Sorry to resurrect this thread, but my a500+hub arrived the day before yesterday.
It needs some firmware updating - took a couple of minutes - and I'm still waiting for some stands to arrive, but setup was relatively painless. I'm using a USB cable from a computer to the hub for connection, and after some initial dropping in and out (resolved with the firmware and by relocating my router) it seems to be running very smoothly.
In terms of how it sounds, I'm still "testing", but the difference in sound quality and quantity compared to the previous setup (same computer => CA DACMagic Plus => Rotel power amp => DM2 speakers) is spectacular. Base is more than plentiful, controlled, defined, etc. Highs and Mids are clear, sharp, and the sound all blends well together. Overall, I'm pleased as punch with the system.
Update some 4hrs after initial post: I've spend a large part of the afternoon ignoring a video conference, listening to the new system. Ive found myself doing what I did when I got my last set of IEMs, a Chord Mojo, and some high res files: I'm listening to 3/4 of a track and dashing off to find another one to see how that sounds. Half of that one and on to something completely different to see what that is like, then remembering that I'd wondered about this or that recording and wondered what it "really" sounded like, and so on. I, quite honestly, haven't felt this excited about a new toy in some years (which says nothing good about new cars, shotguns, watches, etc. from the last 5/6 years). I've got a massive smile on my face, nothing that I've listened to yet has made me question the decision. And this is before the speakers are run in, before I've played with the master tunings, before I've played with room correction, etc. I'm using the DM2s as stands (with some Auralic foam wedges to isolate), and haven't really stopped to point them properly, or work out where the armchair needs to go...
The one fly in the ointment is Audirvana. The USB connection passes volume control to the player, but the scale seems to be off. To make the sound sociable with other people in the house the Audirvana audio control is at about 1/20th power - as low as I can get it. When others were out earlier I got it to about 1/5th power. I'm sure the speakers can keep going, but my ears and the house probably won't. Switching quickly to Youtube - fastest audio source to hand, it's a lot easier; a more normal scale. Will need to do some reading into how to deal with this. A frustration, but not enough of one to wipe the smile from my face.
It needs some firmware updating - took a couple of minutes - and I'm still waiting for some stands to arrive, but setup was relatively painless. I'm using a USB cable from a computer to the hub for connection, and after some initial dropping in and out (resolved with the firmware and by relocating my router) it seems to be running very smoothly.
In terms of how it sounds, I'm still "testing", but the difference in sound quality and quantity compared to the previous setup (same computer => CA DACMagic Plus => Rotel power amp => DM2 speakers) is spectacular. Base is more than plentiful, controlled, defined, etc. Highs and Mids are clear, sharp, and the sound all blends well together. Overall, I'm pleased as punch with the system.
Update some 4hrs after initial post: I've spend a large part of the afternoon ignoring a video conference, listening to the new system. Ive found myself doing what I did when I got my last set of IEMs, a Chord Mojo, and some high res files: I'm listening to 3/4 of a track and dashing off to find another one to see how that sounds. Half of that one and on to something completely different to see what that is like, then remembering that I'd wondered about this or that recording and wondered what it "really" sounded like, and so on. I, quite honestly, haven't felt this excited about a new toy in some years (which says nothing good about new cars, shotguns, watches, etc. from the last 5/6 years). I've got a massive smile on my face, nothing that I've listened to yet has made me question the decision. And this is before the speakers are run in, before I've played with the master tunings, before I've played with room correction, etc. I'm using the DM2s as stands (with some Auralic foam wedges to isolate), and haven't really stopped to point them properly, or work out where the armchair needs to go...
The one fly in the ointment is Audirvana. The USB connection passes volume control to the player, but the scale seems to be off. To make the sound sociable with other people in the house the Audirvana audio control is at about 1/20th power - as low as I can get it. When others were out earlier I got it to about 1/5th power. I'm sure the speakers can keep going, but my ears and the house probably won't. Switching quickly to Youtube - fastest audio source to hand, it's a lot easier; a more normal scale. Will need to do some reading into how to deal with this. A frustration, but not enough of one to wipe the smile from my face.
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