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Lost: streaming & changing my system HELP

I have been fixed to my current system for about 15 years. I am going to be down sizing and it is time to revisit Audio Land & learn.-- please help me sort thru my issues and eventually we will get to streaming and updating dacs--I am involved with antiques:

Interests have been 2 Chanel lp's & CD's
Wide range of musical interests from punk rock to Renaissance.  All sorts of classical and primarily acoustic jazz..I use a $200 system for video 

Current system: pass aleph 1a mono blocks, pass preamp and phono stage feed by scout tt with a few flavors of magnet carts. Current listening room is 35x40 ft
Likely will be moving to high rise 1300 sft 2/2.
Want to keep my silverline LaFolia speakers as I love them. Very efficient towers which I first heard driven by 7 Watt tubes. The designer,Allan Yun voiced then on nelson pass amps. I have spoken with him and he can only discuss what knows.
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The huge pass alephs are class a space heaters that I cannot imagine in an apartment. Allan Yun who designed my speakers tells me I am crazy to sell them used as likely to net less than $2 000. Can they be Adapted for use in an apartment  eg stack then in a corner and never use more than the first 10 beautiful pure watts of holographic imaging and musical presence that they produce???

Topic 1 alternative to pass aleph 1a? Smaller pass amps eg first Watt?

Topic 2 enter the modern world with a minimalist approach: playing around with the concept of Naim Nova all in one? Or cambridge Azur 851 feeding lower power ss sweet amps.
Will all in one's be an acceptable solution? Hoping for buget of less than $10k for Naim Nova solution or ca Azur 851 with sweet little ss Amp .
Brooklyn bridge???? Should I really listen when someone tries to sell.me the Brooklyn bridge?? Streamer. Dac and preamp. Reading reviews. I sense it might be a real contender.

Topic 3 which over laps with one and two.   How do I learn with basics to under the current set of options to enjoy hi res streaming; digitalizing 1500 cds and controlling everything. Reviewers discuss roon, different digital formats, howvto get great sound out of tidal and some service I cannot imagine how to pronounce that starts with q.

Please help this music lover who is 15 years or more out of date.
Ps I am still using my Sony monster 777es super cd player. Can I use this as a transport with good results?

Help!!!!!!!!!


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fuzztone's avatar
fuzztone
5,498 posts
 
If you really want "great sound" streaming make sure that whatever you get can stream Qobuz (KoBuzz) or Deezer. All others shown to be suboptimal.
You can get Aurender sound for far less, just more diy work required. One of the most overlooked concerns for streaming is the stability and intuitiveness of the control app and what device(s) you plan to use for that. Auralic for example is STILL iOS only. Very few have dedicated remotes.
Digitizing CDs is a lot of work too, if you care about tags. It's easiest if you rip each one as acquired. A computer works as good as a fancy box for ripping. Just avoid it for playback.
Good luck whichever way you forge ahead.
You do not have to blow the dough unless really lazy. No prob with that.
What's good for one often does not work for the next guy.
ghdprentice
6,362 posts
 
I have owned Threshold / Pass stuff for most of the last 40+ years. If you like your amps and preamp then I am sure you can tuck them away. If you prefer to dip your toe in instead of blowing all of the $10K, I recommend a Schiit Yggidrasil DAC (~2,500), competes with DACs at twice the price. An absolutely screaming deal. (Or Bryston BDA-3, ~3,500). Needs 200+ hours to start achieving it’s capability. personally am not a Naim fan or of integrated Streamer / DAC. Look at an Aurender A100 Streamer (~3,900). This combination should give you everything you need for really great sound (with some storage if you want to rip some CDs). Natural, detailed, not digital. I think it likely the sound of these should on par or better than you CDs... and competitive with your analog end.
.
Personally, I have never been a fan of the Naim sound. You can do streaming from a PC... but you have to fiddle with the PC or laptop and they are incredibly noisy devices. Music streamers are built from the ground up to be quiet and reliable. For years I didn’t want to believe it and used every device you can shake a stick at... then an Auralic Aries G2 changed my mind... which I then traded for an Aurender... then upgraded because it was sooo good. I could completely live with steaming only now.
russ69's avatar
russ69
3,360 posts
 
FYI: There is something nice about just flicking on an integrated amp and have the music play. Much better than turning on two amps, a pre-amp, a source, etc. 
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bob52r OP
44 posts
 
Thanks for feeding food for thought to this hungry mind
ghdprentice
6,362 posts
 
Oops, I intended to say Aurender N100 Streamer (not A100)... it comes in a number of flavored. I have one in my headphone system. They make a lot of different ones.
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