First Streamer...

@johndyson I’m in north Jersey and just switched from Fios to T-Mobile and YouTube TV (even a better deal if you switch to T-Mobile cell service and get their package deal — T-Mobile has been great for both internet and cell service BTW) and saving a ton of $$$.  Fios is WAY overpriced in our area IMHO. You could also use a Wi-Fi extender from TP-Link, etc. and a shorter Ethernet cable rather than running a long CAT8.  I agree with others you should consider upgrading to a better DAC when possible, which can happen sooner if you can stop throwing money away to Fios.  Just sayin’.  Hope this helps, and best of luck.  

I have a bluesound node and a Paradigm PW Link. The PW Link is a preamp as well as a streamer AND includes Anthem ARC room correction. You can run everything from your android phone via the DTS playfi app and will be surprised how much ARC will bring to your system. The Link is on sale for $199 and easily worth it. It even has a digital out if you want to use a different DAC but keep the room correction in the system.

johndyson,

I have the original Rega Apollo CD player. Although it is good, the Wolfson DAC is dated now. My Node 2 and Schiit Bifrost 2 together sound a couple of notches better. In fact the internal DAC in the newest Node 2 would IMHO sound better than the Rega internal DAC. I would be very, very surprised if it did not. DAC’s are getting better every year. With my current setup, the Bifrost 2 does the DAC duties for both the Node 2 streamer and my Rega CD player. And both the Bifrost 2 and the Node 2 are considered budget products. Food for thought ....

Your rega DAC is junky use a streamer with a built in DAC since you spent nothing on your other homemade speakers save up $7899 get an Auralic Vega G2.1. Hire an electrician pay him to hook up ethernet there to your router through the walls.

I play alto.  I live in Brooklyn, NY and have been taking lessons with Matt Marantz and joined a rehearsal band at the New York Jazz Academy.

@johndyson 

Which do you play, alto, tenor,baritone? Are you a jazz musician?

Charles

Thanks for a lot of help.  I didn't buy a streamer yet, but I note that the Bluesound Node is most recommended.

I guess I'm on catch-up with streaming, perhaps because I've got kids home or perhaps because I've been playing saxophone recently.      

My current plan is to use the DAC in the Rega CD player.   Run 100' of CAT8 cable from the upstairs FIOS box to the (as yet) un-purchased streamer and Kimber DV30 coax from the streamer to the Rega DAC.

One problem with this setup is that my amp will still have to warm up before I can stream.   But,  I don’t see  myself moving away from my old Audio Research valve amp which still sounds real  good.    

Node or Vault is a great way to start.  

In One of my setups, I use the LGV60 phone.  You can pick one up for < $300 on ebay.

It has a very good DAC in it as well bluetooth which can transmit in LDAC and/or aptX HD.

You can run all the streamer apps on it.

It is one of the best options for less than $300.

I’m using a SMSL SD-9 streamer with a Musician Pegasus DAC and feeding a Wyred4Sound STI-500 integrated amp and Magnepan LRS . The sound is excellent!

Another homer over the fence by @ghdprentice. His 62 this season. 

I put an aftermarket power supply in my Node 2i.  They range 150 to about 500.  I installed it and I  am not a technician.  I used Pd Creative.  Teddy Pardo is another brand.  It is a nice sound improvement.   

+8 for Bluesound Node. It's a no brainer at $600. App works with Android. I use the app on iPhone and it's great. 

Moon Neo Mind over on USaudiomart for $750.  Also a Bryston BDP3 over there as well.  Bryston BDP on here for around $700 and they sound great.  Bryston interface is  a bit spartan but their units sound good and work as Roon endpoints as well 

The newest Bluesound Node (130) is a pretty great streamer to start with. It's easy to use, the software is terrific, and it's easy to set up. At $600 it's easy on the budget, and can be very very good with a good DAC. I am not familiar with the Saturn, but it looks to have USB co-ax digital inputs.....so it's a start. If you outgrow the unit at some time, you can probably sell the unit and get a chunk of your money back out of it.

I²S, is an electrical serial bus interface standard used for connecting digital audio devices together. It is used to communicate PCM audio data between integrated circuits in an electronic device. Wikipedia

Protocol: Serial

Designed: 1986; 36 years ago

Width: 1 data line (SD) +; 2 clock lines (SCK, WS)

Data signal: Push-Pull

I forgot to mention that PS Audio is two months from introducing their $2K AirLens streamer. There are over 2000 post on their AirLens thread. The selling point is that all input and outputs are galvanically isolated and it has I2s out. I2s has been promoted by PS Audio for some time. I’ll be watching reviews. It looks promising. PS Audio has a 30 day no questions asked return window.

