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DoubleTap
2[H]4U
- Joined
- Dec 16, 2010
- Messages
- 2,990
For the last 2 years I've been running a Marantz NR1501 7.1 Receiver and 6 Orb Audio speakers with an Infinity sub.
Overall, it was a good system and I enjoyed the surround sound in games (when I could use it).
I recently decided to move away from HDMI/Surround audio for a few reasons:
1. I felt that to really enjoy the surround sound, I had to have it at a moderate volume that was too intrusive for the rest of the house.
2. HDMI audio is a pain when you run 3 x 144Hz monitors.
3. HDMI audio is a bigger pain when you run SLI (I don't anymore, but I'd like to keep my options open)
4. Most of the time I ran stereo speakers (music) or had to use headphones.
5. This probably won't apply to most people and might seem minor but it was important to me - I work from home and have to talk on the phone quite a lot. I use V-MODA headphones to listen to music (on the receiver) as well as talk on the phone and having to constantly add/remove the 3.5mm to 6.3mm headphone adapter when I switch back and forth was annoying.
I was looking for 3 things in an integrated amplifier:
1. A decent DAC and either optical or USB input.
2. A decent speaker amp with subwoofer output
3. A 3.5mm headphone jack
* Bluetooth was not that important to me because I use an Amazon Dot on the Line-In to my PC and it acts as a Bluetooth Bridge so I can stream podcasts from my phone have it mixed in with my PC audio which is my preference. However, the APTX Bluetooth input on the TEAC sounds great.
The Teac AI-101DA was the only (affordable) device I could find that met my criteria.
I've only been using it for a few days, but this is what I've noticed:
1. The optical output from my PC was surprisingly noisy. I'm pretty sure it was my PC because when I muted the PC, the optical input channel went silent (could be a noise gate though?) Not sure what is going on, but that was disappointing.
2. I installed the USB drivers and went USB. Now I'm sold. There is no system noise until you hit max volume and even then, it's barely there.
3. Music, especially things like acoustic guitar and vocals sound amazing. Crystal clear and cleaner than anything I can recall hearing. I really like the sound of the Orb speakers but I'm also wondering what a step up might look like.
4. This little $200ish box takes up a lot less room than even a compact/slim receiver and for desktop audio, I think it might be the perfect device for many or most people.
Massdrop has these all the time for $200 plus $9 shipping - I got impatient and ordered the version on Amazon that comes with some little speakers for $250 delivered.
It's worth checking out if you're looking for a desktop audio system.
Overall, it was a good system and I enjoyed the surround sound in games (when I could use it).
I recently decided to move away from HDMI/Surround audio for a few reasons:
1. I felt that to really enjoy the surround sound, I had to have it at a moderate volume that was too intrusive for the rest of the house.
2. HDMI audio is a pain when you run 3 x 144Hz monitors.
3. HDMI audio is a bigger pain when you run SLI (I don't anymore, but I'd like to keep my options open)
4. Most of the time I ran stereo speakers (music) or had to use headphones.
5. This probably won't apply to most people and might seem minor but it was important to me - I work from home and have to talk on the phone quite a lot. I use V-MODA headphones to listen to music (on the receiver) as well as talk on the phone and having to constantly add/remove the 3.5mm to 6.3mm headphone adapter when I switch back and forth was annoying.
I was looking for 3 things in an integrated amplifier:
1. A decent DAC and either optical or USB input.
2. A decent speaker amp with subwoofer output
3. A 3.5mm headphone jack
* Bluetooth was not that important to me because I use an Amazon Dot on the Line-In to my PC and it acts as a Bluetooth Bridge so I can stream podcasts from my phone have it mixed in with my PC audio which is my preference. However, the APTX Bluetooth input on the TEAC sounds great.
The Teac AI-101DA was the only (affordable) device I could find that met my criteria.
I've only been using it for a few days, but this is what I've noticed:
1. The optical output from my PC was surprisingly noisy. I'm pretty sure it was my PC because when I muted the PC, the optical input channel went silent (could be a noise gate though?) Not sure what is going on, but that was disappointing.
2. I installed the USB drivers and went USB. Now I'm sold. There is no system noise until you hit max volume and even then, it's barely there.
3. Music, especially things like acoustic guitar and vocals sound amazing. Crystal clear and cleaner than anything I can recall hearing. I really like the sound of the Orb speakers but I'm also wondering what a step up might look like.
4. This little $200ish box takes up a lot less room than even a compact/slim receiver and for desktop audio, I think it might be the perfect device for many or most people.
Massdrop has these all the time for $200 plus $9 shipping - I got impatient and ordered the version on Amazon that comes with some little speakers for $250 delivered.
It's worth checking out if you're looking for a desktop audio system.