Why are we trying to put bias ply tires on a Ferrari? You have good equipment don’t let your fear of the unknown prevent you from wasting your money. Save your nickels and get a quality streamer. I am a INNUOS fanboy but The aurender crowd is popular here too.
Streamer only
I am not tech savvy and I have a DAC already in my integrated amp.I just wanted to try streaming. I would like to use Qobuz and need to purchase a streamer. I don’t need the dac included within the unit. I hate to pay a large amount for a unit that has a high quality DAC included. Are there any high quality streamers where I am not paying for the higher quality DAC included in the unit? My system is a Levinson 585 and Acendo C8 R speakers.
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- 79 posts total
@benanders , my laptop is about 5 years old, I bought it specifically to drive my Schiit Yggdrasil as it used SSD instead of a disk drive and I used it solely with battery power. I was stunned by the increase in low level information, especially allowing me to hear overtones and spatial information. I essentially parked my turntable after getting the Aurender. I must say that the result was exactly as my dealer predicted- Jeff Fox, owner of Command Performance, and Jon Archer had both told me about their own extensive journeys trying to make commercial computers into streamers, with Jon having worked extensively souping up a Mac Mini (my original attempt as well). As they both predicted, the Aurender was astonishingly better! |
@benanders , my laptop is about 5 years old, I bought it specifically to drive my Schiit Yggdrasil as it used SSD instead of a disk drive and I used it solely with battery power. I was stunned by the increase in low level information, especially allowing me to hear overtones and spatial information. I essentially parked my turntable after getting the Aurender. I must say that the result was exactly as my dealer predicted- Jeff Fox, owner of Command Performance, and Jon Archer had both told me about their own extensive journeys trying to make commercial computers into streamers, with Jon having worked extensively souping up a Mac Mini (my original attempt as well). As they both predicted, the Aurender was astonishingly better! |
I will also give a shoutout to the Bluesound Node. I find the Aurender finicky when power is lost or the internet goes down and up. It sometimes requires multiple rebooting and needs to restore itself. This can result in a 20 minute or so delay in getting music. The Bluesound software is more robust and the unit actually sounds pretty good. I use it in my bedroom stereo with a $100 power cord. |
If 585 is Roon ready you may not need a streamer to try out streaming with Qobuz. You’ll need a computer where you can install Roon and make that your core machine. Free trial for 30 days. Yes additional subscription cost after but at this price point you’ll most likely not find anything that will beat this both sonically and from the UI standpoint. If the 585 isn’t roon ready or you don’t want to go the Roon route, and or you still want a dedicated streamer, you can try Lumin U1 Mini around $1000 used. Here’s one example. |
- 79 posts total