2. digital
  3. 181196-34300

Recommendations for good sounding streamer

I am looking for a decent sounding streamer without breaking the bank. My daughter has Spotify premium and it would be nice to connect up to my audio system (de Havilland UltraVerve tube preamp, McCormack DNA-1 amp, Martin Logan SL3s).

I mostly listen to vinyl (Pro-ject RPM5) and CDs (Ultech UCD100) using the internal DAC. I do have a V90 DAC however that I used for playing digital from my phone. 

I don't really have the money any more for expensive digital playback. So what a recommendations for bang for the buck system. Could include using my V90 DAC. 

Reading through the forum here it seems that Spotify is not the best quality digital (Tidal seems to come up a lot). But for now we have tons of Spotify playlists - just looking for an affordable way. 

Some considerations:

Bluesound NODE 3

iFi Zen Stream

Any others? Pros/cons?

1trackmind

Showing 1 response by reubent

reubent
6,939 posts
 

If you're just going to listen to Spotify and if your DAC has a toslink optical connection, just get the WIIM Mini for under $100 (I bought mine when it was on sale for $79) and connect it to your DAC. If you are concerned about it's low price, just go listen to the Darko Audio reviews of WIIM Mini and the new WIIM Pro. Darko says the WIIM Mini is his "favorite Network Streamer of 2022".

Seriously, the WIIM Mini is fantastic for $79/$99. Not saying it's "the Best" in any capacity. But it is good enough, especially if you are only streaming Spotify, and you can use an external DAC. And if you decide you love streaming, and want to invest in a higher-end streamer, you're not out much money. Oh, and the WIIM Mini works fantastically with Spotify Connect. 

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