DDF
Addicted to Fun and Learning
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- Dec 31, 2018
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After a great deal of research, it seem's that there's a scarcity of user friendly options for a system that can handle different inputs (analog phono pre, coax, chromecast optical, USB HD, NAS, streaming) and run it through a single ultra high quality audio infrastructure for basic room EQ.
It seems to have come down to a couple of options.
Windows has provided a good experience with Tidal, Spotify, USB HD and a NAS (I use EqualizerAPO + Foobar but there are many options) but to support SPDIF and analog inputs on a (quiet) laptop, I've only found this after long hunting, which converts SPDIF to USB output for input to the PC: https://www.esi-audio.com/products/u24xl/. I've had great experience with the ESI Julia card in my old tower, so am hoping ESI has another winner here but the usb power and possible USB bus conflicts are possible concerns.
Question 1: hoping someone has had experience with the ESI unit and can share their thoughts.
Question 2: I've searched but had no luck: are there any fanless NUCs with coax and optical spdif input to build a Windows 10 audio system around? I'd consider buying an outboard A/D for the phone pre but an integrated A/D would be gravy.
MiniDSP SHD ticks all the boxes as well with the significant bonus of 4 channels for bass management and I may go that route if the ESI or NUC route flops. Drawback is it doesn't have a headphone amp (current DAC has a nice one), or the general purpose windows functionality which is handy for looking up music.
Question 3: hoping users can share their experiences with the UI and stability of the SHD. For example, are all Tidal and Spotify features supported like their curated lists (eg bubbleupnp doesn't)?
All other options seem like high effort. There are already multiple threads discussing pi, Volumio, brute FIR etc so request those options not be discussed in this thread.
It seems to have come down to a couple of options.
Windows has provided a good experience with Tidal, Spotify, USB HD and a NAS (I use EqualizerAPO + Foobar but there are many options) but to support SPDIF and analog inputs on a (quiet) laptop, I've only found this after long hunting, which converts SPDIF to USB output for input to the PC: https://www.esi-audio.com/products/u24xl/. I've had great experience with the ESI Julia card in my old tower, so am hoping ESI has another winner here but the usb power and possible USB bus conflicts are possible concerns.
Question 1: hoping someone has had experience with the ESI unit and can share their thoughts.
Question 2: I've searched but had no luck: are there any fanless NUCs with coax and optical spdif input to build a Windows 10 audio system around? I'd consider buying an outboard A/D for the phone pre but an integrated A/D would be gravy.
MiniDSP SHD ticks all the boxes as well with the significant bonus of 4 channels for bass management and I may go that route if the ESI or NUC route flops. Drawback is it doesn't have a headphone amp (current DAC has a nice one), or the general purpose windows functionality which is handy for looking up music.
Question 3: hoping users can share their experiences with the UI and stability of the SHD. For example, are all Tidal and Spotify features supported like their curated lists (eg bubbleupnp doesn't)?
All other options seem like high effort. There are already multiple threads discussing pi, Volumio, brute FIR etc so request those options not be discussed in this thread.