I built a minimalist Apple Airport Express AirPlay audio system comprised of an active Yamaha NS-SW050 8” subwoofer with a simple, single RCA input and two active M-Audio BX5a speakers. (This AirPlay build probably deserves its own post.)
I run the Tidal Hifi/MQA signal over AirPlay from my various Apple devices where my Airport then passes that signal via its mini toslink port to my Drop Grace SDAC Balanced mini toslink port. I run the sub through the unbalanced 3.5mm port with a Monoprice Stereo 3.5mm to single RCA adapter, the M-Audios are run balanced via XLR cables.
First and foremost, this ultra convenient, minimalist WiFi-only system sounds great. I’m already beyond amazed by what it is able to do. Music sounds great and it handily passes the “Jurassic Park T-Rex scene” test with aplomb. At a minimum, I’m getting 16b/44k, but I’ve seen with another DAC I tested it either gets 16b/48k or 24b/48k (via MQA’s first unfold) too.
My question for the big brains of this forum is this:
Would running the signal through a more complex subwoofer with the ability to fine tune frequency cut offs make a big difference and would it be worth returning my current Yamaha sub for one that can manage the frequency traffic?
I have my eye on upgrading from the M-Audios at some point down the road too. Perhaps for a Yamaha HS5 stereo pair.
I emailed with Grace Design and their guy said being able to fine tune frequency cut offs would be beneficial.