Streamer / DAC Combo apps

soix, thanks for the comments.  To respond:

I admit the Jadis was an impulse buy.  I bought it based on reviews I read and watched.  The Art Dudley review in Stereophile from last March was quite positive, as were some others I found.  What sold me was a YouTube video from a hifi shop where they had taken off the cover and were examining the internals.  The technician, an older guy who seemed quite experienced, marveled at the construction, said it was one of the best made he had ever seen and didn't understand how they could manufacture it that way and yet sell it so inexpensively.

I am basically a low-tech old school kind of guy, so the notion of tubes and no computer chips or motherboards to go bad appealed to me.  My main hobby is restoring industrial woodworking and metal-working machines from the early 1900's through the late '60's, so I like the idea of well-engineered, solidly built products.

I also realized that I don't know how to describe the sound I like (e.g., I have no idea what "bright" and "warm" really mean), and with the pandemic I wasn't going to be able to hear any in person, so I might as well take the plunge to see if I like it.

It's interesting that you mention the Innuos.  I had pretty much decided on the Zenith Mk 3 if I went the Cary or Bryston route, and the Aurender ACS10 or 100 if I went with the A10.

I think I will end up with at least one separate DAC.  To muddy the water a bit, I want to end up with two separate two-channel systems.  One would be for my basement office, and would probably incorporate a turntable eventually.  The other would be for the main floor of the house, and would co-exist with a multi-channel surround-sound set-up. ( I am sure that is a complicated topic and I have not even begun to educate myself on it.)

So my thinking at this stage is that I could buy something, try it out, and see if it makes most sense to use it in the basement or upstairs system.  I am thinking that the combo unit makes more sense upstairs, but that plan is subject to change once I hear it and use it.  (The $15K budget is per system, so I plan to spend around $30K over the next year as I piece both systems together, and will have to spend a bit more upstairs for the multi-channel items.) 

Your comments about the importance of cabling and power supply are well taken.  I have been reading about those and have a lot more to learn.  I have decided to get an ether Regen as everyone seems to rave about it, but that is as far as I have gotten on that front.

Thanks again.

Thanks for the responses about the iPad.  The comments about image size make sense.  I personally have never used an iPad as it always seemed to me to hit the sweet spot of uselessness -- too big to use as a phone, too small and underpowered to use as a computer.  But there are a few in the house that the wife and kids use.  I will try one over the next few days to surf the net and whatnot to get a feel for it.  I like the idea of having an inexpensive, wifi-only, dedicated unit.

One concern I had about using one to control the system is where to put it?  I think I would want to hide it in a drawer so it wasn't always lying around on a countertop, but I think most of my available drawer space is spoken for.  I guess I could get a little stand to prop it up on on top of the entertainment cabinet, which would probably look OK and that way I would always be able to find it.

Hey Troy — a little early to be drinking, no?  Jeez. 

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Dave and troy
Audio intellect nj

I am putting together a two-channel system from scratch. Never had one before but can’t stand the sound of my Bose playing via bluetooth anymore.

Amen Brother. You are among friends here. I have to say I’m curious as to what drove you to jump on the Jadis?

Anyway, given your budget and desire to rip CDs and have a user-friendly format I’d recommend giving the Innuos Zen Mk.3 streamer/server a look as it’s a solid streamer but also has an onboard CD drive and internal storage that makes it extremely easy to burn all your CDs directly into it — no muss, no fuss, no additional equipment required. It also works with Roon, which is likely the most user-friendly format for your other family members and Innuos is reputed to have very good customer support should you ever experience a problem or have a question.

I’d also highly recommend buying a separate DAC. At this level DACs become a highly personal choice, and marrying yourself to one embedded in a streamer will be very limiting. A separate DAC will also make it much easier to upgrade just the DAC (or streamer) in the future as this technology continues its torrid (at least in audio terms) pace of improvement.

As for the rest of your system, you’ll want to focus on speakers whose impedance doesn’t drop much below 6 Ohms in order to play nice with your amp. And don’t forget to save some $ in your budget for good cables, interconnects, and power cables as they all do matter at this level. Fortunately good wires can be had relatively cheaply these days, but it’ll still add up to a good chunk. Haven’t mentioned power conditioning, dedicated lines, room treatments, etc., etc., but you’ve already got enough on your plate to deal with and digest. Hope this helps at least somewhat, and best of luck in building your system. My last tip, make sure to use YOUR ears as the final arbiter in making purchase decisions as we all hear differently and you’re the only one who knows what sounds best to you. Welcome to the machine!

I have used both my iPad and iPhone to manage my streaming through Bluesound OS and SimAudio's Mind2.  

I like the iPad because it's bigger and more convenient to share with house guests because it doesn't have the pin/security due to my work email on my phone.

Additionally, my audio dealer uses an iPad with Roon for demos.  I'd find a cheap iPad with no cell service (best buy or reconditioned) to keep the investment low and reliability high.

I prefer larger images and text to tiny ones, so I prefer using a tablet to a phone as a controller.  

I have used the Lumin and the BluOs app.  I have Android controllers so Lumin didn't work for me, but it's supposed to be fine with Apple controllers.  BluOs is basic but very easy to set up and use.  It shows the front cover of the album and a track list, but that's about it for metadata.

There are also separate apps that you can buy cheaply that work well with some gear, but I can't help you there either.