bikemig

I've listened to them. They're pretty darn good esp. given the price. You don't need to pay a bomb to enjoy excellent sound quality. My work space system is not a lot more complicated than yours with airmotiv 4 speakers and an audioengine d1 dac.

No reason why a great musician can't dream up a non-solution to a non-problem.

The apple extreme is, as others have noted, excellent. There are software programs out there that you can use to figure out which channels your neighbors are using. You may be getting some interference. Check out istumbler which is freeware; there are other programs out there as well. istumbler.net Netspot also has good diagnostic tools. FREE Wireless WiFi Site Survey Software for MAC OS X A dual band router is also helpful in avoiding interference. The house may be a problem. Some building materials are really tough on wireless networks. I live in an old brick house and the router is sitting in the family room which just happens to be an add on so the inside wall is what used to be the outside brick wall of the house. I have a lovely view of the yard on one side and an equally lovely view of a brick wall on the other. The acoustics are pretty bad for the HT and the brick wall just wreaks havoc on wireless as well. There are things you can do to get a stronger signal to the rest of the house. A wifi repeater can be a big help. I have one in the living room which is the only reason we get a decent signal in the house. Also check out a product like netgear's powerline adapters that allow you to use the electrical wiring in the house as ethernet. If you check out the reviews on Amazon, you will see some folks that love the thing and some who hate them. YMMV but it worked like a charm for my office. It is in what at one time had been the garage many years ago and so I have a brick wall between my office and the rest of the house. There is no way in heck I was going to get a good signal into the office and I didn't want to pay for ethernet cabling. The netgear powerline adapter worked like a champ. Good luck and keep trying. There is little science to this but more than a little madness.

The Apple express really benefits from an external dac.

Absolutely but that drives up the cost assuming you don't have the gear lying around (you probably do, so there are trade-offs. I would certainly want an AV receiver with pre outs in any case since that makes it more versatile. The problem is that the manufacturers of 2 channel gear have been really, really slow to embrace the move to digital music. You are not starting to see gear with digital inputs but it's not all that common. Streaming 2 channel devices are out there but again they are the exception rather than the rule. For a bedroom set up, I want a unit that does Pandora and Airplay and I don't want a bunch of boxes so an AV receiver is probably my best bet.

I agree. AV receivers are in a sweet spot price wise because of the competition. They offer a terrific amount of functionality at a very reasonable price. If you shop around when there is a sale, the prices can be devastatingly reasonable. I am planning on setting up a 2 channel rig in my bedroom and an AV receiver is on my list since it solves so many problems when it comes to streaming music. Downside? You have to match it with your speakers since the mid range AV receivers typically can't handle a 4 ohm speaker but there are lots of really good 8 ohm speakers out there which are efficient (Paradigm comes to mind and the new JBL 530 looks pretty sweet).

I've been wanting something like this for a long time. I'm surprised that the web site doesn't allow us to buy the product . . . . .

With your budget ($1k to $2k), you can get a high end av receiver from Marantz or NAD that will be terrific for music and make it dead easy to add additional speakers down the road. The AV receiver will handle all the D to A work and drive your speakers. You haven't really given a reason why you need an av receiver and a separate amp. If you had really hard to drive speakers that might be an issue but your speakers are pretty efficient and 8 ohm nominal impedance. They're not tough to drive. Just get a powerhouse AV receiver and be happy with a one box solution. Heck I'd invest in a high end and musical sub like a sealed sub from SVS: SVS Sound Experts | High Performance Audio Products at Manufacturer Direct Prices. I'm running a 2.1 HT system (see my sig line) and it works great both for movies and music. If you want to save some money, you can pick up a manufacturers refurbished AV receiver from accessories4less and have money left over for a good quality sub: https://www.accessories4less.com/index.php

I suspect you are closer to Middle Earth than I am! I suspect that probably pretty much on this site would agree with you that a 2 channel rig just sounds better than an AV receiver used as a 2 channel rig. I've seen other websites with people who have long experience in the business as well who disagree. Beats me who has it right. I know I like the way my music sounds out of my NAD AV receiver. In terms of prices, I suspect (and I could be wrong) that pricing is different in the USA (my middle earth) than the UK (your middle earth). The Marantz M CR 510 runs $600; the Marantz NR 1504 runs $500 with internet playback functionality. There are obvious differences in terms of the amp section and so forth but the choice is not, in my mind, a no brainer. The AV receiver for example makes it a lot easier to integrate a sub which may matter. Also manufacturers often have sales of AV receivers when the new model year comes out; change in the 2 channel world is slower. You are only beginning to see for example integrated amps and stereo receivers with dac sections and/or streaming capability.

I know. AV receivers are not purely 2 channel systems. My point is that the sort of functionality that this thread is dealing with is built into a great many AV receivers and the AV market is very competitive so the prices are often good. Someone may like using one for a secondary 2 channel system for that reason. The sound quality from an AV receiver can be excellent. I know it is with mine as I use the AV receiver's dacs for music playback in my HT system. I also have my HT system set up as a 2.1 system.

