I am setting up a new system. I will be buying speakers, a DAC and maybe a few other things (e.g., a Network Audio Adapter ("NAA") if it isn’t built into the DAC). I have two amps: Yamaha P5000S power amp and Yamaha A-S801 integrated amp. I just bought those. I am seeking advice on what else to buy.
I envision I will use either HQPlayer or Roon, and I’m leaning toward trying HQPlayer first.
The HQPlayer page has this helpful hardware list that will be a starting point. In this post I mainly want to know what to buy. After I buy it I’ll probably have questions about getting everything set up.
Recommended hardware:
Of those, the Teac NT-503 looks most interesting to me (so far). I like that it has XLR balanced outputs which I can connect directly to my Yamaha P5000S amp. It also has a built in NAA. I also like that I can buy the Teac on Amazon.com. (For personal reasons, I will be limiting my shopping to Amazon or BestBuy at the moment.)
I intend to control playback via an Android phone. I believe either Roon or HQPlayer has Android control options.
I want to be able to play all the music stored on my local Linux server while controlling playback from my phone. Support for either NFS or SSHFS would be ideal. (I could set up Samba and maybe even DNLA if absolutely required.) I intend to use a wired Gigabit Ethernet network for local streaming. (One problem I might face is that my wired network is completely separated from my WiFi network. The two don’t talk to each other, so I’m not sure how I’ll solve the Android control issue...)
In case it is relevant, I do own a Focusrite Scarlett 6i6 and that’s what I’m using right now with the Yamaha A-S801 integrated amp.
Budget for DAC - about $1000 or so...
Purpose: music
Music sources: CD’s, lossless music files stored on computer and MP3’s when that’s all I have available. I don’t have any SACD’s yet, but I plan on purchasing more high quality music once I have this system set up. I don’t use streaming services that much. My music will be stored on a local Linux server as stated above.
Music styles: acoustic, Indian classical (sitar, srangi, flute), alternative rock (Portugal. The Man, Sleeping with Sirens, etc.), older rock (e.g., Rush).
Personal Preferences: I am looking for non-fatiguing, warm, musical qualities. In another discussion topic here on this forum, @mtrot and I agreed about "smooth, sweet, soft, silky treble" and "shimmery, airy cymbals" as goals.
I have a separate thread asking for speaker recommendations.
