After doing some more digging something like a Moon 390 would fit the bill as well. Unfortunately I'd like to stay under $2000
All-in-one streamer/amp with HT bypass?
This may be more of a "what would you do next" thread but I have a specific thought that I would nominate as next step for me.
I'm looking for a product that may not exist but here's what I'd like to do.
I'm more of a movie buff than music buff but I do use my single system for both purposes. I've had the best luck i the past segregating my stereo front end from my HT front end. I've kept it as simple as swapping speaker cables to listen to music to running something like the Parasound Halo integrated amp (which I no longer own) which has home theater bypass. After spending the past few years upgrading several components I feel like I'm back to source/front end being the weak link for music.
For a while I was listening to CD quality rips of my own CDs through an Apple TV. I know Apple TV transcodes everything to 48k so I wanted to move on from that. I got into streaming audio and bought an Arcam AirDAC which allows me to use a service like Tidal high-res but it requires "casting" the audio from my phone or laptop over Airplay, which I understand compresses the signal. Finally, I started using DTS Play-Fi on my Anthem AVM-60 directly as the music streams from Tidal, directly to the AVM-60. I don't have to worry about synergy between a digital streamer, DAC, integrated, cables, etc. This was such a massive improvement it got me thinking.
Basically I'm looking for something like the old Parasound Halo I had before but also has an integrated streamer (Tidal high-res in particular). BUT, if I do that, it HAS TO HAS TO HAS TO allow me to run a subwoofer and do HT bypass so it doesn't muck up my HT setup which is truly my priority.
I'm open to other suggestions as to where the weak link might be for music. Maybe I get a better 2ch amp for the mains, maybe I get a better dedicated streamer and continue to use the Anthem. I suppose that will depend on how people see the AVM-60 as a music front end vs. a stereo component.
My current system consists of the following.
The other noted I'd make is I'd like to maintain flexibility around subwoofer integration. While I don't really need them in the mix for 2ch right now, I may move to some stand-mount monitors in the future (KEF LS50 just as an example) and will absolutely need to integrate the subs.
I'm looking for a product that may not exist but here's what I'd like to do.
I'm more of a movie buff than music buff but I do use my single system for both purposes. I've had the best luck i the past segregating my stereo front end from my HT front end. I've kept it as simple as swapping speaker cables to listen to music to running something like the Parasound Halo integrated amp (which I no longer own) which has home theater bypass. After spending the past few years upgrading several components I feel like I'm back to source/front end being the weak link for music.
For a while I was listening to CD quality rips of my own CDs through an Apple TV. I know Apple TV transcodes everything to 48k so I wanted to move on from that. I got into streaming audio and bought an Arcam AirDAC which allows me to use a service like Tidal high-res but it requires "casting" the audio from my phone or laptop over Airplay, which I understand compresses the signal. Finally, I started using DTS Play-Fi on my Anthem AVM-60 directly as the music streams from Tidal, directly to the AVM-60. I don't have to worry about synergy between a digital streamer, DAC, integrated, cables, etc. This was such a massive improvement it got me thinking.
Basically I'm looking for something like the old Parasound Halo I had before but also has an integrated streamer (Tidal high-res in particular). BUT, if I do that, it HAS TO HAS TO HAS TO allow me to run a subwoofer and do HT bypass so it doesn't muck up my HT setup which is truly my priority.
I'm open to other suggestions as to where the weak link might be for music. Maybe I get a better 2ch amp for the mains, maybe I get a better dedicated streamer and continue to use the Anthem. I suppose that will depend on how people see the AVM-60 as a music front end vs. a stereo component.
My current system consists of the following.
- Anthem AVM-60
- Sunfire Theater Grand TGA-7401
- Sharp TV/Epson Projector and 4K Apple TV for the movie side (not really relevant to this discussion)
- GoldenEar Triton Ones
- Four SVS-SB200 subs (2 up front and two at the room's midpoint).
- GoldenEar SCXXL and Aeon 2 for surround (not really relevant to this discussion)
The other noted I'd make is I'd like to maintain flexibility around subwoofer integration. While I don't really need them in the mix for 2ch right now, I may move to some stand-mount monitors in the future (KEF LS50 just as an example) and will absolutely need to integrate the subs.
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You may not find any unit that does it all, especially the streaming part. Your best bet if you don't want to add a separate streamer, is to get a preamp like the Rotel RC 1590, which has everything else plus Bluethooth and use that for the streaming. You would be surprised how good Bluethooth can sound. |
The Devialet Expert Pro can be set up with home theater bypass on and subwoofer output when not in bypass mode. It also supports Wi-Fi and Ethernet for streaming with many different services: https://help.devialet.com/hc/en-us/articles/360000973669-Streaming-sources-in-Expert-Pro-with-Core-Infinity. |