In my system I have tried the micro rendu, for 3 years until really tired of drop outs, if you are very computer savvy this may suit, of course you need a computer hooked up to stream. Being frustrated I have tried the Bluesound Node, nice interface, internal DAC not great but I have several external DAC's including a denafrips ares 2, overall OK. Next was Lumin U1 mini, OK with Ares 2 but expensive and no linear power supply. Then Link Stack this sounded best, to me, but interface was a total disaster, do not buy if you are a mac user as you need a computer to set it up. Lastly has been a Lindemann Limetree Bridge 1 (not 2) virtually nil drop outs, those I get are 1 - 2 seconds and mostly likely due to my modem, I may get 1 every 100 hours, mR was several a session, it sounds really nice, totally ignore ASR review as all negative comments are based on a high distortion figure, which is actually at a level and frequency you will never hear, the interface is good probably ranks with Bluesound OS but a little behind Audirvana, of course this is personal, many people swear by Roon for instance, I have spent too many hours of my life swearing at Roon. If you like your existing DAC why waste money on another.
Another person going digital and full of questions
I'm yet another new member trying to figure out the digital streaming world. I've been streaming Tidal and Idagio from my desktop computer through an RME ADI-2 dac and into various headphones for a while. Now I'd like to add digital streaming on my main system. I'm just looking for a source that would provide streaming services to my existing preamp (Audible Illusions) amp (Audio Research) and speakers (Wilson Benesch Act 1). I'm looking for something to complement my other sources, a VPI turntable and a Rega CD player and Benchmark 1 DAC. I don't want to rip my CDs or play any stored music files. So far, I'm learning that there are more recent and better DACs out there than the old Benchmark, and that I should consider a quieter box than my computer to connect to ethernet. But I'm lost in a sea of streamers, servers, reclockers, power supplies, etcetera, most with unfamiliar brand names.
I'd appreciate any suggestions. budget in the $5k range but can stretch a little.
- ...
- 50 posts total
The current Node has an upgraded DAC that sounded pretty impressive when I heard it for an extended audition. Bluesound stuff is far from perfect but it checks some boxes for being a good entry into streaming. As @djones51 mentioned the UI is critical to the experience and Bluesound has one of the better ones, in addition to adding every streaming service imaginable. It plays high resolution recordings and is good enough, especially when paired with a really good external DAC, that many people feel it is all they need. And if doesn’t fit the bill, you haven’t blown the budget. For people unsure about streaming, it remains a go to recommendation |
Just questioning an answer that for many here is a given. Why is it necessary to spend $20k on a DAC before one hears music that sounds like music? After all, it's just a box of electronics, with components, mostly solid state, and design input. But if the proposition is correct then it underlines that the bad elephant in the small digital room is the DAC. The ongoing failure of digital to produce a sound analogous to music is because of the fundamentally insoluble engineering problems of obtaining accurate clock timings and eliminating dither. For some of us, converting analogue sound to digital and then back again is alchemy and thus unable to be effected perfectly. At the very least, surely it is unnecessary if we always start with analogue sound. The questions are: How have some of the expensive DACS improved on cheaper ones (as most acknowledge)? Why has it cost so much money? Are DAC problem issues truly insoluble? |
it is not - musical dacs exist at very affordable levels... depends how stringent one is about defining in their own minds ’what sounds like music’... like everything else in this pursuit, superb execution to a very high standard gets expensive (see: turntables, cartridges, amplifiers, speakers...)
solutions exist just somewhat costly to implement correctly
you don’’t seem to understand what happens in the front end of the industry -- how the music we play is recorded... that is where digitization starts - do you think modern lp’s contain music that is analog, never digitized?
there are numerous posts and sources of info on what makes a good dac - 1) error free input reception/clocking - with the variety of data transfer configurations, each and their shortcomings must be anticipated and dealt with 2) clean d/a conversion including digital filtering (chose your method) 3) good analog power supply and signal delivery (think why does a really good analog linestage cost $$, do we have a $200 world class linestage? of course not...) 4) digital and analog noise management, electrical and mechanical
see above
not... like anything else, complete and high quality solutions are costly to implement my 2 cents - others may of course differ in their opinions and held beliefs |
- 50 posts total