[AllenMcD]

Greetings!
   I am an audio enthusiast from the Great State of Texas and retired member of the US Army, currently working in the rail industry. My focus is primarily my enjoyment of music, not necessarily trying to afford the best I can get or the newest gadget. I am delving into the DIY speaker arena and recently purchased several items from Schiit audio and GRResearch. My current set up includes:
Schiit Freya preamp
Schiit Vidar amp (currently single, but ogling a monoblock upgrade)
Schiit Mani/Loki and AudiTechnica mid grade turntable
Speakers are Klipsch R8000F's with the wonderful "fix" kit from GRResearch (really made a huge difference).
My sub is a Bic America (go ahead, I know its not an "audio grade" sub, that will be on my short list of upgrades. Planning a GRResearch DIY servo kit)

   My current "dac" is an EVGA Nu Audio card in my computer (it has an AKM4497 on board, single, and RCA/Optical?coax outs, so way better than previous "sound cards"). I am looking for an outboard, balanced dac in the quest to utilize the Freya as it was intended, in a balanced environment. Any notes from those more experienced are welcome.

[ArthurDent]

Greetings & Welcome to AC Allen   

[Wind Chaser]

Hi Allen,

Welcome to Audio Circle.

[Blackmore]

Welcome Allen

[Phil A]

Welcome!

[JLM]

Have a NAD M10 "stream amplifier" an all-in-one streamer, DAC, preamp, power amp, etc.  But the previous DAC I tried was a Schiit Gungnir Multi-Bit.  It and a Freya didn't sound any better than a $900 DSPeaker Anti-Mode 2.0 Dual Core DAC, preamp, bass DSP no matter what combination of setups I tried.  And recently a friend stopped by with a 20 year old Sony SACD he was selling on.  We compared it to the M10 (running a flash drive) as a transport via optical and as a CDP using the same well recorded CD each time.  Could barely tell a difference.  But I'm old and a speaker guy.  So don't over spend. 

[AllenMcD]

I tend to agree after listening to several JLM, I settled on a Topping D70. I could not tell a difference between it and several more expensive units, and the features it provided fit my needs. I enjoy vinyl and am building a collection, but I primarily stream live performances and concerts. I really love seeing the iconic greats that i was never able to see in person, and so much new music is being released online instead of through a label. I have to put in another plug for the kit from GRResearch for the Klipsch RP8000F's, really made an audible difference.