[Hausera]

Greetings

I'm not very audio file savvy. I have a Bryston 4B-ST that I bought with a small budget. I cannot afford the preamp and DAC that I want, so in the meantime I'm going to be using my desktop headphone amp/DAC.  It is a Aune X1S.  Here is a link to Aune's X1S page:

http://en.auneaudio.com/index.php?s=Home/Article/detail/id/97.html

Can someone tell me the cable or cables that I need to buy in order to connect to my Bryston?  I will also need to know what Cable I need to connect my SVS 2000 sub woofer please. 

http://www.svsound.com/products/sb-2000

Thank you,

Adam

[srb]

Adam,

The cable that would connect the X1s to the 4BST is a standard stereo pair of RCA to RCA cables from the Audio Out on the Aune to the RCA Unbalanced Inputs on the Bryston.

HOWEVER, although the Audio Out on the X1s is marked neither Fixed or Variable and there is no mention of it in the Owner's Manual, from what I can gather from other sources, the outputs are fixed, meaning the front panel volume control only controls the headphone output.

You can likely use the software volume control on your computer's player, but you will have to be VERY careful to know what volume it's set at as you would have the potential to unleash the full volume of the 4BST into your speakers accidentally.

The SVS sub has no high-level speaker inputs, so you would need to use RCA Y-adapters on the X1s outputs to split to the sub with another stereo pair of RCA to RCA cables into the sub's L/R line inputs.  I don't know how well splitting the output between the amp and sub will work on this particular DAC.

It's possibly doable, but I would be a little nervous about having no physical volume control for safety, and computers .... well, you know .... 

Steve

[Hausera]

I overlooked the fixed vs. variable.  Well, that's just too fragile  Especially since I'm indulgent to my 13 yo daughter to play her music too.  She respects the equipment but that's just too much to ask.

That being the case I know I can research this but is there a good preamp/DAC or some configuration that could be a decent buy used?  I also want to hook either an airport or a squeezebox into it as well.  I appreciate the help Steve very much

thanks
Adam

[Hausera]

I understand that a passive preamp or a DAC with volume control could do it and not cost a ton. 
That being the case can you recommend a DAC with volume control thats not too expensive?  I would want to be able to get a wireless receiver that I can use with Tidal.  Tidal is compatible with Sonos, Bluesound, or Squeezebox.  While I'm at it, is Bluesound and Squeezebox better than Sonos and which is preferred?

[srb]

My first thought was to put a desktop passive volume control knob between your DAC and amp.  Emotiva has one called the Control Freak ($50) but for some reason are currently only listing the balanced XLR version. There are a few vendors that might still have some stock of the RCA version.

TC Electronic has the Level Pilot, but again, balanced XLR only.

Schiit has the SYS, a passive volume control in a 5" x 3.5" x 1.25" box (with 2 analog inputs for $50) but I don't know how good the volume pot is (could be)?

Your Aune X1s has (1) USB, (1) Coax and (1) Optical.  Is that enough for the sources you will have?  For example, after the USB computer input, might you have two other sources that each only have optical outputs?

There are a couple other topics going on where a DAC w/ volume control or DAC/preamp are being discussed.  I don't know what your budget is, but I would guess you would need to spend ~$500 for something else, such as the Emotiva DC-1 ($500).  Although it has remote control and an analog input, there is only one optical input (and two coaxial inputs).

So figure out what number and type of inputs you will need, but maybe for now, an inexpensive "safety net" volume control would get you by?

Steve

[Hausera]

I will have the Bryston 4B-ST, the Aune (possibly), the SVS 2000 sub, and I have to pick between bluesound or squeezebox to steam tidal. I'm going to stick to Tidal right now only no cd no vinyl. I got back into music bc of Spotify after many years and hadn't any LPs or CDs left.

[Hausera]

Stream with an iPhone that is

[Hausera]

Would this work?

Iphone Tidal stream to Bluesound Node to Aune X1S headphone amp/DAC to passive preamp to Bryston 4B-ST?

Thank you,

Adam

[srb]

Yes, that would work.  Although the Bluesound Node 2 has the aptX Bluetooth codec, the Apple devices do not yet incorporate aptX at this point like the higher end HTC, LG, Motorola, Samsung, etc. devices do.

I assume you will also have the Bluesound connected to a network, wireless or wired?  (I would think so, otherwise you wouldn't need a streamer, just a Bluetooth receiver).  If so, you will likely be able to get somewhat better sound quality via Wi-Fi than Bluetooth, as well as have a much greater distance range, while still controlling the device with an app from your phone.

Either way, my preferred first choice would be to connect the Bluesound to your DAC with the coaxial output, using a 75 ohm digital RCA interconnect (vs. the optical output), unless you need the DAC's coaxial input for something else.

Steve

[Hausera]

Thanks SRB - I really appreciate the cable help and the will it work help.  I haven't bought the Node yet.  I was planning on the Node because it's compatible with Tidal.  The other streamers that I know about that are compatible with Tidal are Sonos and Squeezebox.  There are others but I think that these three are the ones that fall within the budget range.

This is Tidal's list of devices (scroll down) that they are linked with.  If there are other choices on there that are worth considering that are under 500 then please let me know.

http://tidal.com/us/download

Is the Node 2 aptX Bluetooth codec the difference between that and the Node 1?  Or are there other good reasons to choose the 2 over the 1 because I wouldn't mind saving the extra cash if I just want to stream wifi from Tidal.  I just don't want to give up on a big sound quality difference.

thank you

Adam

[srb]

Is the Node 2 aptX Bluetooth codec the difference between that and the Node 1?  Or are there other good reasons to choose the 2 over the 1 because I wouldn't mind saving the extra cash if I just want to stream wifi from Tidal.  I just don't want to give up on a big sound quality difference.

The biggest differences between the Node 2 and the Node is that the Node 2 added
  Bluetooth
  Coaxial S/PDIF Output
  Slimline Case (vs. the larger funky form factor of the previous Node)

It also has a few other new added connectivity options such
  Subwoofer Output (RCA)
  Headphone output (3.5mm)
  Digital/Analog Input (combination mini-TOSLINK optical / 3.5mm analog stereo)
  IR extender jack

The specs are similar, but the addition of the Coaxial S/PDIF output may give it a slight edge in sound quality, depending on the DAC, etc. and the Bluetooth gives it some extra functionality.

I'm not sure that there are any other (non-DIY) streamers that offer any more at or below the price point.  It seems to be a pretty solid device.

Steve

[JfTM]

If you go back to looking for a DAC/Preamp Look at the Grant Fidelity TubeDAC-11.

I picked one up for my computer based office system and am very pleased with it.

Review here http://www.head-fi.org/t/603086/review-grant-fidelity-tubedac-11

GF often has sales (just checked and they do now) 

http://shop.grantfidelity.com/Grant-Fidelity-TubeDAC-11-D-A-Converter.html