Fairly new to streaming. Where to start?

artemus_5 Looked at your system. Very nice!


If you get a LUMEN T2 the sound will be close (maybe better) to your beloved vinyl. Yes it’s double your stated budget but here’s a case of getting what you pay for. The top PS audio unit also excellent. No need for more IMO.


I’m a happy Qobuz camper but Tidal’s great too. I have tested a CD against a high res streaming version of the same track and what a real difference. Night and day better. No. Richer and more enveloping? Heck yes. Hard to go back. You bet. 

Streaming is easy and there’s a plethora of what ever your audio taste are. HUGE!

artemus_5

What software do you use to rip? Mac or Windows?

 

@lalitk

Not 10K. Two excellent sreramers I already mentioned are half that and all that. 

4.5K for a LUMIN T2 with a built in DAC (4.8K with added Sboooster external power supply) or the  PS audio DirectStream DAC on sale this month for 4.8K. 

artemus_5
No need for a stand alone DAC with these streamers unless a CD player is used and you want to filter that too. If you never wanted to pass the CD signal into a DAC then ok. 

All I use now is the streamer and a LUMIN server that has ripped FLAC files on it. A true KISS setup.  About 1/3 of all files are ultra high res. Oh man. Wow. 

Ironically “Speak no Evil” by Wayne Shorter is on now. I use Qobuz. No more pandora. Zilch. 

This stranger on the internet would urge you to rethink your direction. I went from sourced off the computer to the current set up. Let me just say BIG difference. To those who think otherwise I’d say I never knew until hearing for myself what you discount. I’m not talking about ultra expensive stuff.  Would if I could. Dot dot dot. 

Streaming is digital music from the internet or a hard drive played with a “streamer”, computer or even phone. Thus the need/want to use a DAC. 

Better said a streamer is a network music player. 

So you have the steamer that streams music files. There’s a trout, Kilgore. 

The streamer I use also recognises a hard drive on my home network. So I’m sourcing music files from the hard drive or internet. 

Most stand alone streamers work with many different software interfaces as well as their own. Thus the verbiage that XYZ streamer works with this or that software or music service. 


Like any thing in this realm the more bandwidth and file size/depth the better the sound. 

Clear as mud?


I often will explore in my given tastes artists/albums I don’t know and save some new and wonderful something I don’t or didn’t know of or listen to a re-released High res album like John Coltrane’s “Giant Steps”. That’s what high res streaming Is all about. Immeasurably worth the expense to me. Haven’t purchased any more CD’s.  The music services have so much to offer. 


Pardon typos I’m on the phone.