Krell, Dali, PS audio - less video, more audio

[Ulvinn]

What better way to enter the forum than to flash the home altar.

I've recently joined the streaming cult, sold off a Krell PDS20 and Audio Analogue Maestro CD player and replaced it with a HTPC solution. Many of my CD's are beginning to show signs of heavy overuse, so HTPC seems like the best solution to keep my collection intact. But that hasn't been a bad idea, I'm quite surprised about the quality you can get from a good HTPC build and external DAC.

Source: HTPC with m2tech Hi Face BNC output, flac files with foobar/wasapi
Speakers: Dali Grand
Preamp: Krell KRC 3
Amp: Krell KSA 300s
DAC: PS Audio digital link III
Speaker cables: Kimber 4 and 8TC
IC's: Synergistic Research Kaleidoscope MK1 and 2

Dali grand speakers have an impressive dynamic range, they have a tendency to go very deep, but without making the low ends smeared or slow. The Krell setup further enhances that, the amp delivers a punch that goes very well with Dali Grand's sonic impression. PS Audio's DAC is together with the HTPC a new addition, it has a very warm sound and doesn't sound edgy as I've found as a problem with many external DAC's. It has in my setup beaten both Benchmark DAC1 and Ayre. The PS Audio DAC has been modified with Cullen stage 4 mod, and the RCA output has been replaced with BNC.

Pictures could be of better quality, but it'll have to do for now.

The Krell amplifier has a weight of 70 kg and gets tremendously hot, so finding some furniture to place it all on has been difficult. This is a quick DIY solution untill I find something better suited. The bottom shelve rests on rubber pads, it was easier to support the entire shelve than finding something for the amp alone (place is limited). Due to the weight of the amp and wooden shelve, no vibrations whatsoever travels through the amp and DAC.

The HTPC can be seen on the left, it was a bastardly little cabinet to build up, but I like the size of it. It doesn't look like a PC untill you take a close look and notice the USB outputs on it. It's passively cooled and the HD is surrounded by rubber plates, all in all a very silent running system.

Kimber cables, not much to say - they do the job.

The belly of the beast. Not a construction with simplicity in mind. I fear the day when repairs might become necessary, but that aside the Krell is an enjoyable amp.

Foobar in action, managing a larger music collection isn't hard once you move away from the default look/setup.

 

[adk highlander]

Very Nice. Very high quality gear. I really like Dali's. I've never heard that particular model but I'm sure they are quite good.

 

[jamie2112]

Nice room very clean..........me likey

 

[MidnightSensi]

Excellent!!!

Would you mind telling me more about your HTPC and Foobar?

I think I might go that way eventually.

What kind of case is that?

Do you have a remote for the HTPC?

 

[Ulvinn]

Excellent!!!

Would you mind telling me more about your HTPC and Foobar?

I think I might go that way eventually.

What kind of case is that?

Do you have a remote for the HTPC?

My first decision when building the HTPC was, aside from the cabinet, what I would use as output. I don't put much stock into on-board solutions, they are often too cheaply build. I decided on an m2tech Hi Face http://www.m2tech.biz/products.html for 4 major reasons; it's fairly inexpensive and is available with BNC output (eliminates the difference in ohm on RCA connections and coax cables), it's async - helps to reduce jitter and it has galvanic separation from the PC meaning ground loop caused by TV antenna and the PC itself won't become a problem and lastly it supports 192/24 output without relying on upsampling. The m2tech plastic whistle requires NEC USB chips in order to work properly, so the motherboard had to have that together with an onboard GFX card big enough so that an add-on card wouldn't be necessary (one less fan to worry about + lower power consumption).

