Advice on a streamer
3/2/2022- I just heard about Audirvana and it sounds great from my PC laptop to DAC. I really like it. In another room I have a Raspberry Pi, waiting for the Digione Signature. Will I be able to send Audirvana to the RPi and play through Volumio (without needing to purchase the Volumio premium) to my other DAC? I am confused on how this works, thanks in advance for your help. |
i too have recently purchased a IFI Zen Stream and can attest to its sound quality. however i am experiencing some connection issues with Tidal. its a new product and i am sure that IFI will find a firmware update, so i will soldier on. its that good. very quiet noise floor. i am going to see if upgrading my service plan to 100mbps. ethernet cable to cat. 8 and router will solve this. |
Admittedly I'm biased, but I think hands down the best choice would be the miniDSP SHD. This will allow you to build a setup with any laptop or PC running JRiver, which is a spectacular way to rip and collect your significant CD collection. Once your CDs are ripped into the JRiver platform, you'll be able to bit perfect stream from RAM and then out the USB into the XCore-200 receiver that resides in the miniDSP SHD. Once there, you'll have full access to Dirac Live room correction, as well as other numerous parametric equalization functions. Finally, the AKM DAC chipset and audiophile-grade analog output section put the SHD in a class that is competitive with units costing many times more. |
I’m using a Node 2i(with Qobuz through BluOs) but what kicked performance up many notches was replacing the stock Power Supply Interface(and figure 8 power cord/stock power supply) with a PD Creative PSU interface upgrade and an SBooster LPS. And I use a Vertere Acoustics Redline power cable. All going through a Canare LV-61S 75 ohm dig coax(soon to be changed to a Townshend digital cable with NPS-1260 contact enhancer) into a Classe SSP-800 DAC(through Model 12 monoblocks/Mezzo Utopia’s). I was listening to Miles Davis Ascenseur pour l’echafaud last night on the Node and Mile’s trumpet pierced right through my ears with incredible depth and leading edge. The Node can be an excellent streamer. Is there better. Undoubtedly. But how much $ to jump significant levels I would like to know; maybe to be considered. But the Node with upgrades($500 cost) performs way over its $500 price point. |
The Teac is a good suggestion as well as a Raspberry pi. There is a Bryston BDP pi over on usaudiomart for $700 (With an LPS) but you will need an external DAC But you can get a good used one for $700. You can pair the Bryston with a off the shelf DVD player and burn you own CDs to an external drive which is a nice feature. Needs a hard wired network though and many people poo pooh the Manic Moose interface. Album art displays on a Browser (PC,iPAD...) the SQ is good on that unit and its built solid. Note: Bryston has discontinued the Pi but their support is still good. It can also be a ROONs endpoint and if you like album art you will be blown away by ROONs interface and music immersion. But gonna need more $$ for that. |
I had several streamers throughout the years. I started with the Pioneer N50 10 years ago. This was a good sounding unit. Later, I moved to the Heos link hs2, not bad!. Soon after I tried the Sony UHP-H1 and didn't like it. Currently, I am using the Allo Digione player, Bluesound Node, and the Ifi Zen Stream. I have used these 3 players with a Rega DAC and/or a Musical Fidelity V90 DAC. Here is what I heard. The Allo Digione connected to either dac sound better than the Bluesound Node, not by much but better. However, In terms of sound quality, the ifi zen stream is a level above the other two. There is more detail, larger soundstage and better separation of the instruments. Both the Allo Digi one and Bluesound are excellent streamers, much better than the ones I metioned above. However, the ifi zen stream is a level or two above the rest. I recommend you get a decent DAC and the ifi zen stream. The ifi is only $399 US. I hope this helps. Thanks |
Also, why not just take your old SACD player to the cabin? Bring the CDs too. Then the CD playing ritual can be enjoyed at the cabin. Once you get into streaming with a proper high end unit, you won’t use your CDs because the SQ will compare with your current setup while the experience of streaming is WAY more enjoyable than CD. Instead you might find the itch for vinyl (I did:) |
