Benchmark Dac1 - next step recommendations please

Go to a USB DAC such as the Benchmark DAC1 USB.

While my office audio system is hooked up to my computer, I actually listen to music with a squeezebox 3 -> Musical Fidelity X-DACv8 as a source and have been very happy with the results.

Just added some DH Labs ceramic cones under the DAC1, the large size. After trying a few other things I'm surprised by the improvement of the DH cones. Following the instructions on their web site yielded the best results with a firmer, better defined base and lower mid range.

You can actually have your cake and eat it too. With the I2S interface that Empirical puts on the DAC-1, you can add a USB to I2S converter, or a Sonos, Olive or Squeezebox reclocked through a Pace-Car reclocker. This gives you the most flexibility as well as the lowest jitter. No upsampling either.

If you go with the DAC-1 USB (which is a good product dont get me wrong), you will always go through the upsampler chip and you will have USB as your computer audio interface.

Steve N.
Empirical Audio

Steve,
I am a couple of months away from going to an all computer system. I am remodeling my house so i can run wires,etc as needed. What system would you recommend and should i run usb cables under the floor. Budget is $3000.