Solved AUDIRVĀNA (and other audio related chitchat)

Edwin said:

Plugged everything into my NAD..., too many additional dirty connections but, it'll do for now, til I can come up with a better solution.

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So does it work with your PC? Can you play files from your PC through it? How is it connected - USB or cables from the soundcard?

Dru2 said:

So does it work with your PC? Can you play files from your PC through it? How is it connected - USB or cables from the soundcard?

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- DragonFly USB DAC from PC to a line level Video Audio-In on the NAD, (3.5mm to RCA)
- Rotel to CD-In on the NAD
- Main out from NAD to Mirage Sub, (RCA to RCA) then from the sub to the Edifiers via a variable by-pass

Sounds okay, actually. Probably a substantial signal loss re-routing the DAC twice, though.

I say dirty connections cuz the NAD is, after all, over 30 years old, even though I spent about an hour with a box of Q-Tips, Rubbing Alcohol and a couple cans of compressed air!

Edwin said:

- DragonFly USB DAC from PC to a line level Video Audio-In on the NAD, (3.5mm to RCA)
- Rotel to CD-In on the NAD
- Main out from NAD to Mirage Sub, (RCA to RCA) then from the sub to the Edifiers via a variable by-pass

Sounds okay, actually. Probably a substantial signal loss re-routing the DAC twice, though.

I say dirty connections cuz the NAD is, after all, over 30 years old, even though I spent about an hour with a box of Q-Tips, Rubbing Alcohol and a couple cans of compressed air!

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You might also consider the "possible" strain on the Dragonfly. I say possible as I'm sure that wasn't part of the design use when the Dragonfly devices were manufactured.

And contrary to some popular FUD, a lot of older stereo equipment is still in use today and still performs rather well as seen in this thread in this example - Post photos of your systems/rooms here! (Part 15)

Dru2 said:

You might also consider the "possible" strain on the Dragonfly. I say possible as I'm sure that wasn't part of the design use when the Dragonfly devices were manufactured.

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I thought the same thing, like it might create some kind of an impedance bottleneck, or something!
Manual says she's good to go...

Cool

I changed it up again, the pre-amp setup was too convoluted!
I plugged the Rotel directly into the Edifier's, as, by gosh, by golly, the Edifier's have an RCA Aux In! Oversight on my part!
Doesn't sound real great though, cuz, depending on the CD, the Edifier's, on their own, don't have enough oomph!!!

The DragonFly remains directly connected to the Mirage/Edifier combo.

Only thing I regret about the Edifier's, there isn't a physical front facing volume knob!

(I don't know what's with aspect ratio on my phone's camera but, the 2 outside monitors look stupid large!!!)

Edwin said:

I changed it up again, the pre-amp setup was too convoluted!

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I should also mention..., due to the lack of appropriate interconnecting cables, the placement of the various components, and other contributing factors..., the power of the Mirage sub, depending again on the choice of CD, was making the Rotel skip like crazy!!! Whaddaya gonna do, eh?

Edwin said:

I changed it up again, the pre-amp setup was too convoluted!
I plugged the Rotel directly into the Edifier's, as, by gosh, by golly, the Edifier's have an RCA Aux In! Oversight on my part!
Doesn't sound real great though, cuz, depending on the CD, the Edifier's, on their own, don't have enough oomph!!!

The DragonFly remains directly connected to the Mirage/Edifier combo.

Only thing I regret about the Edifier's, there isn't a physical front facing volume knob!

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Honesty the lack of inputs on Dragonfly is what's hindering your enjoyment of the CD player and causing headaches. There are numerous DACs on the market that support multiple inputs and will provide you what you want. And trust me, you get one of those, and you'll come to realize how lacking that Dragonfly is. It's ok, but... And trust me, your Edifiers may even sound better.

Anyway, I'm not advertising you spend a thousand on a DAC, there are plenty out there for half that, and less that'll support multiples inputs. It just comes down to features and what you want - built in headphone amp for example.

Anyway, doesn't those speakers come with a remote to control volume?

Edwin said:

(I don't know what's with aspect ratio on my phone's camera but, the 2 outside monitors look stupid large!!!)

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Nothing wrong with the camera, it's just the perspective of the image before it. Anyway, there is software such as Photoshop or Adobe lightroom that can transform that, but it can also make things look worse. You could try shooting at a different angle, but...

Edwin said:

I should also mention..., due to the lack of appropriate interconnecting cables, the placement of the various components, and other contributing factors..., the power of the Mirage sub, depending again on the choice of CD, was making the Rotel skip like crazy!!! Whaddaya gonna do, eh?

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Uh, not put the CD player near any vibrating sources

It's why I paid for longer cables and placed mine on a desk that isn't prone to being interfered with by the subwoofer (space was also an issue).

