I wanted a system for my office to play music from my mac. Here's what I ended up with:
- Cambridge Audio DACMagic 100 - on sale at Richer Sounds in London earlier this year for ~$160
- Emotiva Fusion Flex Amp - $250
- Gale Reference Monitors, Sound Organization speaker stands and misc cables from my crawl space
The DAC came with an internationalized power supply (voltage and plug) so it works in the states. My plan was to buy a used integrated but a friend recommended I try the Emotiva amp (which has a 30 day return policy so low risk). I've had the system for three days and honestly I am blown away by how good it sounds. If anything it's a little on the bright side, but sounds very accurate and responsive. A big part of it is the speakers, which I've had for ~20 years and which I don't believe are made any more.
