[abongiov]

Hello Guys,

I have never done any DIY, no experience in soldering and don’t own a solder iron or a multimeter.

I am thinking about making the jump into DIY for 3 reasons:
1. I’d like to build an all-in-one case, not very audiophile but such a high WAF
2. I hope to get better sound for the same buck
3. Pure pride of building it myself and having something kind of unique

My actual system is Creek Evolution 2 CD player and Creek Evolution 2 integrated amp for music and Roku through Beresford TC7510 to Creek Evo 2 amp for Movies. Speakers are brand new Songtower with RAAL tweeter.

I’d like in the future to go Discless and will do it with a Squeezebox Touch. So, I’d like to build a dac-integrated amplifier with an optical digital input for the Roku and a RCA digital input for the Touch. Since I am a lazy guy, the volume control has to be remotely done. Hopefully switching input too but I can do without it. I don’t need the remote itself, I already own a Logitech Harmony.

Ideally I’d love to have a second RCA digital input and an input that bypass the DAC part. Am I asking too much?

For the Amp part I am pretty sure I’ll go with a Class D 2x250 in 4 Ohm (SDS 258 I think).
The pre/switching inputs part, it will be either a Pass B1 (cheaper and allows me to exercise soldering on cheap parts) or a DODD buffer (much more pricey).
I am kind of stuck in the DAC part, so far I only see the Opus DAC that seems like a viable option but I am open to any suggestion.

The part were I have absolutely no idea is the remote control thing.
I have like a thousand questions but before going there I want to have your thoughts on this project.
Does it seems viable or am I just kidding myself and should I just buy a standalone DAC when I buy the SB Touch and stick with the Creek?

Thanks

[I.Greyhound Fan]

Buy a stand alone DAC, there are so many good choices for reasonable prices with multiple inputs-Digital coax, optical, USB.  What is your budget for a DAC?

[abongiov]

Greyhound,

If I go for a stand alone DAC I'll limit my budget to $1000. I know there is a huge amount of choices in that price range. The think is a lot of those have USB and/or headphone amp or other function that I'm not interested in.
I got into that idea because I wanted a second system and found out about the Class D amp in the Cheap and Cheerfull circle. Starting from there I was questioning if I could build something tailored to my need and get a better sound of my actual setup.

Thanks for your answer. I'll be happy to hear your recommandations for standalone DAC. Probably in a PM since it will be off topic relative to the circle.