Best, cheap computer based office system?

There is been some talk here about some dac . . . the Victor Hugo??  Or maybe it's the Yugo??  I can't remember exactly.  But some people seemed to like it, and it seemed well priced.

That and a Mac mini and small powered speakers seems like it might be sensible.

Or for a networked approach, a used Qute and small speakers gives you a lot, too.  

Do you want networked or computer > USB based technology?  That's probably one key consideration.  

Or Plan C, do you want to rely on an iPhone or iPod for storage?  There are products made specifically to use an iOS device for storage but bypasses the iDevice's internal dac in favor of their own more robust dac.

It's the Chord Hugo, which seems great but is something like $2,500.

I already control my main system via JRiver via UPNP on my laptop, so the plan is to  use JRiver's USB out when I'm at my desk.

I'd probably read a lot of reviews of USB dacs.  There are so many -- probably pretty daunting!

Audioengine also has an usb dac suitable for its powered speakers. 

Do not know the sq but I believe it costs 160 or 170 euro's.

Thom

I run a NAD D3020 with Rega RS1 speakers at work. It's a small, discrete, cheap jack of all trades - integrated with Dac, headphone and speaker out. Nice warm sound, and I don't miss the Dac-V1/Nap100 I had for a while. It drives my Rega RS1 perfectly!

The AudioEngines are nice too, but in that case just use a $10 sound card. No point in getting an extra Dac.

What about a Muso? It sounded very impressive when I listened last weekend.

Have they advertized a price and launch date yet?

£895 and release sometime in Sept. I'm not sure of the exact date.

Its Mu-so