This is my dorm room rig, and as such it will be in a too-small room with a too-close listening position. (I do plan to take it with me when I move though, so I don't want to tailor it completely to the room.)
I want to stick with the digital-only source concept for now, as my hard drive is the source for about 99% of the music I currently play. I also like the portability of the laptop --> small DAC --> integrated amp --> bookshelf signal path.
As far as my goals are concerned, I listen to mostly classical and jazz, and my only real priority is to reproduce these well. I don't need (or want) to achieve party volume levels, and I don't need to do justice to synthesized techno/hip-hop bass lines. I do, however, want to ensure that I can get wrapped up in the lowest note on a cello during a string quartet, and I do want to make sure I have enough current coming out of the amp to give me plenty of headroom to faithfully reproduce the dynamics of an orchestra.
So far it is not letting me down, except in the bass range, which falls away more quickly than I had hoped. I think a lot of it is the room, and I'll be experimenting with that soon.
Please tell me what you all think! I'd love suggestions. Keep in mind that I am definitely on a budget....
This system is built around a computer-only "transport" concept. If I am playing CDs, the computer is indeed a transport, but the vast majority of the time, I am simply playing ALAC (lossless) files off of the Hard Drive. This not only means I have the music at my fingertips, but it is also quieter (the fan never turns on just from playing music).
Keces DA-151 Mk. II
USB-only DAC from Taiwan. Very well built, especially for the low price.
i am using a pc for source and using trends p10 amp with tekton speakers , could not be simpler...sounds natural...dwhitt google trends or tekton and you will get dealers...
