounds promising is the new audio research dac with usb. i heard it at rmaf and was impressed. i'm going to my local dealer and have a better look. all of my setups use a jitter device between the computer or the apple express devices and my external dacs. i use coax between the jitter devices and the dacs. by doing this, you are able to pick the dac that you like best, not a dac you have to be stuck with because you need a usb connection.
drubin - i agree with you on usb dacs. i haven't heard a good 1 yet. the new audio research dac 7 might be a good 1. i listened to it at rmaf (using coax and toslink) and it sounded very nice. the audio research rep indicated that the usb is comparable to the diigital inputs. we will see.
but i have to say that the jitter devices i use between the mac/airport express and the dacs make a huge benefit.
i use wireless and hard wired from either a mac computer or from airport express devices. then from these devices i go into a jitter removal/reduction device and then into an external dac by digital coax cable.
a dedicated connection is always best. with audio, 802.11g is fine and would be the minimum i would use, but 802.11n will provide better coverage and much faster speeds.
i have read many articles on using the usb port for audio purposes and they all don't recommend it. even the articles on using a usb dac have not been positive. the other reason i wouldn't go with usb is that you are limiting yourself to which dacs to use. some of the best dacs made do not accept usb and if you want/need to use a jitter remover device, none of them that i know of accept an usb connection.
