2. digital
  3. 182199-115039

Curious to know your streaming and dac set up and the best recommended streamer under $15k

Curious to know your streaming and dac set up as well your best recommended streamer. I have recently upgraded my dac and have used 2 different set ups in an attempt to find the my best combination.  Former set up was Roon Nucleus+ connected to a Lumin T2. New set up is a new Nagra Tube Dac and a separate Power Supply and I had that directly connected to my Roon via Shunyata Sigma USB cable and using a Shunyata Ethernet connection to my network. Didn’t feel like that was my best possible sound so introduced the Lumin T2 back into the fold as my streamer and then connected the Nagra to the Lumin T2. This was a much improved sound. At this early testing point I’m curious to see if anyone uses and/or recommends a streamer that has significantly improved their sound under $15k. I would like to stay with the Roon platform. 
 

Current set up is Audio Research Ref160S amp, Audio Research Ref6SE pre-amp with Wilson Alexia speakers.  All cabling between these components is Transparent Reference. 
 

Unfortunately, I have not had time to photograph and upload my new Nagra dac. 
 

I really appreciate anyone who takes time to assist with some thoughtful ideas, experiences, or recommendations. 

woots

Showing 5 responses by lalitk

lalitk's avatar
lalitk
5,632 posts
 

“I would like to stay with the Roon platform”
If you don’t wanna jump through hoops to tame the unruly beast a.k.a ROON, I suggest auditioning latest Innuos Statement Next Gen. You should also consider Taiko Extreme or Pink Faun Ultra 2.16 albeit at higher cost but they will be well worth it in your amazing system.

Alternatively, consider Aurender N20 as an alternative to ROON.

lalitk's avatar
lalitk
5,632 posts
 

“I also am upgrading my connection from the Grimm to my Nagra with a spdif by Front Row and eliminating the Shunyata USB connection”

@woots

Based on its design strengths and user feedback, AES/EBU output from MU1 will allow you to hear best possible performance with your Nagra DAC. I believe your Nagra DAC has AES input, right?

lalitk's avatar
lalitk
5,632 posts
 

@metaldetektor 

I couldn’t tell if MPS-X uses Roon or has proprietary app to stream music from Qobuz natively….what is your understanding? Looking forward to your listening impressions of MPS-X. 

lalitk's avatar
lalitk
5,632 posts
 

@metaldetektor

Have you received the MPS-X yet? If yes, what are your thoughts?  I reached out to DP but did not get any reply. 

lalitk's avatar
lalitk
5,632 posts
 

@metaldetektor

Thanks for your reply. I did reached out to a dealer and learned couple of things about MPS-X. It’s a ROON end point only and there is a bit of wait to get one. On the upside, since it is UPnP/DLNA based; you can control and stream through Qobuz natively with a fabulous app like JPLAY. The other option is MConnect which sucks in my experience. I am not a fan of ROON :-)

More to discover