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Streaming for beginner

I have a PS Audio front end-- DMP disc player and DirectSteam DAC. Very happy with the resolution and performance, especially from my redbook cd collection. For those familiar with the DSD, it is upgradable via a network bridge card to become a dedicated streamer. When I bought this DAC, I was looking ahead to an eventual migration to streaming.
I also have a Spotify account, that currently only serves me as a companion to my iPhone during walks and exercise.

My question: assume my goal is to stream for convenience, simplicity, and achieve audio quality that equals or surpasses that of redbook cd’s. I am not looking to purchase music or download it for storage. What am I missing? I also have a dedicated iPad that can serve as the interface to the DAC/Streamer. Spotify also claims that streaming in high resolution is available on my account. Do I need anything else? Am I oversimplifying this?

I am a beginner when it comes to streaming, so please answer in simple terms since I will not be familiar with a lot of the services and components mentioned elsewhere in these forums. In fact, confusing enough for me that it is forcing me to ask here.


mbiondo
joeldi
8 posts
 
I agree with the sentiment toward Spotify vs. Tidal and Qobuz. I like MQA files but I wonder how much of the sound quality is from the remastering process rather than the file format. The system I am working toward is here. Hope this helps!
tinear123
240 posts
 
The DS+NetBridge is super easy and direct streaming solution.  I have the same and stream Tidal to fantastic results.  Enjoy!
wsrrsw's avatar
wsrrsw
874 posts
 
Qobuz great! Lot's of high res. Works for me. DirectSteam DAC great too.

A quick search up top here will get you an overload of info.
kairosman's avatar
kairosman
246 posts
 
The Bridge II is a Roon endpoint, but if you dont go with Roon there is Mconnect and Bubbleupn. Any of these apps interface with Qobuz or Tidal, but Roon is by far the best of them, only it requires a server core and is more expensive.

AWOW once you go down the rabbit hole that is the streaming universe you will never go back to spinning records or CDs. Digital tech gets better every 6 months, resulting in sonic improvements at even entry level gear. 
pennpencil
109 posts
 
The other streaming option not mentioned so far is Amazon Music HD, which is cheaper than Tidal and Qobuz and is supposed to have higher resolution. I was scared off of Qobuz by reports of terrible customer service. It sounds like folks on here have had a better experience. I use Tidal but I compared it for 3 months with Amazon Music HD. As much as I wanted to like Amazon more than Tidal because of the price difference and higher resolution, Tidal sounded better to me. It might be my gear. If I weren't listening to one song on each, maybe I would have not noticed. But side by side, I did. Perhaps it's the way Amazon processes the sound files. I don't know. I've read online how others have compared the two and decide Amazon is better. I guess you go back to the old adage, trust your ears not someone else's. I keep my Pandora account because it provides better suggestions than Tidal. When listening during work, I find new songs on Pandora and add them to my Tidal playlist. Anyone here use Amazon Music HD?
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