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Noob question about streaming . . .

Okay, I’m not exactly a Luddite, but my audio journey started in the 70’s with Marantz separates, JBL speakers and a Dual turntable. Thaw about thirty years ago I got into home theater, with Parasound separates and four Bose 901s (no haters please — they work well for watching movies). 

Anyway, my Parasound AV preamp died, and I replaced it with a Marantz AV7706 preamp. I’m starting to explore its capabilities, which are light years beyond the old Parasound unit. I’m also exploring using it for music listening in addition to home theater, but streaming is new to me.  (I’m also exploring new speakers, but that’s a discussion for another day). 
 

So, with that background, here are my questions. I’m using the HEOS in the Marantz to stream music through Spotify, which I’ve used in my car for several years. Would a separate streamer be a significant improvement over what I have now?  My understanding is the Marantz’ built in DAC is good enough that I don’t need a separate DAC, unless I’m going to spend big money on one, which I’m not inclined to do right now (speakers first). Second, would a streaming service like Roon or Qubuz or Tidal provide significantly better music quality?  Spotify provides access to all the music I want, but I do realize that it’s limited in terms of sound quality. Help educate this old dinosaur. Thanks!

mbarrett635

Showing 1 response by alvinnir2

alvinnir2's avatar
alvinnir2
103 posts
 

In a nutshell:

#1 A different streamer would possibly provide for a better software than HEOS to control your music access but if you are OK with it, then there is no need to change.

#2 Tidal Connect is merely being able to use Tidal, with the interface you see from your computer or mobile device, Tidal connect sounds the same as Tidal through HEOS, It's the interface that changes , the streamer and built in DAC detrmine sound quality.

#3 Roon is yet another interface. It integrates Tidal and any music files you have on a hard drive or server plus has way better functions and album/artist information but requires  separate computer or hardware to run it, and what is called an endpoint, which means a streamer that is compatible with ROON. It is also subscription based.

#4 I have no direct experience with your Marantz but the DAC has more iof an effect on the sound than the streamer until you spend the big dollars.

#5 You are not likely to hear what a better DAC and streamer will do until you upgrade your speakers so until then, Getting a Wiim streamer would only improve how you access Tidal.

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