New streamer
I recently opened a discussion on upgrading my DAC. I started at the beginning of that discussion, that I was a vinyl guy, but with my purchase of the Chord Qutest, I realized that digital music can be outstanding and want to now upgrade my Node.
That will provide 2 benefits: Maximizing my current systems digital, and allow me to move the Node & Schiit Modi Multibit 2 to the family room, a small HT setup with a Yamaha AVR driving a Goldenear soundbar. Streaming there is currently MusicCast using the AVR DAC. The improvement there should be very nice.
My 2 channel equipment is as follows:
Rogue RP-1 w/ NOS Brimar’s, LSA Warp 1, KEF R11’s, Rhythmic F12SE, Pro-ject 1Xpression w/Hana ML, Rega Aria, Bluesound Node w/Qubuz, Marantz CD6007, Chord Qutest. Good to very good power, speaker, interconnect cables.
My weakest link (I believe) is now my Node.
I don’t want or need amplification or volume control, ripping storage, nor an internal DAC. Sound signature should be neutral.
My budget is $2,500, but willing to spend less. My current favorites are:
Lumin U2 mini. Very well reviewed, beautiful, perfect form factor, good app & controllable via my Harmony One remote. It is currently my #1 choice.
Auralic Aris. If new, the G1.1, if used G2.0 or 2.1. Very well reviewed, good app, OK form factor, but not controllable via harmony.
Naim ND5 XS2. Considered the best high end streamer by What Hi Fi Would need to buy used to stay close to budget.
EverSolo DMP-A6. Included based upon reviews, but may not be a serious contender.
HiFi Rose RS250A. The streamer EverSolo seemed to copy
Aurender. Don’t think they have anything within my budget, but included for discussion.
LPS upgrade for Node. Included because I know it will come up. Plan to reuse my node downstairs, so out. Would prefer LPS upgrade for one of the above.
Please let me know your thoughts and/or recommendations. Thanks!
👍 Even if you are not a believer of audiophile outlets for improved sound quality, another excellent reason to invest in Furutech outlets is the way they clamp onto the power cords. Those stock outlets and hospital hubbel outlets especially scratch up the coating on your nice powercords. Not sure about Oyaide, PS Audio or others. |
congratulations on your new digital front end @signaforce Like Linn always stated, even before there was such a thing as digital: "Our first-ever product, the modular and upgradeable Sondek LP12, revolutionised the hi-fi industry by demonstrating the huge musical difference a superbly engineered turntable could make to any hi-fi system. Its demonstrable ability to extract more music from the grooves of a record than the standard of the day led to the step-change in doctrine that the source component in a system, and not the loudspeakers, mattered most."
"Are you Digital or Analogue? Either way you have to get it right at the source. The more musical information you retrieve from the source, the better the sound. Information lost at the source is lost forever. No matter how good the amplifiers or loudspeakers that follow, you can’t get back what has already been lost, so it’s essential you put the best source possible at the front of your system."
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@avbronco32 congratulations to you as well. I am not a Lumin expert, but don't you want your core in the U2? Is your PC your previous streamer? |
I’m feeling a little nauseous from my break in ride with this GTX NCF plug 🤢- just passed 230 hour mark- hopefully clear sailing ahead and she should be broken in just in time for my new streamer. 😁 |
@audphile1 I did read that, for some they even claimed 600+ hours, but mine seems to have plateaued over the last 2 days. I am sure the treble will smooth out and extend, but I didn't notice any "weirdness" after 200 hrs. I assume when people quote hours that would be playing hours and not just time after installation- for me it has been playing 24/7.
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Just curious, do all the ASR flat-earthers get all defensive about this comment and want you to prove it like they do with cables and digital? Or are there some "numbers" that help validate this "opinion"? |
Interesting, I never knew about that. So once those are installed one wouldn't need to turn up the volume in order to flatten out the curve, as typically humans have to in order to increase lower frequencies to the same level as midrange. Thus the invention of the loudness control (Mcintosh). So you enjoy your hifi at lower volumes than those without hearing aids. |
I would think it is hard to determine when it is flat, if it ever is, as testing us to see where that might occur damages the test subjects ears, as it is north of 120db. Point is the louder the music the flatter the curve, and the more perception that bass is louder- graph below at the link provided bottom shows this: Interpretation: looking at the bottom line, at 0 db a 1000 hz signal is barely perceptible to the (normal) human ear, but at 80hz that would need to increase to 40db for it to "sound" just as loud, and a low bass signal of 40 hz would need to be output at 60db to be perceived to be as loud.
The louder the flatter the curve becomes, and if one listens at 100db the line is reasonably flat- which makes music sound better, but more than 15 minutes of this (per week) and there is risk of hearing loss. |
