demoed the MSB Reference with the Innuous for about 3 months while I was deciding which way to go.
Which Innuos MK3? There are several tiers, all have MK3 at the end. It’s the generation number. I.e. Third Generation
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.
Showing 5 responses by thyname
@woots :
Which Innuos MK3? There are several tiers, all have MK3 at the end. It’s the generation number. I.e. Third Generation
Which MSB DAC? There are several models, ranging widely in price
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So, let me get this straight, a DAC costing ~ $55,000 did not do it for you? Wow! If you like LUMIN, but plan to use one as a streamer only (no DAC), then I believe the U1x is their top of the line: https://www.luminmusic.com/lumin-u1x.html |
@woots : I appreciate you taking your time to explain your process. It all makes sense. Here are my thoughts, with the assumption that your Nagra DAC is there to stay, and you keep Roon (I am a 5+ years lifetime Roon subscriber, so I understand). There are two ways to do this: 1) Keep your Nucleus as your remote Roon Server / Core. Get a standalone Roon Ready streamer (no DAC) to “feed” your DAC (I.e Streamer —> USB out —> DAC). Such as the LUMIN U1x. Plenty of good options on standalone Roon Ready streamers/ network transports, but since you like LUMIN sound signature, U1x
2) Get a very good Roon Core / streamer unit (ditch Nucleus), such as Innuos Statement or Zenith MK3 mentioned above. Run USB out from it to your DAC. Yes, Innuos has relatively low powered processor (on purpose, by design), but unless your are doing heavy DSP on Roon, or you have a huge library, it won’t be a problem. With Innuos, in addition to Roon, you can also use their own Sense streaming platform, and you can switch between Roon and Sense with a tap in your tablet or phone in no time |