If you don’t mind a little meddling, I would recommend the Allo Digi One Signature. Raspberry Pi w hat and two separate power supplies ( linear power for output board). Sound outperforms Node. Then run Volumio off it. It won’t work without internet but for the price, you could get a secondary solution for the cabin. |
I have the CNX V2, to me, it's the best thing since sliced bread. Currently, in that system I'm all digital with my Qobuz subscription. If you have analog components, you'll need to step up to the 851N. I was able to get my CNX V2 refurbished from Cambridge with the full warranty for $700 last Xmas. Preamp, DAC and Streamer and sounds great!!! |
I love reading the submissions posted on AG, but it seems at times it's a competition about what is owned, or a perception of the components performance, a reference to the red book, or very much the geographics of the OP, which means what brands are favourable, familiar or pushed by enthusiastic AG contributed (like me). I think It is great to research the “local” equipment being US, UK, EU, AUS and I apologise to all the other fabulous creators of audio equipment that compete globally with such wonderful electronics. Which is the best streamer? The one that suits your budget and sound acceptance. I would love to have the budget for some! AG 🇦🇺 |
Tinear123 got it right! Buy an Innuos ZenMini and upgrade the power supply at your earliest convenience. Fantastic for the money. Can use Innuos own platform or works great as a Roon Core. Automatic CD ripping-5 minutes/disc. Even has a built in DAC (holds it’s own against entry level DACs) but most importantly, upgrade to the external power supply ASAP. |
Spending abit more ,much better throughout technologies the Melco N100 is made in Japan not China has a minimum 2T hard drive superb filtering ,just read severalExcellent reviews and has a-nice screen, give Perrotta consultants a call maybe with the excellent value Wireworld starlight Ethernet cable to streamer you canget an attractive price ,well worth saving abit more $$ for a much higher end Roon ready streamer ,and built to last and firmware upgrades easy to install, very well engineered . |
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. |
Thanks everyone for the suggestions. Really appreciate! Seems like I got lots of thinking to do. @ redwoodaudio I'm sure the streaming services have all of the titles I have on CD's, but, last time I checked streaming services needed some sort of...internet. Out in the middle of the boondocks, internet tends to be slow...and by slow, I mean nonexistent. That's why it would be nice to have the entire music collection on a hard drive to bring with me :) However, I'm not completely sold on getting a ripper yet, so I might just focus on the streamer. Still up in the air. |
Hello, The HEOS app makes the marantz be the streamer/DAC. I would recalibrate your Audysee to adjust 300 hz and below. I think you need the Audysee app for that type of calibration. The HEOS is free. Take the money you have and save up for a stronger DAC streamer. I have a BlueSound Node2i. I love it. I feel it is way better than the Marantz. I do have a really good sounding DAC to put my BlueSound Node into. Lumin is a great streamer but not a DAC. I prefer the BlueSound app over the Lumin app. Lumin does sound better and is killer at locating your other music on your network. You can get a BlueSound Node 2i for $450 right now. It is a DAC because it has a toslink input. The built in DAC is equivalent to a $500-$600 DAC. If you can stream all of your CDs you will leave your CD collection be until you get a killer DAC and run you CD/transport through it. This store in the Chicagoland area has the BlueSound Node 2i for $450 if you can’t locate anywhere else. https://holmaudio.com/They have the new Node but I can’t hear any difference. They also have the Vault. I am toying with buying it because it rips my CD collection and I can play that in other parts of the house or on my patio system. Some of my CDs are not streaming. |
If you’re streaming off an iPad, suggest you try Airplay. I’m using a used Airplay 1264 connected to one of the inputs on my Marantz AV 7701. Cost $20 on eBay. Airplay supports Red Book specs. So you get regular CD quality only. I’m importing CDs into iTunes (running on a Windows PC) with Apple Lossless encoding and streaming them using Roon. But you can also stream off iTunes from your iPad/iPhone thru the Airplay modem for free. I have the Airplay device connected to my wireless network. Am also streaming AmazonHD using my iDevices and Airplay. I’m very happy with the result - both the sound and the cost. I keep my Blue Ray player to play my small collection of SACDs… |
