Chasing SINAD on the Cheap

[andreasmaaan]

There are the Gigaworks T20/T40 measured. Not exactly sure of the price, though.

I think software EQ is within the parameters. A computer is a sure way to sort of, kind of drop price, if you consider it a "miscellaneous" expense.

Thanks @pozz. FWIW, T3 measures vastly better than T20 or T40 out of the box, and is super easy to EQ because there is only one crossover and it is very well-designed. I also think in this price range I would stick to “full-range” mains + “sub”: better bang for buck, and less likely to be XO and lobing issues that can’t be EQ’d out.

 

[andreasmaaan]

Is the target to be just cheap or having the best SINAD in it's category ?

There should be a minimum SQ/Sinad value, no ?

Ah, perhaps I misinterpreted the OP. The aim of this system would be best sound quality for the price ($50).

Since SINAD doesn’t correlate strongly to sound quality compared with other factors, it was low on my list of priorities here.

 

[bigjacko]

My cheap end game system:
okto dac8 pro 8 channel active crossover plus eq
topping amps with around -120dB SINAD and low price compare to existing
DIY three way speaker using good tweeter, mid and purifi woofer
two sub woofer crossover at 80Hz for the rest of two channel

 

[Vini darko]

My cheap end game system:
okto dac8 pro 8 channel active crossover plus eq
topping amps with around -120dB SINAD and low price compare to existing
DIY three way speaker using good tweeter, mid and purifi woofer
two sub woofer crossover at 80Hz for the rest of two channel

Hahahaha cheap and purifi woofers is an oxymoron.

 

[bigjacko]

Hahahaha cheap and purifi woofers is an oxymoron.

Lol because it is end game hahaha. DIY is cheaper than buying from company. I am going to get subwoofer so I can make a closed box, it is easier to make, then use eq and active xo to get response I want. It really is a fool proof solution and provide better performance than speakers made by company, but just more expansive to get 8 channel dac and amp.

 

[pozz]

Is the target to be just cheap or having the best SINAD in it's category ?

There should be a minimum SQ/Sinad value, no ?

Yeah, best SINAD for electronics and best speakers attached.

 

[pozz]

T3 measures vastly better

Really. Would love to see the measurements.

 

[andreasmaaan]

Really. Would love to see the measurements.

I’ll see if I can dig them up or remeasure (could be a long-term project given what’s on my plate atm though)

 

[Vasr]

There are the Gigaworks T20/T40 measured. Not exactly sure of the price, though.

I think software EQ is within the parameters. A computer is a sure way to sort of, kind of drop price, if you consider it a "miscellaneous" expense.

@Vasr How did the computer pre/pro work out?

Working great in daily use. Marginal cost of using the PC which serves as a media player is zero and taking digital out. So SINAD not of any practical relevance.

I did make a change from what I had in my thread which is to move the crossover to a hardware pre/pro and route two channel music via a PW Link box with ARC room correction (optical in - optical out) and get 2.1 downstream. This is a cheap form of HT by-pass.

But multi-channel 7.1 (or 5.2) goes through the EQ on the PC as well as multi-channel SACD playing using foobar2000.

All of the above simplified the routing and so don't need to use Voicemeeter on the PC anymore. It also unifies the remote to just one this way.

One take-away of all of this is that if you remove a lot of the digital processing to a separate box, it is easier to get the rest of the chain cheaper with good performance. Unfortunately, hardware boxes to do a separate digital pre/pro are expensive or require too many boxes that are collectively more expensive. So, nothing can beat the PC in that regard... Unless you want more than 8 channels.

So, a minimal upto 7.1 multi-channel system on the cheap would be PC (EQ, crossover) -> Okto 8 Pro -> Any decent measuring 7/8 channel amp with a sub.

Chasing SINAD and doing it on the cheap are oxymoronic. Anyone who wants to do it on the cheap (or inexpensively) isn't going to chase SINAD beyond threshold of audibility.

 

[pozz]

Anyone who wants to do it on the cheap (or inexpensively) isn't going to chase SINAD beyond threshold of audibility.

We are imagining a world of budgets and SINAD and little else. Thems the rules of the game.

 

[Alexanderc]

Chasing SINAD and doing it on the cheap are oxymoronic. Anyone who wants to do it on the cheap (or inexpensively) isn't going to chase SINAD beyond threshold of audibility.

I agree up to a point. It just depends on your point of view, your goals, what “cheap” means to you. We won’t get there with a $100 budget, but with $1000 I bet we can pass the audibility threshold with some creative thinking.

 

[BillG]

I agree up to a point. It just depends on your point of view, your goals, what “cheap” means to you. We won’t get there with a $100 budget, but with $1000 I bet we can pass the audibility threshold with some creative thinking.

I'm fairly certain we can, as well, at least for the lenient thresholds. Where I'd start would be the following:

Integrated Streaming Amplifier: Yamaha WXA-50

Speakers: Infinity Reference 162

DSP and source: any old, networked PC capable of running Equalizer APO.

DAC - for the PC: Apple USB-C to 3.5mm dongle.

The amp cost ~$500USD and the speakers can be found at ~$250USD on sale. The PC? One could probably dumpster dive one for free. The Apple DAC is ~$19USD. So that's ~770USD.

My only question here is what would be considered transparent for transducers? With them being mechanical devices distortion seems to be an inherent property. Anyone care to comment on that?

 

[Eetu]

Anyone experimented with Roon -> dual DACs such as the E30 for inexpensive 4ch with high SINAD? This would would be a very cheap solution for a streamer + room eq incl. bass management + DAC. Only thing to figure out would be the speakers (+amp) & subs.

 

[Alexanderc]

My only question here is what would be considered transparent for transducers? With them being mechanical devices distortion seems to be an inherent property. Anyone care to comment on that?

My thought, which is basically what you’ve done here, is pick a budget, spend as little as possible on everything else, and get the best speakers that fit the budget.

I’m also of the opinion that most people are going to have a computer anyway, so there’s no reason to add that to the budget.

Using that formula, Apple dongle into the best inexpensive powered speakers available may be the most cost effective way to do this, if not the most interesting.

Edit: I’m not a headphones guy, but if that’s an option for you, I bet you can spend even less for equal or better SINAD (or transparency, or whatever metric you like).