Bevin Chu
December 12, 2008
My new budget audiophile hi-fi system, consisting only of extraordinarily high-value components:
-- Cambridge Audio Azur 640A V2 Amplifier
-- Cambridge Audio Azur 640C V2 CD Player (
-- Paradigm Atom V.5 Monitors
-- Keces DA-151 USB DAC Digital Analog Converter
-- Tripp Lite LC1200 Line Conditioner
-- Tara Labs Prism 300A Interconnects
-- Onix "Black" Speaker Cables
Cambridge Audio Azur 640A V2 Amplifier and 640C V2 CD Player Combo
Reviews of Cambridge Audio Azur 640A V2 Amplifier
http://www.cambridgeaudio.com/product_reviews.php?PID=105&Title=Press+reviews
Reviews of Cambridge Audio Azur 640C V2 CD Player
http://www.cambridgeaudio.com/product_reviews.php?PID=99&Title=Press+reviews
Paradigm Atom V.5 Monitor, Cherry Finish, with Grill On
Paradigm Atom V.5 Monitor, Cherry Finish, with Grill Off
Reviews of Paradigm Monitor Series, including Paradigm Atom V.5 Monitor
http://www.paradigm.com/en/paradigm/reviews/review-2-4.paradigm
Reviews of Keces DA-151 USB DAC Digital Analog Converter
http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/frr.pl?rdgtl&1227724779&read&d2&zzlDrubin&&
http://www.computeraudiophile.com/node/324
http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f46/review-keces-da-151-dac-800-hours-burn-297021/
Tripp Lite LC1200 Line Conditioner
Tara Prism 300a 1m Interconnects
Onix Black 2.5m Speaker Cables
All components and accessories were purchased from the highly knowledgeable people at Music Hi-Fi Co Ltd
http://www.hifi.com.tw/
Update April 10, 2017
I just added an SVS SB-1000 Subwoofer to my stereo system, turning it into a 2.1 satellite/subwoofer system. It really increases the soundstage and gives it added punch.
https://www.svsound.com/products/sb-1000
3 comments:
nice kit mate!
newman
Dear newman,
Thanks!
I had another "budget audiophile" system over ten years ago when I was living in LA. Adcom, Hafler, and NAD electronics. Large Advent Speakers.
Wasn't able to bring it back with me when I moved to Taipei.
I've been wearing a hairshirt listening to music through PC speakers since.
Last month I finally decided life was too short to deny myself the pleasure of listening to good music through a good system.
Hey, what I am going to do? Take my money into my grave with me?
Incidentally, I just got the Keces DA-151 USB DAC Digital Analog Converter yesterday.
Wow! What a difference! The built in DAC in my HP Pavilion notebook is probably par for notebook PCs.
But a dedicated external DAC makes all the difference in the world.
The improvement is not subtle. it is obvious and dramatic. Hard to put a number to it, but perhaps a 25% improvement?
A decent external DAC has got to be one of the smartest investments a hi fi enthusiastic one can make.
I was planning on getting a CD player. But now I'm thinking I won't. I'll use the money on CDs instead.
I've been ripping my current my CDs to WAV or FLAC files and listening to them by feeding them through my DAC, and then my amp.
As I mentioned above, the sound is so good I no longer feel the need for a CD player!
Post a Comment