late to streaming, recommendations?
Vinyl and tubes guy here but I recently got my act together and figured out how to do loseless spotify into my system using a dedicated computer, usb to Cambridge Audio DacMagic100 and then rca into my tube preamp. sampling rate is 192 (whatever that means). was a definite improvement over what I was doing before and streaming finally sounds pretty good to me. Now I'm starting to use it a lot and wondering, well, how could it be better? What would be the logical and most worth it bang-for-the-buck upgrade path for me?
Budget player https://share.google/0tiy1j2VKvEzyhNI2 Mid price player https://share.google/XpzhU0lgGKA9N6S60 Start saving money because it is worth it. https://share.google/TQTCvsBjx1GOdAnJb |
What’s your budget for the upgrade @argonsteele |
A streamer is a purpose built device made specifically to create high fidelity music. A PC or Mac is an incredibly hostile environment to create a stream of music. Even a cheap Bluesound Streamer will outperform a PC or Mac. In general, choosing best of class streamers a $500 will perform less than a $1K and < $2K <$5K < $10K and <$20K assuming equal capable components thought your system. My rule of thumb (once again, choosing best of class... not just buying by price) your investment in Amp = Preamp = DAC = Streamer = Phonostage = Turntable. I have a great analog end and digital end which I carefully chose and they sound virtually identical. In today’s world, in general you can match your digital end quality to analog end quality for roughly the same price. But like analog there are different house sounds... most obvious with the DAC... but the streamer will be most obvious in how dynamic the sound is and how quiet the noise floor is. I have over twenty years of streaming experience and have streamed on every conceivable platform, PC, Mac, Bluesound, $3K, $5K, $10K $15K and $25K streamers. I own two Aurender Streamers, which I recommend. Not only are their fidelity extremely good for the money, but their app for control is first class... You use an app on an iPad or phone to control the steamer... to choose albums and search through the millions of albums and stations. You can see my systems under virtual systems under my userID. Get a subscription for Qobuz it is the best sounding streaming service and is a standard on all streamers... Tidal is the second best. Only ~$14 per month, with over half a million high definition albums. You want a compatible and equally capable DAC... think PhonoStage. Best to get a separate DAC from Streamer... then you can upgrade separately and not have the circuitry increase noise floor.
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