Next hurdle was power supply. I've used a modified external HFX power supply (added an internal mains filter to it), which is rated at 300W, so it was necessary to keep things a bit simple. The CPU is one of the new "E" dual cores from AMD, at full load they only draw 65W and runs very cool, making it possible to use passive cooling. It's a 2.7 gig processor, my system is powerfull enough to run 1080p movies, but consumes 1/3 power of a normal gaming rig. In order to use a power supply with passive cooling (yet another fan out of the way), it's hard to push it much higher than 300W.

And lastly the DAC. In far too many HTPC setups I've heard the sound is very hard and cold. The PS Audio DAC has a very warm sound and is still very detailed and able to deliver a fast attack. Perfect match for the Dali's and Krell. It doesn't run async, but my plan was never to use its USB input anyways, the result with m2tech and coax is far better than USB and less prone to jitter problems.

The cabinet is a HFX mini cabinet, made in Europe so it might be hard to find if you live on the other side of the great atlantic pond. I only have a danish link for it, but it's made by mCubed in germany, so it should be easy to find their website http://hfx.dk/hfxmini.htm

I'm still looking for a good solution on remote controls, right now I'm using a Logitech DiNovo Edge http://www.logitech.com/en-za/keyboards/keyboard/devices/192 It works, but it isn't optimal.

Foobar requires a hefty makeover in order to get the result I have. Let me know if you go down that road, then I can you some tips on how to do it. One important thing to do from the very start is to install either Wasapi or Asio plugin so that you can bypass winows own mixer and send the signal untampered to your output.

 

[Ulvinn]

Very Nice. Very high quality gear. I really like Dali's. I've never heard that particular model but I'm sure they are quite good.

Dali has made 3 truly great speakers. Dali Megaline which is in the same pricerange as a small yacht, Dali Euphonia MS5 which caters to those wanting a bit more than domes and lastly Dali Grand. Grand is a dynamic monster BUT they require a lot of power before they start to shine. It's hard to see on my pictures, but it really is a beautifull piece of furniture at the same time. I'll try to get a better one posted. In my opinion, this is when you look at price vs sound (about 5000 $ from new), the best speaker that has ever been produced in Denmark. Unfortunately it's no longer in production.

 

[its phillip]

Very nice setup. I actually really liked the default foobar configuration for handling my library, never really cared for all the skins and custom uis.

 

[Ulvinn]

Very nice setup. I actually really liked the default foobar configuration for handling my library, never really cared for all the skins and custom uis.

The default setup isn't bad, but it is a bit lacking (matter of taste perhaps). One big minus for me was fontsize and "box" layout. My sofa is placed about 4 meters from my TV, the mod I use make it easier on the eyes when controlling it from a distance. If you use a laptop or rely purely on remote controls, then that won't be as much an issue as it was for me. I've also made it a bit easier to navigate the collection, usefull if you have drunken buddies with zero computer skills visiting.

 

[its phillip]

Haha, yeah. That's understandable. I don't use a laptop or remote controls, just my computer...which I sit in front of while using it

 

[ObeliskAG]

Foobar

Foobar requires a hefty makeover in order to get the result I have. Let me know if you go down that road, then I can you some tips on how to do it. One important thing to do from the very start is to install either Wasapi or Asio plugin so that you can bypass winows own mixer and send the signal untampered to your output.

Your Foobar skin looks really cool. Would you be interested in sharing it, or providing some tips on getting those kind of results?

 

[Ulvinn]

Your Foobar skin looks really cool. Would you be interested in sharing it, or providing some tips on getting those kind of results?

I can guide you through some of the things I've done. I'm out of the country this week and writing from my cell phone, so a detailed guide to what I've done might have to wait untill next week. But, start with a skin called "Dark One", it can be found at deviantart.com. You still need to tweak some things appart from what the skin does for you - things like song texts won't work without adding a few exta bits and pieces. I've also modified the equalizer so that single songs can be corrected without having to apply equalizer to the entire library - I ususally stear clear of equalizers, I'm a bit of a purist on that point, but it can be helpfull when dealing with recordings that have taken the loudness war to a step where it becomes virtually static noise.