Great news, I’m playing music with Tidal!
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Mbolek, OMG thank you so much. I have the remote and my iPad paired now. I have no idea what I was doing before. Going to try and play some music. Have to get the Rose volume or gain synced up to my preamp now.
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Ghd, your system, I’m sure is amazing, however I’m not going to spend that kind of money. My whole system is only about 30k retail. I’m really looking for something that would be a noticeable improvement from the dac in my c47 and the iPad. I’ve looked at numerous threads on here about digital streaming sq and feel sure I should be able to make improvements for a lot less than 30k.
Would hooking up my preamp directly to my modem with an Ethernet cable improve the sound? Everything I read says that the dac in my c47 is not great and I can’t go to the Mac dac2 upgrade. Would a streamer fed into the dac on the c47 improve things?
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Thanks to everyone. I’m seeing some thoughts that a dedicated streamer would be better than my iPad. Soix your suggestions sound good and might be close to my budget. Mapman it’s hard to know what recordings are what. I’ve seen some things that the dac in my preamp may not be the best. Db I’m going to check out that used n100 on eBay.
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Calvin, your set up looks good to me and would be right at my budget or a little over. Everyone is pretty much a Quboz fan instead of Tidal, is there really that much difference? It’s easy to change. I’ve also heard good things about Amazon’s Prime new music streaming service.
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So I think I’m going to have to up my budget to get what I want. I’ve been searching different streamer/dacs tonight and finding 3 at around 5k that all look interesting. The HiFi Rose 150 b, the Lumin T2, and the CaryDMS 650. Everyone of these checks all my Boxes and in fact are one box solutions that according to reviews could easily surpass my analog gear for sq. The Cary is brand new but there are reviews of previous models. The T2 is well reviewed and the HiFi rose is very well thought of. Any thoughts on these three. The ease of use is important to me as I’m not very good with complicated machines.
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I appreciate all the recommendations and thoughts, however I think I’m going to stay with a one box solution and I’m leaning toward the hifi rose 150b. Everything I read is positive about this unit and it also has a dac out so if the future I could buy another dac. The reviews say it’s very much an easy streamer to operate and comes loaded with both Tidal and Quboz. Sound is supposed to be outstanding plus I can buy it with a 30 or 60 day trial with the option to send it back if I don’t like it. This thing has more features than anything I’ve looked at, in fact lots that I probably won’t use. I love the large touch screen and the app is said to be very good and intuitive.
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Dinov, I realize the Lumin is a nice product, but have you heard the hifi rose? I haven’t listened to either, that’s one of the reasons for my thread.
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Nosulac, I have no doubts the T2 is a solid choice. I have no way to listen to these two in my system unless I buy both and then either sell one or send one back. I’m not set for sure on the HiFi rose but it sure has good reviews.
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One of the things that pushes me toward the HiFi Rose is the ease of use along with the support of the company as far as frequent automatic updates.in addition to the touch screen It has a physical remote or can be controlled from my iPad. Also being able to stream 4k video holds a little interest for me although it’s not terribly important.
I would connect the Rose to my modem with an Ethernet cable and then balanced Xlr cables to my preamp. The T2 also looks good but the operating system doesn’t seem as user friendly. Now I just need to figure out how much I’m going to owe the irs before I pull the trigger. Any advice on an Ethernet or xlr cables?
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So, the good news is that the sound is truly amazing. Big step up from my previous streaming from my iPad through the dac in my mc47 preamp. I listened to most of Kind of Blue and the sound is on par with the new Analog Production Album that cost me $125. Not exactly the same but really, really good.
The bad news is I can’t use my iPad to control things and Tidal on the Rose is very rudimentary, meaning I have to search for anything I want to listen to. My iPad is paired to the Rose according to the Rose screen but I don’t see any way to get it connected. I have the Rose app on my pad and when I try to link them it just doesn’t work. Any thoughts from anyone?
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It just started working. It’s like it’s haunted!
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Well, I just ordered the Rose. It should arrive by Tuesday if not sooner. I’ll let you know how it goes. Excited!
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It just started working. It’s like it’s haunted!
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Jj thanks for the affirmation. I sure hope you’re right. I bought the last one Crutchfield had in stock, so I can send it back within 60 days if I want. Last night I was listening to Tidal masters through my iPad and dac in my preamp, it was very enjoyable. Im hoping the Rose is going to be a big step up.
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I am gobsmacked at how good this sounds. Everyone of the MQA or master songs I’ve listened to on Tidal is as good or better than my best albums. The imaging, soundstage and tonal quality is just amazing. I saw the reviews on line that praised this unit and its every bit as good as they say. I will say that I have gotten a bit of buffering over the course of 9 or 10 hours of playing. I hope this is fixable. I may email Rose and see if this is a problem.
I never imagined digital could be this good.
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It should be here today. I have a new Ethernet cable coming with it and some balanced xlr cables already here. Excited to get it up and running.
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So I got the Rose yesterday and it is pretty impressive from a build quality and in general very solid. I got to play with it for a while yesterday and had some conversation with a tech guy at Crutchfield. Too busy today, but I have been watching some online videos on setup. For me this thing is not plug and play, but I’m 70 and not very computer knowledgeable. I’ve had a hard time getting the Rose to sync up with my iPad, so I’ve been using the touch screen, which in itself is pretty cool. Yesterday I listened to Tidal for a couple of songs but had very low volume and couldn’t figure out why. Looking around on line today I think I may of figured out how to raise the output to match my preamp better and have volume control from my pre.
im going to get this figured out if it kills me. The reviews on line are gushing so I think I will be pleased in the long run, it’s just going to take me a while. Maybe buying this from more knowledgeable people would of been a plus. The tech guy was watching a video and then trying to tell me what to do. Friday I should have some time to really get into it.
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I’m using the balanced outputs and an Ethernet cable direct into my router. I just downloaded the Qobuz app and will give that a try in the coming days. Streaming does lead to music you’ve never heard before. Just play one song and you get a bunch, that Tidal in my case, recommends for you.
I thought my streaming before was decent using my iPad through the dac in my preamp but this is a huge improvement. Over the years I’ve made upgrades and changes that helped or didn’t help the sound of my system but other than changing from my old ADS L810 speakers to my Aerial 7t’s, nothing has made this kind of difference. I’m not a very good writer or reviewer of audio gear but this change will have me playing a lot less records.
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