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(AudioEngine A5+ + D1 DAC) OR (NuForce Dia + Passive Bookshelf Speakers)?

post #1 of 5
12/11/12 at 9:29pm
Thread Starter 
Hi All -

I am reluctantly retiring my Denon AVR2309 and ancient AR speakers; I'm mostly using an AppleTV (with Airplay) to listen to music, and would like a much smaller footprint. So, I would think that a set of powered speakers would be the obvious option, and am about to pull the trigger on the Audioengine A5+ (plus l'll need a DAC as well because ATV only has optical out).

I've heard the A5+s a they sound great, and I'm sure will sound even better with the D1 DAC. But as I'm looking around at options, I am seeing a class of small DAC + Amps, such as the NuForce Dia, which I would think could drive a decent set of passive speakers.

So - any thoughts on which of these options would do best? And, if I were to go the small amp + passive route, any thoughts on small-footprint passive speakers that could fit the bill? The room is about 15'x20' - so would something like the Dia have enough power to fill the room?

Thanks much for any advice!

Dan
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post #2 of 5
12/13/12 at 5:25pm
I have AudioEngine A5+'s I use with a Samsung Netbook and a 64GB IPod Touch. I have the AE A-1 and A-2 wireless transmitters as well. I recently bought a NuForce Dia to use with my IPod and love it. It sounds so good and is so convenient that is how I now listen to all my music. I listen to 24 bit flac downloads from eclassical.com. I bought a few flac player apps on the Apple App Store and then work perfectly with my IPod.

I have had many expensive speakers (Totem, Maggies, Paradigm, PSB, Mission) with Nakamichi and NAD electronics over the years. I prefer my Audio Engine/NuForce/IPod set-up to anything I had before. I listen to music all day as I work from my home office.
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post #3 of 5
1/15/13 at 11:46am
A little late to this thread but if you want to try passive speakers with the Nuforce Dia you should look at a pair of used B&W LM1's. They are relatively small and sound amazing with the Dia. I have this set up in my bedroom with optical out from the TV and from an older AppleTV with upgraded hard drive. The LM1's are really nice and you can find them on eBay for $150-$180. Below is a photo of my wife friendly bedroom rig in progress. I still need to order a replacement speaker grill.
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post #4 of 5
1/16/13 at 2:13pm
very nice!
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post #5 of 5
1/17/13 at 9:20am
Thanks I had fun putting this together. My wife thinks this is for her to watch HDTV on Sat mornings so when she came home the other night and I was in there listening to headphones she asked why there instead of my usual place. My answer was "because I can". The surprise in all of this is that the line out for a sub connection is on the front face of the Nuforce Dia. By pressing the on button and input on the remote while the unit is already on, it shuts the speakers off and becomes a very good headphone rig. I swear I didn't plan it that way :-)
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