Putting together a desktop system

[Cassidy]

I'm putting together a desktop system and welcome your thoughts and suggestions. I’ve researched a few possibilities but would like some opinions on which DAC, amp, and speakers to track down.

Recently I’ve been looking at the Maverick Audio D1 (dac) and or their A1 Hybrid Amp (tube headphone out, tube pre, and ss amp). I want a good sounding tube based system that allows me to listen via desktop speakers or headphones, splitting time 50/50.

My musical tastes lean towards softer rock, acoustic, folk, with healthy doses of the dead and jerry, Knopfler, Prine, etc.

My budget is $600 (I know, not much).

Here's my existing equipment:

· Dell PC and speakers
· multiple external HD's with several TB of lossless music files, many are live audience recordings
· Sennheiser HD580's headphones


Here's what I think I want or need:
· dac
· tube headphone amp
· tube pre
· tube or ss amp
· speakers (active?)

Any thoughts on the Maverick products? What are your set-ups and would you recommend them? Should I go with active speakers, if so any recommendations?

Thanks a lot for your help.

[Lasareath]

All my desktops have SSD's now. Can never go back!

[Topper]

The mavericks are excellent :). I use the D1 together with the A1 and everybody who hears the combination wants a set of their own :). Both of them are with the upgraded tubes.

[Cassidy]

Lasareath - thanks for the suggestion. I was unaware of SSD's. For others in the same boat, here's some info from Wiki:

A solid-state drive (SSD) is a data storage device that uses solid-state memory to store persistent data. SSDs are distinguished from traditional hard disk drives (HDDs), which are electromechanical devices containing spinning disks and movable read/write heads. SSDs, in contrast, use microchips, and contain no moving parts. Compared to traditional HDDs, SSDs are typically less susceptible to physical shock, quieter, and have lower access time and latency. SSDs use the same interface as hard disk drives, thus easily replacing them in most applications.[1]

I can see going with an SSD as an upgrade once I get the DAC. amp, and speakers.

Topper - glad to hear you like the Maverick A1 and D1. I will likely go with the upgraded tubes as well. What speakers are you using?

[MillerLiteScott]

I use a Maverick in my desktop system. I have upgraded the opamps in addition to the tubes and I think it is a great piece for the money. I would like to hear the new Maverick amp but I am thinking I might like to do a DIY amp instead.

Scott

[kawizx9r]

For less than that, you can get a Peachtree Decco.

Optical+USB+Analog inputs, preamp outputs (for adding a dedicated subwoofer OR adding an external amplifier to power a set of power-hungry speakers), built-in DAC, built-in high-current amp section and preamp that utilizes a tube all in one!

Alot of people used it as a preamp alone because it was very musical, stood out and sounded good enough to be used as a separate component.

Oh btw, did I mention it has an awesome built-in headphone amplifier as well? Had AKG271 and AKG701 headphones hooked up to it and I loved every minute of it.

-Freddy

[wayne3burk]

Might I suggest a pair of vintage bookshelf speakers? KLH 17s, Dynaco A25s or even Polk Monitor 7s (peerless tweets)?

Just my 2 centavos.

-- wayne --

[gimpod]

I know this is a bit off topic but I just had to respond.

All my desktops have SSD's now. Can never go back!

Must be nice to be rich. :p;) (JK)

Just out of curiosity i jumped over to Newegg to see what it would cost to replace all my HDDs (All SATA II) in my 4 computers.

Hope your sitting down............





































Laptop:
Kingston SSDNow V+ Series 2.5 512 GB - $1,399.00

Local Test Server:
Boot/Programs: OCZ Vertex 2 3.5 240GB - $579.99
Data: 2 x OCZ Colossus Series 3.5 500GB - $3,192.00 (raided)

Main/Gamming/Work/Programming Rig:
Boot/Programs: OCZ Colossus Series 3.5 500GB - $1,596.00
Data: 2 x OCZ Colossus Series 3.5 500GB - $3,192.00 (raided)

And now for the killer
MTPC Rig (That's Movie Theater PC) I us this one for just Movies only
Boot/Programs: OCZ Vertex 2 3.5 240GB - $579.99
Data: 6 x OCZ Colossus LT Series 3.5 1TB - $19,080.00

That's a whopping $29,618.98 + the extra controller and case i would need for the Movie Rig. I think I'll wait for the prices to come down a bit before I jump off that bridge.

[JimAckley]

By the looks of it, I have a feeling they're not the caliber you're looking for, but I'm EXTREMELY happy with my RTi A3s set on my computer desk.

[sm88]

If you budget is $600 for the whole system it is a bit light, but a pair of Paradigm Studio 20 v3's or newer are fantastic for the price.

[Pauly]

Might I suggest a pair of vintage bookshelf speakers? KLH 17s, Dynaco A25s or even Polk Monitor 7s (peerless tweets)?

Just my 2 centavos.

-- wayne --

+1 Im running 10A's on mine :D

Pauly

[Zero]

I'd be perfectly happy with an E-Mu1212 sound card, a Harman Kardon stereo receiver, and a set of Polk Audio RTiA1's.

[zingo]

I am running active Swan M200 speakers and they are great. Definitely not the final word in neutral presentation, but they disappear into my desk better than anything I've had before. I am usually not a fan of power speakers, but they work great for desktop applications and really clean things up in tight spaces.

[Bobsama]

<snip>

That's a whopping $29,618.98 + the extra controller and case i would need for the Movie Rig. I think I'll wait for the prices to come down a bit before I jump off that bridge.

Yeah, that price tag is a huge issue. Though to be honest, all your large storage drives should be mechanical--there won't be much difference between 6 1TB HDDs ($450-600 for 7200rpm models) and 6 1TB SSDs ($15+k) unless you're using a PCI-E 2.0 x8 controller ($300+), in which case both options are still limited unless you're using 10gbit copper or fiber backbones. You can easily max out a hardware RAID5 with mechanical drives on a 1000mbit network.

Anyways, I'm sticking with mechanical drives for now. Perhaps my next new build will have a SSD for either OS or games.