CDs still ROCK!
Dude, I get so happy to see that there are still broke college students who prioritize audio, and CDs no less.
Otherwise I very much second this post:
Speakers are important. Nothing else really matters (EDIT: in the audio chain!). Spend all your available funds on decent active speakers in the budget range, and then find a used bluray player with volume control. Given that streaming is taking over they can often be had for free. Good luck!
Dude, I get so happy to see that there are still broke college students who prioritize audio, and CDs no less.
Otherwise I very much second this post:
If you're going to use active speakers then the magni 3 will be doing nothing other than providing a volume knob. Buying an external DAC is a waste if it means you're skimping on the speakers. So the first thing I'd do is lose the Schiit stack.
Other very cheap active speakers to consider are the Mackie CR3-X and Presonus Eris.
But we're right at the bottom of the market so all the options here have problems. If you can stretch to a tiny bit more then you'll see a marked improvement. There's the Kali LP-6 ($300/pair) or the JBL 305P MkII (also $300). Then you're looking for a cheap disc player preferably with some sort of volume control built-in: this Sony one looks reasonable, with a coax output as well so you can upgrade to an external DAC in the future. I see the volume control has 'Vol' buttons, but no idea if it actually controls the volume output from the analog jacks. If it doesn't then you'd need a passive attenuator like this one or a Schiit Sys.
[Note: both the active speakers I linked have only balanced inputs, but a pair of RCA->XLR cables should cost around $15. (Actually just noticed the Kali's have RCA in as well.)]
Speakers are important. Nothing else really matters (EDIT: in the audio chain!). Spend all your available funds on decent active speakers in the budget range, and then find a used bluray player with volume control. Given that streaming is taking over they can often be had for free. Good luck!
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