AVForums.com - View Single Post

cedmondson · 24-04-2012, 9:35 PM

I spend quite a lot of time in my small (2.5 x 2.8m) office / study.
Until recently I had a Linn Classik with Linn Kans in here and despite the CD & tuner capabilities of the Linn system, my main source was a PC connected via the 3.5mm jack output of the motherboard sound system. On reflection not a wise balance of £££s to quality.

Now its time to think again. I'll be revamping my home cinema gear in the living room too and I've already decided to get an AV receiver there that can handle streamed content. I' m going to re-rip my CDs to lossless quality. I already have a windows home server capable of DLNA and a QNAP NAS as well. Oh and an iPad which makes Airplay look interesting, but an Android phone which might influence available control apps.

So back to the system in the study. It needs to not take up too much space (there's way too much other stuff in there) which was part of the logic behind the Linn system.
If I just plug the same PC output into new gear, I'm thinking that I probably shouldn't spend more than £200 on an amp and £200-£250 on a pair of speakers. As with other options here, I'll shortlist and audition before actually buying - the goal now is just to identify what to go and listen to.

Option #2 is to raise the budget a little and add an external DAC - though I have no idea how much to budget for each. The Marantz PM6004 is probably where I'd aim to start (as a basis for comparison) going down this route.

Then maybe... it would be worth throwing a streamer into the mix. The Denon DNP-720 looks interesting for the money. I doubt I'd go as far as the Marantz NA7004 but...I won't rule it out.

And finally I'm looking at the Marantz NR1602 and wondering if with a decent (but small) pair of speakers like Dali Zensors it might make a decent enough 2.0 system with streaming capabilities built in.

If that all looks like muddled thinking - it probably is. Any thoughts or ideas are welcome. The budget probably won't exceed £1000 and I'd rather spend less unless I'm convinced the extra £££ is justified

Cheers

24-04-2012, 9:35 PM	#1
cedmondson Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Basingstoke Thanks: Gave 148, Got 298 Posts: 1,099	HiFi for PC based content I spend quite a lot of time in my small (2.5 x 2.8m) office / study. Until recently I had a Linn Classik with Linn Kans in here and despite the CD & tuner capabilities of the Linn system, my main source was a PC connected via the 3.5mm jack output of the motherboard sound system. On reflection not a wise balance of £££s to quality. Now its time to think again. I'll be revamping my home cinema gear in the living room too and I've already decided to get an AV receiver there that can handle streamed content. I' m going to re-rip my CDs to lossless quality. I already have a windows home server capable of DLNA and a QNAP NAS as well. Oh and an iPad which makes Airplay look interesting, but an Android phone which might influence available control apps. So back to the system in the study. It needs to not take up too much space (there's way too much other stuff in there) which was part of the logic behind the Linn system. If I just plug the same PC output into new gear, I'm thinking that I probably shouldn't spend more than £200 on an amp and £200-£250 on a pair of speakers. As with other options here, I'll shortlist and audition before actually buying - the goal now is just to identify what to go and listen to. Option #2 is to raise the budget a little and add an external DAC - though I have no idea how much to budget for each. The Marantz PM6004 is probably where I'd aim to start (as a basis for comparison) going down this route. Then maybe... it would be worth throwing a streamer into the mix. The Denon DNP-720 looks interesting for the money. I doubt I'd go as far as the Marantz NA7004 but...I won't rule it out. And finally I'm looking at the Marantz NR1602 and wondering if with a decent (but small) pair of speakers like Dali Zensors it might make a decent enough 2.0 system with streaming capabilities built in. If that all looks like muddled thinking - it probably is. Any thoughts or ideas are welcome. The budget probably won't exceed £1000 and I'd rather spend less unless I'm convinced the extra £££ is justified Cheers
	Quote