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Fairly new to streaming. Where to start?

$2k & under budget

Aralic Vega has streamer  and DAC. May be the easiest start?
Then there is Schiit...Yiggy or Gumby...which streamer?
Ladder NOS dac? Or Chip? I'm old. maybe I'll like the old school DAC?
Then there is  Benchmark DAC 3...I think it has streamer?
Then
Exasound E32
Audio Mirror?
Metrum
MHDT Orchid
Border Patrol?
Musical Paradise?
Whats a newbie to do? I am a classic rock fan with lots of FLAC & M4a files. I like detail & PRaT. Love a good bass line. I also play some 70's jazz. I have a Theta Miles CD player from the 1900's & play a lot of vinyl too. But I need to come into the 21st century.  Besides, I will probably become tired of the vinyl ritual and work at some point as I get older. I think I have done enough homework to be somewhat confused. Maybe the biggest question in light of how fast digital changes is the question of streamer with DAC or separate Streamer and DAC. One other question is the streamer & bridge the same thing? OK Thanks!! 
128x128artemus_5
cdorval1
25 posts
 
Yes, the BluOS app is available for Android phones.  It's a very good interface.  Also, the Node 2i can stream both via Ethernet and wirelessly.

Last year I was where you are--listening for many, many years to vinyl and CDs. Then I ripped most of my CDs uncompressed to computer and fed to a variety of DACS to my system.

I added the Bluesound Node 2i last year.  It's opened a whole new world, so I agree that it's a good place to start. It's feeding the internal DAC in a Devialet right now.  But I gotta say when I fed from the Bluesound internal DAC I detected no difference.  Then I tried my Bryston DAC.  No difference.  Then my Berkeley Alpha.  No difference.  Wish I could do an ABX test to hear the difference.

In any case, have fun!


daledeee1's avatar
daledeee1
521 posts
 
Got a Node 2i for 419 refurbished
Got a $30 coax cable
got a Topping D90 DAC for $630
I get good sound from this.  The functionality of the Amazon HD music ap is much better but the sound more than makes up for it.  You could save money if you want to try this out first.  I started with a $95 streamer and you could get a 300 DAC and for less than 500 you could get your feet wet.  I would skip that step because the sound of the above setup is much better and still reasonable. 
french_fries
815 posts
 
I WAS (at one time 3 years ago) going to use a MAC-MINI hooked into my (very good) CDP and use WIFI to receive HD-tracks, etc. This set-up is no longer desirable from what I gather. Still, the MAC has a 4Tb upgraded hard drive to store files. I still have all this gear but haven't tried to set it up (due to circumstances). Anyone care to comment? 
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bruce19
221 posts
 
Artemus_5I am on the same journey. I currently stream with a yamaha wxc-50,  which is not mentioned much here but is a very versatile little device with quality on a par with the node 2i for just $350. I have been evaluated all the upgrade options too and here is the one I'm leaning towards which fits your budget and should be on par with the solutions mentioned in this discussion. Consider a Sonore UltraRendu augmented with a quality power supply. I plan to use an older Mac mini running either Audirvana or Roon to stream my ripped cd collection and access streaming services. It can be controlled from a iphone or a ipad remotely. This can all be done for $2000 or less depending on what you may already have.
fuzztone's avatar
fuzztone
5,508 posts
 
elliotbnew
If you won't pay for streaming you are not serious. Commercials suck. Hundreds of free streaming radio stations have better SQ than Pandora free. And play a better variety. Even Spotify free radio is better for discovery. Not that you could tell the difference through a PC headphone jack.
I won't let any of my PCs in the same room as my big HiFi rig. Except for setting up DSP.
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