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Advice on a streamer

I'm starting to look into a dedicated streamer.  Recently, the CD's have been gathering dust while I hook up an ipad with the headphone jack to the preamp listening to youtube the majority of the time, and I'm ready to upgrade from that.  I have about 300 - 400 CD's that would be nice to rip to a server with some sort of loss-less format.  I'm still on the fence about that...nice to have, but I'm not completely sold on this yet (meaning that I probably won't buy any more CD's, so whatever I rip will be a one time thing (granted a long thing, but whatever)).  So if I sacrifice sound for ripping, then forget it.  I'm also a cheapish bastard that's not willing to drop a ton of money on a streamer. 

My current system is:
Marantz SACD SA8005
Krell KSP 7B (sometimes switched with a Berning TF10)
Mcintosh MC275
B&W 683

I've been looking at Cambridge audio and Cocktail Audio for streamers. I know the Bluesound Vault 2 would do the job, but, for what I've gathered, the sound quality just isn't up to par.  From what I've been reading, I will likely get Qobuz, as it seems to get more positive reviews than the other services.  

My budget is between $1000 - 1500 with some flexibility.  One key component is the WAF...one thing that we both like and feel it would fit in with our system is a small screen on the streamer that displays the album art (I know we should base it on sound and sound alone, but damnit, it's 2021!  I want great sound and good looks!).  That's why I'm leaning toward the Cambridge audio CXV/851N or one of the Cocktail Audio ones.  I do not have a dedicated DAC unit and would prefer not to purchase one.  

Last item to throw out there.  I would to take the streamer (well, more specifically a hard drive with my music on it) to a cabin where I don't have internet access.  Do these/any streamers work well without internet access to see or pull up music from a hard drive on my phone using an app through bluetooth (does that make sense?)

Does anyone have experience or suggestions on the ones I'm looking at or others I haven't suggested?  Thanks!   
jbeckley42

Showing 1 response by jwillox

jwillox
177 posts
 
I’ve used the Cocktail Audio n25 and the x45. Both decent streamers with decent DACs. Both these have a nice screen, and HDMI outs for your TV or AVR- a nice feature when you wan to browse from your listening position. Prices are reasonable. 
The Cambridge 851n is awesome, yet I returned it as it requires a UPNP Server, and this made my music on a simple shared folder on my NAS quite unusable. 
I did have a NodeVault for a test - decent ripper with usable options. 
Next was the Technics Sl-G700 this was a heavy-duty SACD/streamer which had exquisite sound, but a tiny 2-line screen (and no external option). A heavy unit with many buildings items that live up to the “Grand Class” category.  I hated to send it back. 
I’ve settled on the Lumin D2 and am liking it a lot. Very good sound quality with upscaling for my older, crappy MP3. Native playback of DSD. I did finally install the recommended MinimServer on my NAS, and have begun the process of cleaning up tags and album art. The D2 requires the UPNP server to steam across the network. 
Display is small, but the more I use the iPhone app, the less I miss the larger screens. $2300, but shop…

Anything you do will be better than the analog out as as well as the DAC in a notebook or smartphone. 
Use your computer to rip to FLAC and store on an external drive, or from a network share. 2 USB ports for HD/SSD and/or flash drives you don’t have to stream across the network with the USB options. 
Hope that helps. 



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