Ok guys I can't think of anyone with more knowledge than you guys. I'm very impressed. So that leads me to my Question of where to put my buck's next on one of my two channel setup. Remember I'm a low budget music lover with expensive taste.

Running the following:
Lame encoded MP3's thru a
Auzentech X-Meridan with LM4562 Opamps into a
NAD 1020 Preamp which is a series 20 into a
Hafler 220 into a set of restored
DQ10's

I do like the sound that I have but if there is a reasonable way to improve it without going to CD's or Vinyl (which I no longer have either). Then I would like to try to improve by all means.

Thanks
Terry

i would put the priority on moving away from the mp3's to a lossless format, or even going with uncompressed wav's. even at their highest bit rate, mp3's contain only 1/4th of the data from the original recording.

I would tend to agree with Dingus, but it looks like you have already made a decision concerning your music medium.

Your speakers and power amp are both class acts, and the pre, although not in the same class, probably is good enough for a compressed format like MP3.

I would, therefore, advise you to put your hard earned cash ( I presume ) into the source. Get as much info as you can out of your recordings.

A top sound card ( I have to confess I don´t know much about the subject ) is probably your best bet, if you are really set on sticking to MP3 only.

Member Mark W. has posted invaluable info about his DIY music server. Can´t do much better than that.

Jorge

Dingus is right about mp3. Lossless is the way to go.
You have a very good setup and your soundcard imo is very good, but i need you to answer to a few questions first before i give my opinion.
what kind of comp, SO and player are you using as a source?
Do you only download files or do you ripped some cds also?
Do you have a good ground wire for the comp and audio stuff?

I'm using the "Insane" setting of LAME which is as close as you can come to lossless without going loss-less when ever possible. What about going to 320 bit rate which is suppose to be lossless? Do you guys agree that the 320 bit rate constant not variable is truely lossless?

Most of my new additions to my collections come from a site that I can pick the method and amount of compression.

All my ripping was done years ago with poor equiptment. And I have been slowly replacing them with higher bit rates.

Not sure what you mean by "Good ground wire for the comp". Do you mean inter-connects?

By the way thanks to all who have posted so far. Looks like mutal agreements as to what I need to move to.

Sorry it took so long for me to reply we have been cleaning and I got to get back to it for now.

The other thing that just came to mind is if getting away from the mp3s would be my best step. Then would I be better off going analog since I've heard CD's are also missing some data from the analog source?

mp3 is always lossless regardless of bit rate. imo, by using a compressed format you are not experiencing the detail, clarity and refinement that your system is capable of.

What about CD, SACD, DVD Audio, or Analog. Is it true that only SACD or DVD Audio can be as good as analog? And that CD's are to a small degree not lossless when compairing them to Analog, SACD or DVD Audio?

I guess my point is if I'm going to spend the big dollars that it would take to change formats which one is the best way to go and why?

SACD and DVD audio are generally considered to be superior formats, but cant be ripped like cd's. as to how any of them compare to analog comes down to ones personal preference.

unless i am missing something, the cost of moving to a lossless format shouldnt cost anymore than acquiring the lossless files.

At mp3 Sparks (which charges by file size) 4:30 minutes @ insane LAME 320kbps varible will run $.29 and standard LAME 190kbps varible $.19 so its economical and portable when you have a large appetite for music like I do. But if I will hear a difference when going to a different format then it may be worth getting the components and spending a little more for the media. I quess the question is will I be able to hear the differece. Like I did when I went from the Hartley 2-ways I built to the DQ10's.

I guess one way for me to -*test*-('") the digital format would be to grab one of my 2 channel DVD Audio disc from upstairs. I should be able to at least get an idea how a good CD player would sound maybe? What do you guys think? I have a handful of CD's laying around also but we are talking about a computer drive which I'm sure is no comparision to a decent CD drive. And then there is the analog which I can't -*test*-('") at all.

I'm open to suggestions as far as where to go from here. I really appreciate all the input so far and any more help I can get is very much appreciated.
Thanks

definitely, i think you'll like it.

If you have good hearing, which I presume you have ( you´de be surprised to learn how many people in fact have serious hearing limitations in the audio band ), I believe you´ll like CD´s better than MP3, provided you get a half decent player with a digital output.

