saketgyani
Active Member
I’m now inclined towards assembling a budget HTPC and buying Schiit Modi to play music and films.
All in the near future.
All in the near future.
1st Stereo setup for around ₹50000
- Thread starter saketgyani
- Start date
arunkvivek
Well-Known Member
Congrats!!! Have you filled the stands with sand? If not, do that for improved results.. speakers toppling wouldn't be an issue.. you can also put an elastic around speaker and stand so that they don't 'accidently' fall.
saketgyani
Active Member
Elastic is a great idea!
Shall get some sand this week and fill.
Haha you are on a good track
However I think the arrival of good legal streaming options - Netflix, Prime, Hotstar etc - have reduced the use case for HTPC
It is a fair bit of work "sourcing" the media you want to watch.
saketgyani
Active Member
True that!Haha you are on a good track
However I think the arrival of good legal streaming options - Netflix, Prime, Hotstar etc - have reduced the use case for HTPC
It is a fair bit of work "sourcing" the media you want to watch.
Not that I have a massive library of films to watch, I rely on my chromecast to stream Netflix, Hotstar, Spotify and YouTube.
Want an HTPC as I want a DAC. My TV doesn’t have digital outputs. Only RCA. I’d hate to part with this old Panasonic TV as it renders colours very well. It is not calibrated but it’s in a very good ballpark of acceptable colours and when compared to the newer budget models by Vu and Mi it seems far superior.
If I get an HTPC, I can route the video to my tv using HDMI cable. I can route the sound to a DAC using USB which will be connected to my integrated amp.
I believe this will significantly improve the SQ.
What do you think?
If you do not have your own media library, then is the upgrade worth the cost ?
Assuming you are going to continue watch the streaming services, only via the HTPC instead of Chromecast/Firestick, then you are going to be paying for a HTPC for nothing, plus a DAC (high quality ones cost a fair bit) to get a sound upgrade.
I think an Android set top box, with optical out is a better option, rather than HTPC. It will be much cheaper, would play all the streaming content fine and you can connect the optical out to your DAC and get better audio
saketgyani
Active Member
This also sounds like a good idea.
Thanks!
Shall research more about it and choose what serves the best purpose.
arunkvivek
Well-Known Member
I am tempted to point you to Acoustic Portrait's Swara DAC which is Raspberry Pi based. You get DAC and a media player as well. Everybody uses it for Audio playback but Pi can do video playback as well (although 4K is not possible). @Rosenarayanappa has acquired it recently. You can interact with him to understand the feedback and then decide.
saketgyani
Active Member
Checked it out on their website.
Seems like the only thing I’ll need for now.
But too expensive.
I was thinking more on the lines of Schiit Modi 3 for $99 and an android box or a basic HTPC for ₹5000.
Cost difference between Swara and android box + modi DAC is around ₹7000 which is manageable, but I don’t know.
I’ve pissed off my partner a lot these months by spending time and money on ‘audio’ things. She’ll be sulking for months if I spend ₹23000 on Swara right now.
Thanks for suggesting it to me but it seems, I’d wait for a couple of months, give my girlfriend some attention. While I also research about the streaming solution and adding a DAC (inbuilt or external) between my source and amp.
Cheers!
arunkvivek
Well-Known Member
I can empathize. Need to gift my wife something special this anniversary and get an AP based SS setup in place. I have been referring to AP's devices to many folks for the past couple of years (since my audition of their Swara amp) but never have been able to save enough to buy. Now, I have moved over to Full ranger and tube based setup and do not see an opportunity to buy their SS gears for primary setup.
Rosenarayanappa
Active Member
Unfortunately I'm Still to get rca cable. Might get one for cheap to start with until I buy a proper cable.
saketgyani
Active Member
Talking of cheap, I’m using Amazon Basics RCA interconnects.
saketgyani
Active Member
Please update on your view of Swara once you get the cables and are all set!
Thanks!
forever.pramod
Active Member
As per your suggestion - it should be CAN, Am I correct?
Rosenarayanappa
Active Member
Sorry, almost forgot about this thread. All i have got to compare against is the Google CCA streaming tidal or Amazon music versus Swara.
Love the details of Swara. Haven't compared with any other Dacs so don't know the relative strength of it.
saketgyani
Active Member
Hello!
I think I'll buy a network streamer with an inbuilt DAC in a month.
Acoustic Portrait Swara M2rPi is for ₹23000.
In a similar cost I can buy Marantz NA6005.
I can use the Marantz as a standalone DAC as well.
Do you think it would be wiser to go with Marantz?
arunkvivek
Well-Known Member
It depends on your taste & preference. Are you somebody who wouldn't mind clutter for the sake of that extra ounce of audiogasm or would prefer to keep an all-in-one box and save personal relationships. Since you have Marantz amplifier, NA6005 makes sense. There is also Stereo receiver launched by Denon. I think one of the FMs has purchased it. You can save some more money and wait for feedback as it seems to be one stop hifi solution.
Pavan Shahi
New Member
I am also looking for Dali Zensor 1 bookshelf and Dalis Zensor center speaker. I am based in Mumbai can you suggest where i can get audition
Congrats on your purchase. Since you like music & movies 50 : 50, would suggest you to go for a nice subwoofer whenever your budget would permit. It will take your enjoyment to another level since the Zensor 1 won't be able to give you full range bass owing to its small size.
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