No. 1. Hi res introduces complexities and that is a problem in a consumer product. I love my logitech SBs but they are not entirely plug and play and I'm not looking forward to the day they die.

AV receivers have a lot of functionality built into them. They're obviously overkill for a 2 channel rig and the amp sections typically don't do well with hard to drive speakers but they can be found at very good prices esp. when manufacturers change their product lines. Plus they have have a crossover for subwoofers which can be very useful.

This can't be quite right. If there were a demand, the products would be rolling out. This is a small slice (audiophiles who want hi res streaming devices) of a very small market (people who are willing to pay serious cake to listen to music, err I mean audiophiles). Btw, redbook sounds pretty good and I don't know of any streaming device that doesn't do redbook . . . . Just sayin.

I'm skeptical that this does anything except, of course, tweak whatever placebos we all need in our respective music systems so that they sound good . . . .

Actually I will disagree with Bill on this, . I'd go dragonfly 2.0 to asgard schiit 2 to a set of cans that float your boat. That will still leave well over $3k for a nice trip depending on how much you want to spend on headphones.

Tough to argue with Bill on this, . One choice is whether you go with active or passive monitors. The former make it easier to keep the clutter down on your desk but you typically lose some ability to tinker with your set up. I use a set up like that at work and I like it a lot. I went with passive monitors for my home set up. It's tough to keep the number of boxes down at that point so I ended up using an equipment rack. I picked up a refurbished idecco and a pair of PSB imagine minis. They're really sweet speakers and I recommend them highly. Personally I don't like large monitors for near field as I find they don't image that well. But if you go with smaller speakers, you may want to add a subwoofer to your system.

I'm glad I just finished blowing through my audio budget for the year or I'd be buying those synchronies from you. I really like PSB speakers and I'm impressed that you found something you like better.

You don't have to pay $300 for a dac/amp for those cans (although you could easily pay that and more if you wish). I'd take a look at the Schiit magni and modi ($200 for the pair); e-mail Schiit and ask them which amp will do a good job with your cans, Schiit Audio, Headphone amps and DACs made in USA.. Schiit doesn't have the great return policy which is a bit of a drag though. A lot of companies give you a better 30 day money back guarantee so you can try a few out until you find one you like. I'd check out what JDS labs has to offer as well. The CMOY, for example, comes in altoid case and they have a model designed to work with cans like the Senn HD 650 (which is 300 ohm I believe), JDS Labs - cMoyBB v2.03 Headphone Amplifier. I've been thinking of picking one up for a while (it gets great reviews, I like the case, and it costs all of $59); just add your dac of choice. In any case, e-mail the company and ask them which model works well with your headphones. I'm a little skeptical that a usb dac/amp has the power to drive your cans but I could be wrong. That is the cheapest choice for a dac/amp combo (audioquest dragonfly, audioengine, and cambridge audio all make models that run less than $200).

Sweet, I have three custom steel bikes but none of them were built for me, . This is one of my favorites:

LOL, what did you get? The SVS subs aren't silly expensive btw. I think I just blew my bike budget for the year on the SVS sub, a marantz cd player, the PSB mini speakers, and refurb peachtree idecco. What a great combo for a desktop system. I'm loving the sub as well.

I'd keep it simple. Since you're planning on going 5.1, I'd get a good quality AV receiver that does what you want rather than cobble together a lot of different boxes that may or may not work well together when all is said or done. You can add stuff later as you get more information and figure out what you want to do. The B&W 683s are pretty easy to drive. If you want to save some money on the AV receiver, you can pick up a refurbished Marantz or Cambridge Audio AV receiver from accessories4less with a full manu's warranty: Accessories4less: High End Audio at Low End Prices! Get one with pre-outs and you can add to it as you like later.

Big room. I'd get a sealed sub for that room. I just picked up a sealed sub, a SVS SB2000 which is kicka@@ with music and movies, SVS SB-2000 - 500 Watt DSP Controlled, 12" Compact Sealed Subwoofer. They have a great return policy and first rate support. If you want something that plays down low, it is hard to beat a sub. I run a sub in my desktop system as well.

I have two and hope they both last forever! I think the best alternative may be a cheapish laptop hooked up via a dac (or with a quality wireless solution) to your sound system.

It can take a while to find what you're looking for but part of the fun on CL is the hunt. My commuter bike is a really neat 20 plus year old high end (back in the day) mountain bike I found on CL. I'm thinking of putting together a 2 channel rig for my guest room and I'm going to start looking for parts on CL as well.

Why isn't something like Dell's little Inspiron 10 a fair source (it is no longer made so how about any currently available inexpensive laptop like this from acer, Amazon.com: ASUS VivoBook X200CA-DB01T 11.6-Inch Touchscreen Laptop (Black): Computers & Accessories) if it is properly isolated from the sound system? There are some obvious advantages to a laptop such as streaming music of the net along with a hard disc for playback.