tube amp and spotify

Regardless of tube or SS BMC PURE DAC
great sound versatile and value

For myself, I was thinking about getting the Parasound. It has a volume control and doesn't need any drivers, so it can be used with Win, Mac or Linux. For internet streaming, it should work very well.

Find a Wadia 121 if you can. It's musical and detailed, and with digital that's a tough balancing act.

I have the Parasound zDac and am very pleased. It is actually way better than the poor quality Spotify Premium signal.

You really should consider ditching Spotify for Tidal. There is no comparison sound quality wise. Tidal's catalog is smaller but still pretty vast, it's well worth the $20 a month they charge.

Have run a Musical Fidelity V-DAC and now Schiit Gungnir DAC with tubes. With both DACs have used a V-Link 192 SPDIF converter. Not disputing the praise for Tidal (I haven't tried it) but Spotify Premium sounds pretty darn good on my system.

One minor issue with me and Tidal vs Spotify. The sound level is less with Tidal vs Spotify premium. I guess they do that to accommodate the increased dynamic range. I have inefficient speakers and use room correction which both limit the maximum sound level. The signal level with Tidal is too low for me so I use Spotify premium. This shouldn't be an issue with most people though. Bob

"The signal level with Tidal is too low for me so I use Spotify premium. "

Rsimms, can you explain your problem more clearly? Is the issue that your system doesn't have enough dynamic range? If not, why not just turn the volume up when using Tidal?

Rsimms I'm a bit baffled as well I can't imagine the sound levels between Spotify and Tidal being so widely different as to cause that problem. What speakers are you using and what are you driving them with? And if the room correction limits sound level to that degree it sounds like something is wrong. I agree with Cleeds more info is needed.

Just discovered my thread. I bought a Music Hall CD with a dac built in. Works great and sounds very nice. I switched to Tidal and yes it's better than Spotify. I also purchased the sonos and now I can sit in my sweet spot with a tablet and manage my net music. Sounds great, works great. I'm no looking to upgrade my speaks. I have a Primaluna Dialogue HP with Focal 1028be speaks. I'd like to try the Wilson Benesch Curve or another benesch. Any thoughts of something along the benesch line. I like detailed, wide sound stage, mids and highs. Bass that's tight, not boomy or loud. Mostly play a moderate sound levels and my room is small with mucho treatments.  Thanks. Gary 

Gary sounds like a nice setup, also running Tidal through Sonos, sounds great through my Yamamoto DAC and tube seperates. I can't comment on Wilson-Benesch specifically but I am running Focal or I should say JMlabs, the Original Micro-Utopias. If you like the Focal sound perhaps check out some of their higher end monitors? Though the Wilson-Benesch stuff is super cool looking I must admit and probably sounds great. Sounds like you're in for a lot of fun upgrading, but just remember, you can always stop! ;)