sometime in the next 6 months, i hope to be completely replacing my entire computer setup, and as using mj to listen to music mostly obtained as 128bps mp3s, want to really spend on the sound side of my new computer. as i am not a gamer, i do not feel i need the top performance graphics stuff i find most top end pcs want you to include in their configurations, and as most of my education in qulity sound reproduction comes from sound engineering, live performance, (i am a proffessional musician and music teacher), and top end hi fi, when i surf around trying to find a way of recording,(inc live/multitrack recording), and listening to music does not seem to translate into useful knowledge to guide me in choosing and configuring a new pc, or choosing software for it. (in this case, i have no knowledge of what is, or is not, compatible with mj). i am a computer newbie, and only vaguely understand how they process sound, but believe that at least one issue i need to address is how to continue with p2p, but get the highest bitrates possible. i used to use audiogalaxy until the riaa got hold of them, and recently switched to kazaalite, but as by then my 4gig hard drive was full, i have had no chance to evaluate it properly. Qi listen mostly to jazzrock/jazzfusion).
my understanding of hifi teaches me that ensuring top quality source material must come first, that physically separating the functions of pramplification from power amplification results in better sound, and that keeping the preamps power supply away from the circuitry responsible for source reading, and raising this to line level, whilst keeping the connections short result in better sound, and that going through as few processing stages as possible from there to the speakers, via a power amp stage that has as much headroom as possible,(trusting the fact that the guys in the recording studio, with access to equipment costing far more than the average hi fi buff can afford knew what they were doing when they stereomastered the original, and the task of hifi reproduction is simply to as faithfully as possible reproduce that sound with as little attenuation as possible), but have yet to hear of any pc supplier/ software designers who put this philosophy into practice.
top end pcs seem to me as i surf around to be designed for power gamers, not audiophiles like me.
i wish to make my new pc the heart of my listening and recording environment, so real hi fi sound, at all stages of reproduction is what i most want from it. anyone spotting useful websites, knowing pc suppliers who specialize in catering to guys like me, or who know groovy software that i might be interested in, providing that software is known not to conflict with mj, please post your suggestions to me. as a reference for those who know hifi, i used to have a linn sondek lp12, with ekos arm, k18 mm cartridge, linn lk1 preamp, linn lk280 poweramp, linn isobarik speakers, and i am hoping to get as close to that quality of sound from my new pc setup. i sold that system for £3000, with a lot of extras thrown in, and have about £4500 to spend on my new system. but i dont know what that is in dollars.
a budget system recommended to me by a local supplier, which i hope to better, is given below, and represents the best compromize i have come up with so far.
amd 1800|PLS|cpu
2fi via board msi sdram motherboard
geforce11 64mb graphics card
256 pc133 sdram
2x 60 gig hdd
soundblaster audigy platinum soundcard
32x cdrw
16x dvd
low noise fan
56k v92 pc1 modem
atx midi case
c60 epson 2800dpi printer
19 inch crt monitor
creative inspire 5.1 speakers
keyboard, mouse
operating system supplied by me (WINDOWS98SE)
transfer of data and operating system from present computer to new one( to keep all my mp3s, and purchased and licensed software, but put it all on the new pc)
total cost......£1150.
anyone improving on this system for sound reproduction, please post your ideas, relevant weblinks to reviews/suppliers, for instance4, are klipsch 5.1s better than creatives best, are jbls better still? etc.......thanks for patiently reading all this, i greatly anticipate any advice or suggestions/ideas.
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Topic: help me design my dream computer around mj (Read 1907 times)