Dreamin' of streamin'

What’s your budget? People will soon start throwing names of equipment they have but that won’t be of any help to you if they don’t know your budget. 

Amazon, iTunes and Sirius on one device? They don't play well together. 

None of them sound as good as Qobuz.

Especially on a dedicated device.  Lose the PC for HiFi play.

All you need for low res streaming sources both audio and video is a streamer that handles airplay or Chromecast. Cd res audio is also handled there. A Roku stick will do nicely. You can run hdmi from that to a splitter and out to tv and toslink to dac.

For a/v streaming with audio up to cd resolution Plex is a cost effective application.

Most newer hifi streamers will handle hi res qobuz or tidal streaming. If you have your own music library and want to expand that Roon does it all in conjunction with qobuz or tidal. For a/v you might just stick with Plex.

In almost every case, hifi streamers alone  do not provide the complete user experience possible these days.  For that you use apps on your smart phone tablet or computer to control things.   Roon, Plex, Spotify, amazon, qobuz, tidal are just some of the more popular options.  

I get absolutely lovely fidelity of timbre...though perhaps not the finest 3D imaging I've had...via a phone company hardwired ethernet connection from my wall to a Cambridge CXN streamer/DAC controlled by my laptop. My internet sources are usually Qobuz for general listening and Idagio for classical. The system provides serious competition for my vinyl (yeah, the vinyl can deliver more 3D), and more often than not gives me better fidelity than I get from my Sony CD/SACD player. In other words, I'm a streamin' fool. Let the world rush in!

Before moving to a streamer and Qobuz, I was using Tidal and iTunes on a MacBook Pro.

It was suggested I use a Halide Bridge USB SPIDF converter. Second hand, very reasonable. A decent improvement.

I streamed for years using a MacBook Air laptop with Audirvana Plus.  . Dedicated streamers work better, but for the sake of argument, a streamer is just a computer that is made to look like an audio component, and has a limited OS.  CD players also fit that description.

  Why are you moving from a PC to a streamer?  Sound?  Ease of convenience?  The answers to that question will help guide recommendations, along with the budget.

  One issue will be the 5K albums you referenced.  Are they stored on a separate HD?  Are they in mp3 or the Apple equivalent?  

Thanks for your input. I am quite ignorant in this area.I would like to stay under $3K for budget, but could go a little higher. Don’t want to add a second box in addition to the pc, but I see that maybe a streamer with an SSD controlled through an Ipad is one method I may need to consider.

Mapman, I am unaware of the relationship between streaming video and music. Could you tell me more about it? I currently use an AppleTV box for streaming tv. I will check into Plex. I have never heard of it.

Edcyn, I am considering the Cambridge CXN V2, but don’t see how to access my hard drive from the streamer. Want to try Qobuz before committing to Roon. Does Roon access the albums on my hard drive?

Jerrybj, What streamer do you use? How does it compare with the Macbook - Halide combo?

Thanks again.

I'm a fanboy of Innuos.

I have severe space limitations with my system. But did finally upgrade from the MacBook. Was also using Audirvana Plus.

Found the Project Stream Box S2 Ultra to suit my purpose. Although at the lower end of streamers, it was designed by John Westlake. A big step up from the MacBook. Remote via phone or tablet, where album art etc is displayed. I use Qobuz, have some hi res songs on a thumb drive plugged in, and will eventually use an external hard drive.

I've bought an Intel Nuc to set up with Roon. Yet to get to that.

@davedword My laptop and the Cambridge are connected by a USB cable. In any case, I simply double-click on the icon of whatever piece of music I have stored on my laptop and the music magically appears on my stereo. Yeah, all the old stuff on my computer is mp3 at best but the Cambridge does a very good job of making it sing, regardless. I stream the same way. I'll go to Qobuz, Idagio, or YouTube and click on a link, i.e., whatever is in blue and is underlined. Itzak, or should I say Mr. Perlman! Thanks for showing up!

Thanks again.

Mahler123-The music files are mp3 stored on the laptop SSD and backed up on a portable Seagate 1TB hard drive. I am looking both for convenience, an all-in-one solution, and then possible sound improvement-more definition, higher wider soundstage

gkelly-which Innuos do you recommend?