The Streamer-Dac-Preamp Chain

Hi @yyzsantabarbara I like your BTW2 comment! But let me head back to the pre-DAC bit for a second and the oRendu. I have Verizon Fios which is fiber optic up the basement in my apartment building and then distributes via standard ethernet cable, so I am guessing that I would need to use the Ultra Rendu instead with standard ethernet input --- does that difference fundamentally alter things at the streaming stage? And thanks!

Thanks, super helpful so far!

I re-read my wordy post. The Moon 761 power amp is a given, I have it and won't change it. So it's really the other components that are even up for discussion here.

@erik_squires yeah, I'm tempted to put the Moon 791 in between and forget about the whole thing. That's what I have in my other system and I'm very happy, but the itch to tinker never goes away :-)

The Benchmark preamp --- yes! transparency -- but I have to be honest and say that the loopy signature across the front is aesthetically problematic. Aesthetics matter...

@ghdprentice the Aurender (N200? can't afford the N20) is a great suggestion for a streamer. After my mini-debacle with the Auralic volume module (though the rest of the Vega is super good with Roon @carlsbad2 ) I'm not in an Auralic mood, so no Aries.

Which leaves the DAC. And yes @yyzsantabarbara the Holo Audio adds warmth; I've read about this elsewhere. This scares me because I don't want too much color on the sound. This DAC warmth business is going to be the ultimate reason why I'll probably wimp out and redo the Moon 791. But convince me otherwise! And thanks again...

Hi @carlsbad2 I believe the Aurender N200 is Roon Ready.

@yyzsantabarbara, I’m really exploiting your generosity here so please tell me where to get off. I live in Manhattan and have Verizon Fios. I believe it is FiberOptic all the way to the ONT in my apartment, but the ONT has only standard RJ45 Ethernet out! I just don’t see how to connect directly to the fiber optic "flow" here. Maybe I can get a third party router and bypass Verizon’s ONT but I am at the limit of my own technical knowledge at this point ... my question is, how did you set this stage up? (My Roon core is a Mac Mini btw in case that info is needed.) And as always, thank you!

@jond that was for our collective amusement. I believe it would be offended if told such a thing! Certainly Claude would be:-)

Altair no, given I can always use the dac of the Vega I already have...

Hi @charles7 thanks. Yes I do know what a streamer needs. I’ve had a couple of them for years. But the chat with @yyzsantabarbara is super interesting for me as I’m learning a bit about optical Ethernet connections and like these crazy rabbit holes. I’m going to investigate — thanks so much @yyzsantabarbara 

 @kennyc I completely screwed up (can I change it?) never posted on this forum before. And thanks for your suggestions. 

@curiousjim if I understand the acronym right, me too! Thanks to everyone for the comments and suggestions, and especially to @yyzsantabarbara who is sending me down a fascinating rabbit hole with the optical Rendu. I'm going to settle this first before moving on to the DAC and the preamp.

@coffee-jerk thanks! Yes I’m familiar with the NSC222 and it sounds great, but a Moon 791 is something I can always do and for me (especially paired with the Moon 761 and which I already have), that takes out the Naim. In any case like many of my fellow-denizens here on this forum I’m going to go down a crazy rabbit hole or two and try out the optical rendu into an auralic vega g2.1 that I have lying around, and take it from there. 

Reporting back in case it’s helpful to others. On the streamer front: I used a Netgear unmanaged switch (GS108X) to start a fiber moat (I used Finisar FTLF8519P3BNL transceivers), ended it with a Sonore Optical Module and then ran a small ethernet patch to an Auralic Vega G2.1, then on to the Moon 761 power amp. It sounds beautiful. I wouldn’t say that it is a dramatic improvement on the setup I had already (Vega without the fiber moat) but it is a perceptible change in terms of clarity. I am not sure that I can push any more gains at the margin, but I am very pleased so far. Still debating whether to add a separate preamp, but I’m lazy and like the Roon volume control, which I will then lose.

PS. I did try going "full fiber" with an Optical Rendu as per @yyzsantabarbara's helpful suggestions, but that didn't do anything for me, most likely because the Vega's USB input isn't that great.

@yyzsantabarbara I am using fiber --- but up to an Optical Module and then heading back via very short ethernet into the (Vega) streamer, and it sounds distinctly better. What I am not doing is using an oRendu and bypassing the Vega streamer. But the lack of difference here can't be pinned down to a single factor, as I don't think the USB input on the Vega is that good.

But please don't sell me on the Benchmark LA4 :-), even though my original post does mention it. I do not want to control volume with an infrared remote and I don't think there is an alternative. (Short of digitally cutting back from the streamer.) Right?

Hi @yyzsantabarbara, because the Vega G2 series has an analog preamp stage, Roon volume control happens on the analog side and doesn't reduce digital bit-depth. In fact that's the main reason I am unwilling to bypass the preamp stage of the Vega or give the Vega up entirely and replace the entire chain --- which takes me back to my original post. I'll look into your suggestion; thanks.