The Dark Side; Digital audio equipment recommendations and setup.

jamieanderson1968 said:
More that it is just nothing special. The ability to download for later offline is nothing new. For a service that is funded entirely by (high) annual licences, the upgrade and the new app are pretty weak.
Click to expand...
I guess for me, with how often I use roon, I can justify the current monthly cost. If they were to raise the price to add these features, I’d probably cancel. Right now, as you said, there isn’t anything that competes with Roon on Mac though…I’ve only used Plex for movies but I find it to to be a little annoying to use. Since working from home, I use Roon every day so I’d want something that is pretty seamless and has a good UI.
 
MikeH said:
Do you find yourself listening to CDs more than streaming? I got a cheap SACD player and have barely touched it since buying it. For some reason can’t be bothered! Obviously part of it is that I don’t have nearly as many CDs as vinyl…but I find myself streaming a lot more since getting the Denafrips.
Click to expand...

At home, yeah. I rarely, if ever, stream in the house. Well until the thing died a few months back! I have a lot of CDs lol.
 
Joe Mac said:
At home, yeah. I rarely, if ever, stream in the house. Well until the thing died a few months back! I have a lot of CDs lol.
Click to expand...

To expand a bit I suppose there’s a bit of an event about vinyl. And I kind of like that. There still is a bit to CDs too. Streaming feels sorta throwaway. Don’t get me wrong in the car and on the go it’s an utter game changer, brilliant, but at home I like the process of picking something out and going and playing it. Plus it’s not like I don’t already have the discs.

The decision now is whether to just give up on the SACD layer of my hybrid discs and go with that player above or to commit to SACDs and do the batshit crazy thing. Should be in a place in late Feb early March to know a bit better.

I’m edging towards the just CD but keep doing the sums for the demented option, just in case…
 
Joe Mac said:
To expand a bit I suppose there’s a bit of an event about vinyl. And I kind of like that. There still is a bit to CDs too. Streaming feels sorta throwaway. Don’t get me wrong in the car and on the go it’s an utter game changer, brilliant, but at home I like the process of picking something out and going and playing it. Plus it’s not like I don’t already have the discs.

The decision now is whether to just give up on the SACD layer of my hybrid discs and go with that player above or to commit to SACDs and do the batshit crazy thing. Should be in a place in late Feb early March to know a bit better.

I’m edging towards the just CD but keep doing the sums for the demented option, just in case…
Click to expand...
I hear ya. For me, my streaming sounds better than most CDs. That’s probably because my streaming setup is just better since I put more thought and spent more on it. So when I want to listen to something I don’t own on vinyl, I use Roon.

If I could get true DSD out of the SACD player or be able to use my Denafrips as the DAC I’d probably go down the SACD rabbit hole a bit more. but kind of can’t be bothered at the moment since I don’t have a huge CD collection and lots of SACDs seem to be closer to vinyl pricing than I though.
 
MikeH said:
I hear ya. For me, my streaming sounds better than most CDs. That’s probably because my streaming setup is just better since I put more thought and spent more on it. So when I want to listen to something I don’t own on vinyl, I use Roon.

If I could get true DSD out of the SACD player or be able to use my Denafrips as the DAC I’d probably go down the SACD rabbit hole a bit more. but kind of can’t be bothered at the moment since I don’t have a huge CD collection and lots of SACDs seem to be closer to vinyl pricing than I though.
Click to expand...

Yeah see if I buy a transport it’d be the same DAC for both it and a potential streamer so there isn’t going to be an appreciable difference in terms of like for like sample rates and the transports I’m looking at are all reference level, it’s not like my cheap option is a cheap option, it just doesn’t have SACD. Plus a lot of even lossless streaming maxes out at CD quality.

I’ll likely still get a cheaper endpoint for AirPlay in case wanted to sample new stuff etc but kinda pivoting towards the discs for the majority of my digital playback.
 
Joe Mac said:
Yeah see if I buy a transport it’d be the same DAC for both it and a potential streamer so there isn’t going to be an appreciable difference in terms of like for like sample rates and the transports I’m looking at are all reference level, it’s not like my cheap option is a cheap option, it just doesn’t have SACD. Plus a lot of even lossless streaming maxes out at CD quality.

I’ll likely still get a cheaper endpoint for AirPlay in case wanted to sample new stuff etc but kinda pivoting towards the discs for the majority of my digital playback.
Click to expand...
I kinda wish I hadn't sold most of my CDs a few months back! But probably for the best haha. Is the PSAudio SACD transport your demented option??
 
So my feeling right now is that I will get the nu prime cd player. All but 3 of my SACD discs are hybrid and of those single layers I have 2 since bought on vinyl. I can replace the other with a CD easy enough.

Also looking a rationalising my collection. I was looking at artists that I had almost all of on CD but who I’d allowed a slow creep in of their records recently, or those who I had a mix but completing the vinyl would be nigh on impossible due to price/availability. I reckon when I get the CD player that I can cull 60 records and by adding just 20 CDs in replacement I’ll have a much more balanced collection. Culling 60 records will also do wonders for my space issues!

I’m excited already! Roll on 2023 being the year where sanity prevails, well a little anyway!
 
Joe Mac said:
So my feeling right now is that I will get the nu prime cd player. All but 3 of my SACD discs are hybrid and of those single layers I have 2 since bought on vinyl. I can replace the other with a CD easy enough.

Also looking a rationalising my collection. I was looking at artists that I had almost all of on CD but who I’d allowed a slow creep in of their records recently, or those who I had a mix but completing the vinyl would be nigh on impossible due to price/availability. I reckon when I get the CD player that I can cull 60 records and by adding just 20 CDs in replacement I’ll have a much more balanced collection. Culling 60 records will also do wonders for my space issues!

