2. digital
  3. 155166-142269

SACD player/streamer with built-in Volume Control

I'm in the process of upgrading my stereo system and I'm wondering if there's such combo without too much sacrifice in terms of sound quality.    Obviously this is rather subjective so perhaps I'll start off with my system.  Previous system comprised:  Apogee Centurus driven by Aragon 2004 and Aragon 24KSP.   Front ends were Meridian 206 CD Player, Meridian 204 FM Tuner, and Linn Majik DS digital streamer.  

So far I've upgraded the speaker to Magnepan 3.7 and power amp to PassLabs X205.5.    I'll probably ditch the FM tuner so the logical next step would be the pre-amp and digital front end.  

IDEALLY I would like to replace the 206 CD Player, Majik DS streamer AND the 24KSP preamp with ONE unit while gaining SACD capability.  So far I've only found Cambridge Audio 851c and Meridian G91A (used) but they're not SACD.     Budgetwise 5k USD max. 
alecela

Showing 6 responses by alecela

alecela OP
13 posts
 
Hello jdbsi5, tx for the response.    Indeed I wud be keen to consider Meridian but the 818v3 seem to list well above my budget of USD$5k?   :-)   I think it's in the region of USD$16k?
alecela OP
13 posts
 
@mahler123, Tx for that.    In that case, how' bout the combination of Oppo UDP205 as transport + perhaps a lesser model of Meridian 818v3?     Any other DAC, Digital Streamer + PreAmp combo I should think about at say USD$4k budget?   
alecela OP
13 posts
 
Quick question for owners of 818:

Can I use the analog output and the balanced output at the SAME time?   I'm asking as I intend to connect the balanced output to my power amp and the analog output to my sub.
alecela OP
13 posts
 
Hello mahler123, do you mean Bryston BDA-3?   If so, based on what I've read so far on the net, it's a strict DAC and doesn't do pre-amp function?    If it's indeed Bryston DAC3, I can't seem to find any info from the net.  
alecela OP
13 posts
 
Actually just sat down and took a closer look at Meridian 818v3.  Reading the factory manual, I can't seem to find any reference of it doing a network streaming at say Tidal/Spotify and/or even AirPlay...  Did I miss something obvious?
alecela OP
13 posts
 
Tx jdbsi.    One of my major objectives of the current upgrade endeavour is to lower the number of components, although I have not been very successful at that.   Since my last post, I've already got the PassLab X1 pre-amp and the Oppo 205 BOA UE premium edition.   So now I just need a streamer + DAC combo to replace the Meridian CD player and Linn streamer!  The hunt goes on!  
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