I am conducting some in-home comparisons to decide whether or not to make a major and somewhat radical change to my system (link below). My listening has evolved to increasingly rely on playback from a PC for music, and it likely will do the same for Blu-ray, TV and video streaming. I am primarily a Mch classical music listener from SACD, hi rez Mch downloads and BD-A. For nearly a year, my PC has been my primary music source using JRiver and many TBs of NAS storage for my music library. I listen to very little in stereo or from CD, and when I do, I do not augment it with fake Mch. Video is secondary, but I do care about both video and audio quality with it, just not to the same degree as Mch music.
So, the question arises, why not just use the PC as my prepro, eliminating my Integra prepro altogether? To do that, I am evaluating Dirac Live as a replacement in the PC for Audyssey XT/32 in the prepro with an ExaSound e28 to do what the prepro DACS do. It is clear that JRiver can do playback and most control functions quite well without a prepro.
The whole motivation for this would be to seek even better sound quality than I now have, which is very good, and it has satisfied me for years. The main give-up from this approach is the lack of input flexibility, since the PC does not handle HDMI/HDCP inputs at all. Analog or other inputs are not a consideration; I have not used those for many years.
So, this is a pick up and new thread from my initial postings in The Audyssey Pro Installer Kit thread and refocusing them starting about here:
http://www.avsforum.com/forum/90-re...kit-thread-faq-post-1-a-188.html#post27027721
For background, here are some other threads that might prove useful, including those linked to by the following:
http://www.avsforum.com/forum/86-ul...w-replace-your-home-theater-pre-pro-htpc.html
Also, here is a definitive review by Kal Rubinson, who is about the most knowledgable and trustworthy reviewer on the planet, about Dirac Live and the ExaSound:
http://www.stereophile.com/content/music-round-66
Here is a link to my system description:
http://cgi.audioasylum.com/systems/10014.html
I recently posted an interim sonic assessment here, post 5:
http://www.sa-cd.net/showthread/122523/122551#122551
I am happy to answer any questions, and I will report any progress or final decisions in this thread.
So, the question arises, why not just use the PC as my prepro, eliminating my Integra prepro altogether? To do that, I am evaluating Dirac Live as a replacement in the PC for Audyssey XT/32 in the prepro with an ExaSound e28 to do what the prepro DACS do. It is clear that JRiver can do playback and most control functions quite well without a prepro.
The whole motivation for this would be to seek even better sound quality than I now have, which is very good, and it has satisfied me for years. The main give-up from this approach is the lack of input flexibility, since the PC does not handle HDMI/HDCP inputs at all. Analog or other inputs are not a consideration; I have not used those for many years.
So, this is a pick up and new thread from my initial postings in The Audyssey Pro Installer Kit thread and refocusing them starting about here:
http://www.avsforum.com/forum/90-re...kit-thread-faq-post-1-a-188.html#post27027721
For background, here are some other threads that might prove useful, including those linked to by the following:
http://www.avsforum.com/forum/86-ul...w-replace-your-home-theater-pre-pro-htpc.html
Also, here is a definitive review by Kal Rubinson, who is about the most knowledgable and trustworthy reviewer on the planet, about Dirac Live and the ExaSound:
http://www.stereophile.com/content/music-round-66
Here is a link to my system description:
http://cgi.audioasylum.com/systems/10014.html
I recently posted an interim sonic assessment here, post 5:
http://www.sa-cd.net/showthread/122523/122551#122551
I am happy to answer any questions, and I will report any progress or final decisions in this thread.