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Equal $$ for Phono OR Streaming?

Consider the following situation. A friend who's watched me put together my system has decided to follow suit. He's inherited some very good speakers and amplification (no DAC) from a relative and has about wants to finish out the main elements of the system with the best possible source. He has about $4-6k to spend and wishes to spend it on either a phono stage/TT combo OR a DAC/streamer combo. (For content, he is willing to spend either on vinyl or streaming services to fulfill whichever path he chooses above.)

Focusing simply on the potential for sonic quality (rather than, say, the variety of music one can stream), where do you think his money would best be spent and why? Could he reach the same outcomes after spending on a TT, cartridge, phono stage, record cleaner, isolation table and all the other accoutrements necessary for a good phono set up as he could if he bought a good DAC, streamer, etc.?

If your tastes weigh so heavily toward analog or digital that you can simply decide this without considering the details of the comparison, please try to set those aside and answer based on what he might be able to get for $4-6k.

128x128hilde45
lalitk's avatar
lalitk
5,055 posts
 
@hilde45,

Listening to discussion now (Thanks). Your friend is in great shape having acquired good speakers and amp. I know we are in preliminary stage of the discussion but if I were in his shoes and lean towards streaming, following players offers a simple setup and good sound to boot.

Aurender A100 - $3900
Lumin T2 - $4500
Auralic Vega G1 - $4289

Or he can take your route of Node 2i + Orchid DAC :-) And remaining dollars should go towards on room acoustics, tweaks and cables.

Regarding discussion, the best part was at 53 minute mark...measurements :-)

+1, @fuzztone
facten
2,723 posts
 
Questions for you , does your friend have a specific music genre and particular artists he/she primarily enjoys, and are they available on vinyl and broadly so?
mapman's avatar
mapman
21,830 posts
 
Its a personal choice. Either way done right will sound great and need not cost a fortune.

If you are a music lover and do not already have a record collection, its a no brainer...go streaming.

IF you have a lot of records you want to play or just the idea of buying and playing records is the appeal.....do it.

You could even go totally nuts and do some of both...


hilde45's avatar
hilde45 OP
4,783 posts
 
My friend inclines towards pop, rock, classical, and jazz.

I’m hoping to keep some factors outside the core question -- excluding cost, availability of content, fussiness or convenience, etc. He has funds for those things and has time. He considers this a hobby and does not demand it necessarily be as easy as possible. So, this is a question about what-it-would-take to reach a roughly equivalent sonic outcome using the competing hardware. Sorry I didn't make that clear.
lalitk's avatar
lalitk
5,055 posts
 
“this is a question about what-it-would-take to reach a roughly equivalent sonic outcome using the competing hardware.”

@hilde45, 

It would be helpful to know what speaker / amp your friend currently owns. As you know, system synergy plays an important role in component selection. 
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