System bottleneck?

Thank you. Actually I do stream through my phone app to 

the marantz. That is what I do most. Then vinyl and then cds. 

Meant to say Why not Who. Sorry. 

Who’s streaming a bottleneck? Not sure I understand. 

So are you saying I could use a better streaming device than the marantz?

I knew I would get that question. I cannot say there is anything in particular but like a lot of us I was just looking for that little bit of extra. For example I thought someone might tell be to get an outboard DAC that is better than the one in the marantz. Or a better streamer than the marantz. Conversely I did not expect to hear anyone say to get better speakers because I feel the speakers are the stars of this system. But to be specific I am always looking for better clarity, bigger soundstage and more separation of instruments. Those are my typical goals. 

Ok. What I am doing is streaming internet to phone and then using Airplay 2 to connect to marantz. Another  thing I do is play mp3 files from a flash drive connected to marantz. I also play hd radio through marantz. I do not use a computer or have a server on my home network. I could use my laptop in that way but when I did I did not think it sounded as good as streaming through my phone. My marantz recognizes my home network but I only use it in the sense that my phone communicates with the marantz to play my playlists which are not downloaded to my phone. Does that make sense to anyone because I’m not sure it does to me. 

Tablejocky No doubt!

artemus_5 
I guess I did not think there would be much of a difference whether I streamed through phone or directly on the marantz. I have not looked into going direct but I will figure out how. I guess I also thought I needed an app to stream from and I’m not sure how the marantz accomplishes that on its own. I need to do some digging. Thanks for the suggestion. 
 

russ69 the signature se’s have pretty good bass response. I would even say excellent. Having said that a pair of subs would probably help the sound above and beyond the extra bass. Thanks for that thought.

Thanks russ69. I also wanted to mention that I use the HEOS app on my phone to run streaming services like tidal, etc. It seems the sound quality is very much like playing the phone app for tidal. Should there be a difference?

It seems to me streaming over iPhone is marginally better. Not a huge difference just a bit more resolution and soundstage. I attribute that to better files being played over streaming compared to mp3s…?

Streaming over HEOS might be even better. Is that because I am actually using the marantz as the streamer and not the iPhone?

Thanks for the advice. I have been thinking about a DAC and streamer. I don’t listen to vinyl much so I’m not too concerned about a tt and phono preamp. Also when I stream through HEOS it does sound substantially better than my vinyl does on my rega tt. What sounds close to HEOS is streaming from my phone to Bluetooth. I think HEOS is slightly better because it is using the marantz to do the streaming and not my phone. Anyway, I agree that a streamer and a good DAC would be first things to consider. I will take a look at your system. What preamp and speakers would be a substantial upgrade to your ears?

ghdprentice AR preamps have always been on my bucket list along with BAT and CJ. I have not give Sonus Faber much thought. Maggie’s get a lot of ink in this forum and seem to be very popular. When choosing my current preamp, I had tried Rogue RP-7 which was very good but I felt the Sachs with the 6sn7 tubes was a little fuller and richer so I have it. When choosing the Legacy’s I went and listened to them at the factory in Springfield IL which is only 60 minutes from my home. I could not imagine any speakers in their price range sounding better. But I am pretty open minded. So I will try to get a listen to the Fabers and an AR preamp together. I have definitely read and heard more about the AR preamps than I have the Sonus Faber speakers. Thanks for your great reviews and input. 
 

anotherbob HEOS does not support Qobuz so I have to use Tidal or Deezer or Amazon Ultimate or Spotify or a couple others. I am currently leanin towards and using Tidal. I suspect I would have to get Roon to use Qobuz in the same way I’m using HEOS for Tidal. I did download and try Qobuz from my phone but that is back to streaming through my phone. Thanks for your input.