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    First "Audiophile" DAC/Amp for LS50 Meta

    I looked at the RSL subs, but it is hard to form an opinion without listening to them in person somewhere. I found a KEF dealer that had two new KC92 subwoofers in stock and he let me buy one at a pretty hefty discount (low enough that I probably should not post it here!). It pays to ask around...
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    First "Audiophile" DAC/Amp for LS50 Meta

    Starting to settle on MiniDSP HT with UMIK-2 microphone and tripod, plus Dirac license. For the amplifier I am holding the Buckeye Hypex NC502MP 2-channel amplifier in my mind. I am letting go of the Peachtree Carina 150 and 300 due to lack of HDMI eARC and the first application for this setup...
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    First "Audiophile" DAC/Amp for LS50 Meta

    I got a couple of USB Audio devices (Yamaha AG03 and AG03 MK II mixers and Creative Sound Blaster X3) and plugged them into my Sony Bravia XBR-75X90CH TV. I determined that USB Audio will work in stereo mode but only from the TV itself, i.e., from native apps such as YouTube. Sound from the ATSC...
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    NAD C 399 HybridDigital DAC Amplifier

    I confirmed from a discussion with Bob, SR NAD Support Specialist:
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    NAD C 399 HybridDigital DAC Amplifier

    Is this confirmed or what are owners' experiences with trying the MDC USB DSD card with the C 399?
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    First "Audiophile" DAC/Amp for LS50 Meta

    This reply got me to researching more about audio latency, including this RTINGS article on AV-Sync Error when connecting a sound device (soundbar, or in this case, integrated amp) to a TV using HDMI ARC/eARC. The TL;DR appears to be that to minimize audio lag, it is best to connect the source...
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    First "Audiophile" DAC/Amp for LS50 Meta

    Kind of want to resurrect this thread as I ended up waiting and am revisiting my options. I updated the spreadsheet a little bit. For my personal preferences, it seems to come down to the NAD C 399 (with HDMI eARC) vs the Peachtree Audio Carina 300 (with USB). I really just want an excellent...
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    3.5mm to RCA cables for dac/amp interconnect

    I got back around to working on getting 7.1 audio out from my computer again, and set up a Creative Sound Blaster X3 USB DAC + Emotiva BasX A7 + KEF e305 / e301 setup. The results are good. However, I am out of high quality 3.5mm to RCA interconnect cables so I wanted to ask for advice. The...
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    Powered 2.0/2.1 consumer ultra near-field PC speakers with no audible idle hiss 2024

    I got the iLoud MTM and gave them a listen. I regret to say that for my ears, there is audible hiss. The hiss is not bad at all: audible at 8", somewhat audible at 12", and barely audible at 16". However, I can still hear it at 16" and I am only listening to one speaker connected. Two speakers...
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    First "Audiophile" DAC/Amp for LS50 Meta

    I think the SHD Power has too many features for me (compared to SHD Studio). The only SMSL that probably makes sense is the SMSL VMV A2 ($999); ignore my other two suggestions. Some other ones to look at (I now know that I guess I am asking for an "integrated amplifier"): Arcam SA30 Arcam...
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    First "Audiophile" DAC/Amp for LS50 Meta

    Let me also ask, any thoughts on the SMSL A2 ($999), A6 ($449), or A8 ($599) integrated amplifiers? They have USB (2.0) inputs, no HDMI, so they fall in the computer desktop application category rather than family room/home theater category. (Note that the KEF LS50 Wireless II supports HDMI...
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    First "Audiophile" DAC/Amp for LS50 Meta

    I made a little spreadsheet of the suggestions in this thread, plus added the NAD C 389 / C 399 which are recommended elsewhere: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1RaFuUvMTTpw4HQImje3F_Pj9_NAgzmpL4rl0bBs8L2w/edit?usp=sharing For TV/Home Theater "Lite" applications, it seems that only the...
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    First "Audiophile" DAC/Amp for LS50 Meta

    I picked up a pair of LS50 Metas about two weeks ago since they were on sale, and I could put the budgetary savings to better gear than if I got LS50 Wireless II speakers (which were also on sale at the time). Can I get short and sweet recommendations for DAC/Amps to pair with the LS50 Metas? No...
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    Powered 2.0/2.1 consumer ultra near-field PC speakers with no audible idle hiss 2024

    To assist with the analysis, I created a spreadsheet of Speaker Sizes: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1H8sdKgjRBLrnUGf55rWEESM7N1HL01bn_uCdaCLvuuI/edit?usp=sharing The purpose of this spreadsheet is to get a rough sense of the size and price of desktop speaker monitors, where desktop...
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    Powered 2.0/2.1 consumer ultra near-field PC speakers with no audible idle hiss 2024

    Thanks! In a quiet room, at what distance do you hear the hiss from these speakers when powered and on at modest volume, and from what drivers? (Probably only the tweeter but want to cover all bases lol.) To clarify, the ~$1000 budget range includes the 2 active speakers and the DAC (or passive...
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    Powered 2.0/2.1 consumer ultra near-field PC speakers with no audible idle hiss 2024

    Kali IN-5 are too big. As I said the Kali LP-6v2 is an excellent speaker but it is too large for this application; the Kali IN-5 would be too much. Per above, MOTU M2 is in the running. It's an audiophile forum; people will beg to differ about the maximum sample rate and bit depth being...
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    Powered 2.0/2.1 consumer ultra near-field PC speakers with no audible idle hiss 2024

    It helped It helped, but the list is too long. :) Short recommendations are best. Also that list does not have speaker dimensions and does not have price points, so it is hard to narrow it down that way. I just saw that Yamaha released the HS3 and HS4 speakers, which might be worth a look...
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    Powered 2.0/2.1 consumer ultra near-field PC speakers with no audible idle hiss 2024

    Last year I settled on Kali LP-6v2 speakers with the Topping D10 Balanced for my son's desktop PC. They work fine. This year, I am trying to upgrade my daughter's PC environment. What powered 2.0/2.1 consumer ultra near-field PC speakers can you recommend, with no audible idle hiss, in 2024...
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    Powered 2.1 consumer Desktop PC speakers with no audible idle hiss 2023

    If it helps, attached is a picture of the Kali LP-6v2 speakers at the listening position.
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