Dru2 said:

Honesty the lack of inputs on Dragonfly is what's hindering your enjoyment of the CD player and causing headaches. There are numerous DACs on the market that support multiple inputs and will provide you what you want. And trust me, you get one of those, and you'll come to realize how lacking that Dragonfly is. It's ok, but... And trust me, your Edifiers may even sound better.

Anyway, I'm not advertising you spend a thousand on a DAC, there are plenty out there for half that, and less that'll support multiples inputs. It just comes down to features and what you want - built in headphone amp for example.

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I'll get there eventually!

Dru2 said:

Anyway, doesn't those speakers come with a remote to control volume?

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Yeah, but it's this tiny piece of plastic that weighs all of about 2 grams and is half the size of my thumb..., just seems chincy is all.

Dru2 said:

Nothing wrong with the camera, it's just the perspective of the image before it. Anyway, there is software such as Photoshop or Adobe lightroom that can transform that, but it can also make things look worse. You could try shooting at a different angle, but...

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Edwin said:

I'll get there eventually!

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No worries on my part, just pointing out what you may need to get to where you want

Edwin said:

Yeah, but it's this tiny piece of plastic that weighs all of about 2 grams and is half the size of my thumb..., just seems chincy is all.

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I hear you dude, this is mine. Thumb drive for size comparison

Dru2 said:

I hear you dude, this is mine. Thumb drive for size comparison

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LOL! Yup! Mine fell out of the box unpacking, thought it was just a packaging spacer, or something. Darn near kicked it out of the way!

Edwin said:

LOL! Yup! Mine fell out of the box unpacking, thought it was a just packaging spacer, or something. Darn near kicked it out of the way!

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LOL

Been there done that. You're like WTF is this! Then you realize oh, I better keep that

A/B testing a number of selections...,
Everything from the DAC/foobar, (flac files), is flat and full volume, and...,
while the Edifier's have no balls in and of themselves, there is tons of ambience, lots of atmosphere!
Yeah, the sub will rattle the windows, but, there's just no comparison with the CD direct!

Edwin said:

A/B testing a number of selections...,
Everything from the DAC/foobar, (flac files), is flat and full volume, and...,
while the Edifier's have no balls in and of themselves, there is tons of ambience, lots of atmosphere!
Yeah, the sub will rattle the windows, but, there's just no comparison with the CD direct!

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I'm a little confused here - Are you saying you're not getting bass or the bass sub is disconnected because of the CD player?

I've plenty of bass, and as I said earlier, my bass response is actually better as It just seems to extend more from the CD player. There seems to be a cutoff when playing through JRiver, not so much when playing the actual CD through the CD player.

Dru2 said:

I'm a little confused here - Are you saying you're not getting bass or the bass sub is disconnected because of the CD player?

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The sub has RCA R/L Line IN and RCA R/L Line Out..., it works as a by-pass with a Phase Control, a Low Pass filter and Volume Control.
The Edifier's have a PC In and an Aux In.
The DAC comes from the PC via USB to 3.5mm to R/L RCA which goes to the sub Line In..., the sub Line Out goes to the Edifier's PC In, balanced by the sub's by-pass.
The Rotel is directly plugged into the Edifier's Aux In, the Rotel does not go to the sub.

The NAD pre-amp gave me the proper options but is not ideal for my current situation.

I'm sort of at a crossroad...,
#1 - I don't have the proper cables at the proper length
#2 - Putting the sub underneath the Desk would be ideal placement wise but, I just know that will be a bass radiation chamber from hell!!!
there's no where else to put the sub, plus, I don't want to drill a grommet hole in the Desk..., yet!
#3 - I need to isolate the Rotel from vibration and the DAC cable would have to reach the pre-amp..., so yeah, stuff would be all over the place! Not ideal as I'd want everything to be within arms reach when sitting at the PC.

Well, you need to get some cables then

That said, why not have the speakers connect to the sub, and the CD player connected to the Aux in on the speakers. This way the CD player plays through the speakers which also send signals to the sub.

The only issue here than would be both USB and Aux input "selectable" so you can choose either or. I don't think that's possible, but I don't know your speakers. If possible, that would/should work. The other issue is where do you connect the Dragonfly? - Between PC and speakers, or CD and speakers.

Dru2 said:

That said, why not have the speakers connect to the sub, and the CD player connected to the Aux in on the speakers. This way the CD player plays through the speakers which also send signals to the sub.

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The Edifier's don't have a Line Out. The mixture gets done in the sub......

Dru2 said:

The other issue is where do you connect the Dragonfly?

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... that's why the DragonFly goes from PC directly to the sub