Please help with setting up a streaming system
Hi guys and gals,
I would like to start streaming some high res and cd quality music. I am very computer illiterate so please take it easy on me. I would like to set something up fairly easy to use and not spend more than 2k. I currently have an older PS Audio PWD 2 with just the bridge card and the PWT memory player going to PrimaLuna mono blocks and pre amp. I would like to use my dac if it is still a viable solution because I really like the sound when the recording is decent. Can someone please offer some direction and experience with where to start?
Thanks in advance for any advice and suggestions!
For budget conscious systems, the Bluesound is excellent. For a better quality, I would go with Innuos and Aurilac. As far as your DAC goes, I think it would be the best start in order to attain higher quality sound. A used Ayre Codex,(now under $1K), will blow the PWD out of the room. My 2 cents... Bob |
The Martin Logan Unison are on closeout at 50% off for $199 and the ARC room correction is a game changer. No other streamer will offer this room correction except Paradigms: https://www.martinlogan.com/en/product/unison The Unison wireless pre-amp can not only stream music using your choice of DTS Play-Fi or Apple AirPlay, it also offers one of the best room-correction solutions on the market.
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Everyone usually recommends the one they use, so take that with a grain of salt. My only recommendation is to get a streamer with an OS (Operating System) you like for your application. A lot of OS work best with Apple products and not so good with Samsung. And many are difficult to operate with phones, specially android. Some don't even do android. I only want to use my android phone as a remote to control my streamer and the bluesound NODE 130 does that flawlessly. Decide how you want to operate your streamer and dive into Google to find the streamer that will work best for it. As an example, Auralic, no android at all. |
If you need to upgrade your network, don't bother with an extender, they just add latency and halve your bandwidth. Rather, invest in a decent mesh router that supports WiFi 6 and a dedicated backhaul between nodes. The big advantages are far better coverage and WiFi 6 support of parallel streams. In other words, your streaming isn't competing with someone else's gaming or video for a time slice. This is a big deal. So I also wouldn't spend a dime on a streamer that didn't also support WiFi 6. This will only become more important over time as more devices compete for bandwidth and time slices. |
Thanks for all the great suggestions and please keep them coming. I would like to use my iPad for controlling whatever app I use like qobuz or tidal. I also have a panel that is wired throughout the house with cat 5 that I was hoping to use to run the Ethernet cable from the router to the streamer. If the cat 5 isn’t sufficient I could run a dedicated Ethernet line from the office to the living room (about 50-60 feet) pretty easily? |