I have a Node 1 as a streamer but I feed it through my Cambridge 851C's dac and really like the sound. There was a big improvement over the day in the Node 1. When I initially purchased the Cambridge, I brought my entire system into the store. I tried 8 different CD players through my equipment including a $6000 Marantz which should have kicked the crap out of the Cambridge. But overall the Cambridge sounded the best to me. I really enjoy it's sound. Good luck! |
I just setup a raspberry pi 4 with picoreplayer and LMS and it’s great. LMS has a Qobuz plugin that works well. I control it using iPeng on my phone. No need for a hat just get any basic kit and run USB to your DAC of choice. This is the kit I got which appears to be sold out at the moment but you can find these elsewhere I’m sure: https://chicagodist.com/products/raspberry-pi-4-model-b-2gb-kits?variant=32197889753167&gclid=Cj... The picoreplayer website walks you through how to setup the player with LMS. |
Consider the Audiolab 6000n, no screen & no screen needed as the artwork would show on your phone/tablet as that is the remote, Amazon Music HD goes up to Ultra HD and I don’t have any problems finding what I’m looking for, the Audiolab doesn’t rip any CD’s and as I say never find I cannot find that particular CD. In a head to head my friend had the Cambridge and I the Audiolab and we both agreed the Audiolab sounded better, the Audiolab is also capable of streaming Tidal, Qobuz, Amazon, Spotify plus many internet radio stations, many streamers can’t play Amazon Music, the benefits of it playing all these options are you can sign up for a months free trial on each of them and decide what is your poison. The Audiolab also has a built in ESS Sabre 32 DAC which is good enough to get you into it, you may want to upgrade later and the beauty is you haven’t spent the kids inheritance. Whatever you choose I hope it gives you a smile. |
I would also suggest the following: Bluesound Node/Vault with external DACLumin (new one will be outside your budget, but worth stretching if you can) Cambridge Audio CXN2 Pecanpie streamer also really good if you want to go down the Raspberry Pi route. I prefer the BlueOS interface to any Raspberry Pi software options. But each to their own preference. Other alternatives that I don't have experience with is the Arcam ST60 and a new iFI Streamer. |
I’m using a Bluesound Node 2i streaming Qobuz with good cables all around (digital/PC/IC) via CAT8 paired with a decent DAC (ARC DAC7) sounds pretty frickin good to me. I’ve heard the Lumin U1 mini in a comparable rig and while it looks damn sexy I really couldn’t detect a sonic improvement worthy of the price difference over the Node2i. |
I have a Audio Cocktail X45 and a Cambridge 851N, in two separate (very good) systems. Each for a different individual purpose but both have excellent streamers. The 851N is slightly more mellow than the X45 but the clarity of both is excellent. I don’t know the the latest dedicated streamers from each manufacturer but the Cambridge or Audio Cocktail would serve you well. Put a gun to my head to choose between a the latest node 3, (I had a node until it froze), the Cocktail, or the Cambridge (sorry, I haven’t heard the others), I would go for the Cambridge. It has a real quality sound. AG 🇦🇺 |
Just use a raspberry pi. Seriously why waste money on tech that gets outdated every year. I have three and love them. If you want a dac included then get the audiophonic raspdac. Sound is equal to the denafrips ares. No lie about that. I did a video on vinyl vs digital and used the raspdac with the denafrips. Save yourself a ton of money and get pi streamer |
I’m about to list a mint condition Cambridge Audio CXN V2 if your interested. Would be under your $1000 budget, and it sounds great for the price. It’s black which they don’t offer anymore. It was a great “starter” streamer, loved all the features, and even used it as a preamp when my Audio Research was in the shop. Only selling it because my brother is giving me his Lumin, he’s done with digital and going all in with turntable/vinyl. https://www.cambridgeaudio.com/usa/en/products/hi-fi/cx-series-2/cxn |
What part of the OP’s budget does a Lumin NOT for into? And HOW does the Lumin app get such great ratings? https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.luminmusic.lumincontroller Actually my best rec within budget, all in, is Magna Mano Ultra & Shenzhen Gustard X16. |