In that case, and given the superior quality of your power amp / speakers combo, I´d suggest a pre-amp change in the near future, then followed by one last up-grade going for an external DAC.

As for SACD, I´m a big fan.
I´m a vinyl diehard, for, despite its flawings and limitations, it is still the most natural sounding media to me.

Having said that I would not advise you to follow either route.

Sony, the big name behind SACD, is reportedly dropping it soon, if they already haven´t. The reasons? Too many to go into, here, but in the end it´s all a question of not being profitable. No one gives a damn if the world is left without a high fidelity medium.

Vinyl editions are pretty scarce nowadays, although some artits seem to be issuing simultaneous MP3, CD and LP albums onto the market.
Vinyl should only be considered if you´re ready to thread the very risky path of the used market. A big gamble, I tell you, and one that is likely to drive you into frustration very quickly.
Alternatively you can dip into the super expensive new "audiophile quality" ( whatever that is ) 200grs virgin vinyl re-issues. If you are an avid music consumer that means you´ll have to be pretty wealthy to support the habbit.

Let us know what you decide, will you?

Jorge

From what i read in your posts you're in doubt concerning the right direction to upgrade your system.
IMO you have two choises to make an upgrade (and not spending to much money) :

One is bying a good cdrom, and contrary to what you presume there are some hi end brands that uses cdrom as a transport in their expensive cdplayers, my choice goes to Plextor or Iomega cdrom's. Excelent transports with incredible software.

The other is bying a good cdplayer and my choice goes with no doubt whatsoever to the Oppo DV-970HD universal player.

But remember one thing, IMHO whatever you choose to upgrade your system you must consider two extreme and important issues concerning audio - and i'm talking about things that really upgrades any audio equipment, hi end included - you must have an independent electric circuit from the main electric board to you audio outlets and a good ground if possible independent too from the other grounds of your house appliances'.
This my friend are so basic but really important and it's a shame that so many "audiophools" simply forget these basics things.

I forgot to mention that i don't mean interconnects.
You know, the inside of a computer is electrically a very noisy place, and the power supplies are full of digital noise from the processor, disk drives, and other computer components. Sound cards can transfer that noise into their audio output.
That's why a good wire ground is the most importance in this matter.

Well guys I have done some A,B comparisons. First I sat the sound card to a sample rate of 24 bit. Then bit depth to 192KHz. Which means there is up sampling going on with everything but the DVD Audio. Which I hear you should'nt do but we have to start somewhere.

1st -*test*-('") The Doobie Brothers Dark Eyed Cajun Women DVD Audio 2 channel enhance Vs 320 bit rate LAME encoded MP3.

Results, Right out of the starting gate intro only Both my 6year old son and I both picked the DVD audio hands down no con-*test*-('") here. Night and day difference between the MP3. The MP3 was lacking parts of the musical instruments and the detail compaired to the DVD Audio. WOW big difference!

2nd -*test*-('") Ambrosia Nice Nice, very Nice CD Vs 215 bit rate varible Lame encoded. This MP3 was ripped from the same drive that I'm using to compair it to the original CD. Sony Model DDU1615 DVD-ROM. Not the best drive around probably.
Never the less the intro revealed flaws in the MP3 compaired to the CD. Not as great as the DVD Audio but I could hear the the differences. Again the MP3 missing music content and detail (my 6 year old wasn't around to help on this one).

Conclusion,
Well when I compaired years ago I had inferior equiptment that it was hard to hear the differences between CD's and MP3s. Now is a totally different story and I'm wishing I never sold all my CD's. I will be getting either a Plextor drive or seperate components and will start looking for used CD's and DVD Audio disc.

I do have questions on power. My basement is finished so I can't run a dedicated line from the circut breaker box so what is the alternatives? The circut my equipment is on is shared by my network devices ie DSL modem, router, switch, Phone adapter for Vonage, and Network Hard Drive. Also we are running a printer and an over the house wiring intercom. Then of course the computer.

Also curious about internal computer interconnects. What should I be using? My outter connections are home made Beldon 8451 and Canare ends.

Also curious if I go to seperate CD player what is a good DAC to get?

Thanks for everyones input again! It has been very helpful!!