Options for stereo with digital inputs

[rolfrander]

Hi,

after lurking here for a while, I have realised that a good system for me would be a reasonably powered class-D power amplifier together with a low-end DAC/headphone amp. This will give me the ability to listen to TV-sound through TOSLINK and audio from my Sony Blu-Ray thorugh Coax, and I get the flexibility to test different speakers from the second hand market, and I can listen to headphones if I don't want to disturb the rest of the family. I can also upgrade the DAC if I need support for new formats or more functionality.

For example something based on NC500 and the Loxjie M30

(Btw, like so many others here, I would like HDMI-ARC as well, but there aren't many options. I have found Arylic BP50, but at $109 I am sceptical...)

But I have also been convinced of the utility of room correction, or at least some form of equalization, this narrows it down.

• I can go for a MiniDSP Flex and get lots of flexibility, but loose the headphones.
• Or I can get the RME ADI-2 and get both, but at that price I can also get a tonewinner and get lots of options and flexibility.
• I can also go with the MiniDSP and add a separate headphone-amp,
• or use a MiniDSP 2x4 just for room-correction between the DAC and the AMP (seems a terrible waste of it's capabilities, though).

An obviously much simpler solution would be to get an integrated amp with EQ, for example SMSL AL200 doesn't have a full EQ, but at least basic tone control.

Finally, I can ignore my interest in trying different speakers and just get a pair of Genelecs or Neumanns and use their built in room correction.

 

[voodooless]

An obviously much simpler solution would be to get an integrated amp with EQ, for example SMSL AL200 doesn't have a full EQ, but at least basic tone control.

Best to avoid these kind of happy music sound mood settings. They are of little value and rarely make sense.

What about the WiiM amp or Pro (plus)? It
They offer 10 band GEQ and 4 band PEQ and more PEQ bands were promised (but don’t hold your breath).

Do you have a budget in mind?

 

[rolfrander]

This one WIIM AMP TPA3255? I must say the WAF on that is amazing, probably the best I've seen. Very nice. The Pro Plus seems to be a very good alternative for my primary plan!

As for budget, something in the range $2000 to $5000 seems reasonable. My primary plan is something like the Wiim Pro Plus (at $219), amplifier based on NC500 or NC502MP (around $1000) and second hand speakers for $1500 to $2000 (Kef, Arendal, Revel, Focal, and some brands not widely known outside Scandinavia: System Audio, Dynaudio, Xtz), so this would amount to around $3000 in total.

My thinking is that with a competently designed NCore or Purifi amp, I never need to buy another amp again. But the DAC needs to be replaced whenever apple/google/microsoft/bluetooth/dolby/etc comes out with some new standards.

But if the Wiim AMP can get me enough power and SINAD for a fraction of the price ($300 for DAC+AMP compared to $1200) and with a lot more WAF, that is really something to consider.

 

[Rednaxela]

How about Buchardt I150?

I150 Integrated Amplifier

Integrated amplifier

buchardtaudio.com

Edit: sorry no headphones out.

 

[voodooless]

For the budget, why not go with active speakers? You won’t have to worry about an amp, and you often get room correction with the speakers. For the budget you can get a decent set of KH150 and pair it with a steamer, connect digitally.

 

[rolfrander]

For the budget, why not go with active speakers? You won’t have to worry about an amp, and you often get room correction with the speakers. For the budget you can get a decent set of KH150 and pair it with a steamer, connect digitally.

You are right, I have a hard time convincing myself that passive speakers are the right choice, KH150 would probably measure better.

I am not sure what you mean by "steamer" (typo of streamer?). I have streaming capabilities already (AppleTV and Sony UBP-X800), what I need is something to connect to the TOSLINK (or HDMI-ARC) coming from my TV. It seems KH150 accepts S/PDIF, so maybe all I need is a TOSLINK-COAX-conversion?

Edit: this seems like a very elegant solution, but after more consideration I have come to realize that I don't think my TV will attenuate the digital output so there will be no way of controlling volume. Maybe there are HDMI-ARC-to-SPDIF converters that attenuate the SPDIF-signal according to HDMI-CEC? Need to test this before making any large investments...

 

[voodooless]

I am not sure what you mean by "steamer" (typo of streamer?). I have streaming capabilities already (AppleTV and Sony UBP-X800), what I need is something to connect to the TOSLINK (or HDMI-ARC) coming from my TV. It seems KH150 accepts S/PDIF, so maybe all I need is a TOSLINK-COAX-conversion?

If you have all of this already, then indeed all you need is a TOSLINK to a coaxial box. Should set you back only a few €$..

 

[rolfrander]

How about Buchardt I150?

I150 Integrated Amplifier

Integrated amplifier

buchardtaudio.com

Edit: sorry no headphones out.

At €2500 this would be the most expensive and least flexible solution. An NC500 based poweramp together with RME ADI-2 will cost less and give me the option to switch DAC later when something comes along with more features. I see the Buchardt has some more features like bass management, automatic room correction and probably a better EQ, but for me I don't think that's worth the extra €.

My original goal was to get separate components to be able to have upgrade paths available. For an all-in-one-solution, KH150 is probably the best.