I’m excited already! Roll on 2023 being the year where sanity prevails, well a little anyway!
Click to expand...
Sound logic. By that rationalization you have already paid for the new gizmo ;)
 
Hey y'all also posted this in the equip rec thread, but was advised to query here as well...

...I'm looking for something to stream my 200+GB digital music library. I don't plan on using my PC (although the files are on there too). I am going to set up a NAS to my router and the ifi Zen Stream looks like it should fit the bill.

I don't use any online streaming services so I don't need anything like that.

Not super concerned with whatever it uses for digital-to-audio, as I'm going to use a digital-in on my Marantz SA-KI Ruby.

Also looking at a Yamaha WXC-50 that is ~$100 more. However, it includes some features that are superfluous to me and it is a bigger form factor (although it can be set up vertically). The Zen Stream is a nice, small unit. Basically, not looking for a real estate hog.

Thoughts on the ifi in particular? Will take other recs but like to keep it sub-600ish. It will not be my main listening input on my system (vinyl & CD are) but I'd like to incorporate it without breaking the bank. Small is important to me. I know there are plenty of network players/servers out there, but I don't want another large piece of kit on my shelves (read: don't really have the room). Anyone feel free to chime in.
 
Heaven or Las Diaper Baby said:
Hey y'all also posted this in the equip rec thread, but was advised to query here as well...

...I'm looking for something to stream my 200+GB digital music library. I don't plan on using my PC (although the files are on there too). I am going to set up a NAS to my router and the ifi Zen Stream looks like it should fit the bill.

I don't use any online streaming services so I don't need anything like that.

Not super concerned with whatever it uses for digital-to-audio, as I'm going to use a digital-in on my Marantz SA-KI Ruby.

Also looking at a Yamaha WXC-50 that is ~$100 more. However, it includes some features that are superfluous to me and it is a bigger form factor (although it can be set up vertically). The Zen Stream is a nice, small unit. Basically, not looking for a real estate hog.

Thoughts on the ifi in particular? Will take other recs but like to keep it sub-600ish. It will not be my main listening input on my system (vinyl & CD are) but I'd like to incorporate it without breaking the bank. Small is important to me. I know there are plenty of network players/servers out there, but I don't want another large piece of kit on my shelves (read: don't really have the room). Anyone feel free to chime in.
Click to expand...
Not sure how small you’re looking for. I know people like the blue sound node. May be overkill though if you don’t do streaming services (or too large). But you can connect that to your NAS i believe for easy playback via a phone/iPad/etc. also it’s at the higher end of your budget. An older version may also suit you for cheaper
 
MikeH said:
Not sure how small you’re looking for. I know people like the blue sound node. May be overkill though if you don’t do streaming services (or too large). But you can connect that to your NAS i believe for easy playback via a phone/iPad/etc. also it’s at the higher end of your budget. An older version may also suit you for cheaper
Click to expand...
I looked at Bluesound. They make, I believe, the vault which looked interesting since it's like a 2TB storage and would negate a NAS. But a little larger and more expensive than I wanted.
 
Heaven or Las Diaper Baby said:
I looked at Bluesound. They make, I believe, the vault which looked interesting since it's like a 2TB storage and would negate a NAS. But a little larger and more expensive than I wanted.
Click to expand...
The node would fit better with what you’re trying to do I think and the node plus a NAS would be much cheaper than a vault. The vault has a built in CD drive to rip files to the internal HD. Plus they charge a premium for the 2TB drive.

The node connects wirelessly to your NAS and would use the NAS as your music library from what I understand.

I could have sworn that a few people here said ifi had a bunch of reliability issues and were cheaply made/didn’t last long.
 
MikeH said:
The node would fit better with what you’re trying to do I think and the node plus a NAS would be much cheaper than a vault. The vault has a built in CD drive to rip files to the internal HD. Plus they charge a premium for the 2TB drive.

The node connects wirelessly to your NAS and would use the NAS as your music library from what I understand.

I could have sworn that a few people here said ifi had a bunch of reliability issues and were cheaply made/didn’t last long.
Click to expand...
Ah, yes! I couldn't remember what turned me off of the vault (besides price)...it was the CD ripper. Zero use for it.
 
[QUOTE="MikeH, post: 638285, member: 446".
I could have sworn that a few people here said ifi had a bunch of reliability issues and were cheaply made/didn’t last long.
[/QUOTE]
For the ifi, professional reviews seem good; although they may not use then long enough to be able to judge reliability.

User reviews on Crutchfield, I think it was, reflect some connectivity issues. But that can be difficult to gauge - don't know context of tech/PC literacy of user, rest of system it's in, etc. Luckily, I'm in no hurry.
 
Heaven or Las Diaper Baby said:
[QUOTE="MikeH, post: 638285, member: 446".
I could have sworn that a few people here said ifi had a bunch of reliability issues and were cheaply made/didn’t last long.
Click to expand...
For the ifi, professional reviews seem good; although they may not use then long enough to be able to judge reliability.

User reviews on Crutchfield, I think it was, reflect some connectivity issues. But that can be difficult to gauge - don't know context of tech/PC literacy of user, rest of system it's in, etc. Luckily, I'm in no hurry.
[/QUOTE]
I liked my ifi phono pre amp. Sounded great.
Prompted me to try their streamer...
The streamer was a firmware CF about 2 years ago and any support was a total language barrier.
Returned it and never looked back. No idea what status that product is today.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top