DAC - Streamer or all in one unit


Hello all,

Starting from scratch presently and having been out of the Digital SOTA loop for a bit..

looking to build an above average primary stereo system. am trying to decide which way to go with a digital ONLY rig.

go with separates, and get a mid level dAC or higher and as competent a Streamer, or an all in one integrated unit which addresses red book or CD rips and streaming needs/desires without the need for ROON., regardless.

i’m guessing the investment for either avenue to as much as $10K all in, perhaps.

not opposed to giant killer big bang for buck gear that drops in below my initial budgetarry target either.

obviously the obligatory additions of more wires is duly noted if separates are the path. and they would be addressed apart from any chosen budgetary target.

your thoughts   or first hand eXP with recently released (’18 to ’20) DACs, and streamers in general, would be immensely well recieved and definitely appreciated.

thanks much!!
blindjim

Showing 1 response by jjss49

agree w many of the comments above

keep streamer and dac separate - streamer/interface technology still sorting out, moving target, lots of half ass solutions, whereas DAC technology has now advanced to the point that very very good sound can be had for $1000, whereas just few years back you needed to spend multiples of that for similarly good sound

since covid shut in in february i have climbed the learning curve - tried several streamers, close to 20 DACs... have a very good feel for what is out there, what is available

key conclusion is with a modest streamer properly connected to a $1000-1500 DAC one can have SQ that truly rivals excellent analog with zero apologies ... it won’t sound quite like analog with LP playback's sympathetic distortions, but nonetheless will sound clean, tonality rich, image very well, sound very real...