Newbie Looking for Advice on Streaming Music
I, too, was overwhelmed by the digital/streaming move. I wanted to get the best sound for the least money (don't we all?). I ended up buying a pair of Bluesound Node (1's), and using an Ayre Codex for a DAC. The Nodes allow me to have wireless connectivity throughout my home, while the Codex upgrades the sound reproduction. The nice thing about Ayre is that they usually offer upgrades to their products. (Which leads me to recommend another manufacturer-Schiit. A Gungnir or Yggy are fairly comparable to the Ayre. Schiit also offers upgrades, when available). Okay, so if you are on a tight budget and can buy used. A Bluesound Node (1) on Ebay is about $250 and an Ayre Codex can be had for about $1400, sometimes less. For less than $2K, you'll have a really good setup that should be upgradable, too. DAC technology is moving fast, which is why I don't believe in spending big bucks on these units. And, all the companies mentioned have great customer service. Bob |
Great questions and feedback! I’ve been also investigating ways to make better use of my Tidal subscription and hopefully implement a Roon system. i look forward to hearing more as I’m in a similar search.... Here's some feedback on one possible solution...Oppo Sonica... I currently have an Oppo Sonica DAC that I’m trying. The sound is very good (I’m not an expert but have dabbled for years including some pretty decent stuff - Bryston SP1 and SP1.7, Legacy-Audio, others). The Sonica sounds good, seems well made, is good looking and somewhat easy to setup... in my humble opinion, the Sonica app, sucks. It often (mysteriously) won’t/can’t play tracks - which if I switch over to just the Tidal app on my iPad or streaming thru my Sonos Connect play just fine... at times it will say "can’t play song, skipping to next song" or some such message and skip thru 20 songs or more at a time.... other user interface issues abound... also, they have no plans to be Roon ready, if that matters... Good luck with your search! I too look forward to hearing the advice of the knowledgeable members here. Dave |
Are you having stability problems using DLNA networked streaming, USB or S/PDIF input? DLNA can be problematic depending on the playback app used. RAAT will probably be more reliable when it is Roon ready. If you like using your Sonos Connect, you could lower its jitter by reclocking it with a Synchro-Mesh to lower the jitter over the S/PDIF cable to the Sonica. This would probably get you lower jitter than the Sonica by itself. 20psec jitter on the S/PDIF cable, if you use the right cable: http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=154310.0 30-day money-back if you don't like it. Steve N. Empirical Audio |
As I said above, a DAC with a variable ouput is a perfect pre amplifier, but many do not have analogue inputs. I don't care, but others do. If you go that route, all you need is a power amplifier. Many of these DACs will have balanced ouputs, and if that is what you have, get a power amplifier that also has balanced connections. My preference is for beefy solid state amps. The more power the better, and solid state amps usually perform rather better/more neutral under real speaker loads (see the graphs in Stereophile). Beefy solid state power amps do not need to cost an arm and a leg. |