@carlsbad Agreed. One bright spot is that an average dac today is so much better than an average dac of 10-15 years ago. Its a great time to be in the hobby.

@ghasley I agree.  I've heard a couple of very good streamer/dac combos and a couple of good DACs in integrated amps.  However, there are lots of aspects of a DAC to consider and it is likely to be a component that will be upgraded somewhere frequently.  The separate DAC is more convenient to upgrade.

This is a different and much less important concern that what I was talking about above.  Is less expensive combo's the DAC is likely to be much lower quality than the streamer--because a moderate quality DAC is much more expensive to make than a moderate quality streamer.

Jerry

More important than a streamer is a DAC. 

Although I completely agree a DAC is crucial to getting the most out of streaming, I disagree that it’s more important than a streamer.  With streaming, IME everything is important and additive so if you cheap out somewhere — be it cables, streamer, power supply, etc. your results will suffer.  I’d also highly recommend the iFi Zen Stream with an upgraded power supply as a first step, although go hard wired because its Wi-Fi is not good and their customer support is basically non existent and sad.

So you have experience upgrading your streamer while using a dime store DAC?  

Who has suggested that solution? A poor quality DAC won’t sound good with anything. Nor would a “dime store “ streamer. I was making the point that both of these digital path components are important. They work in tandem. If you have your own approach that’s fine if it works satisfactory for you.

Charles 

@charles1dad So you have experience upgrading your streamer while using a dime store DAC?  

If a cheap DAC is "good enough" for the listener,, the my thought is that they won't even see the difference in the streamer. 

@vonhelmholtz Good breakdown on your integrated.  My DAC is the most expensive individual component in my system.  I do have a custom amp on order that will be more.

Jerry

Charles..

Agreed..

In my system I put DAC first and use an iFi Zen Stream with iFi's $250 power supply, $50 to use fiber optics to filter out ethernet noise and it all sounds very musical.  I will replace the iFi when I have the money, but I'm happy with the iFi.

This is terrific for you if this arrangement makes you happy. Certainly there are alternative solutions and beginning with a higher level streamer is one of them. iFi will be sufficient for some listeners and not for others. Individuality/case by case , YMMV etc.

Charles

Like some here I have the Bluesound system. I have a Node 2 in one HI FI system and a Vault in another.. I have ripped all my CD’s to the Vault. Interesting note, if one has a hard drive with music on it, like I did with CD’s ripped to Itunes, the Vault can accept all that music without re-ripping CDs.

I have been happy with the sound by using external DACs with the Bluesound devices. Unlike others here, I have both Qobuz and Tidal and I think Tidal via MQA sounds better. I have also upgraded the Power supply on the Node 2.

I have found the customer service from Bluesound to be stellar. I think when other audio brothers here compare Bluesound to other streamers (which do sound better) they compare the Node which is often 1/2, 1/4 or even 1/16th the price of the better streamer. I, for one, cannot spend $6K on a streamer. It’s a budget option that sounds good, maybe not great. It’s performance jumps up a couple notches with a better DAC. My only negative is that it works better connected wired on a network with Cat5 cable to a router then it does wireless.

"you’ll get the usual DAC is everything advice. In my opinion @ghdprentice provided you good counsel. The quality of the streamer is important and will definitely impact the sound quality"

DAC first doesn't suggest that the streamer isn't important.  In my system I put DAC first and use an iFi Zen Stream with iFi's $250 power supply, $50 to use fiber optics to filter out ethernet noise and it all sounds very musical.  I will replace the iFi when I have the money, but I'm happy with the iFi.

Simaudio 280D is a excellent DAC and has DSD and MQA if that is important to you, AES, XLR, RCA, USB, BT, WIFI.....

Can be had for under $2500.00 used. 

May know of one for around $2100.00

Check it out.  High Quality | 280D Streaming Best DAC | Audiophile | MOON - Simaudio

@johndyson 

How able are you to actually do some component auditions and just listen? I know that you’ll get the usual DAC is everything advice. In my opinion @ghdprentice provided you good counsel. The quality of the streamer is important and will definitely impact the sound quality. Both components are vital. It isn’t just the DAC in isolation. There’s a partnership (Source and DAC) that needs thoughtful consideration.

Chales

If your top line budget is $2k then @ghdprentice gave solid advice. If I were in your shoes I would consider the Bluesound feeding your Rega and save the rest for when its time to upgrade. Bluesound seems to be the gateway drug to streaming although I have never used one.

@carlsbad is mostly right when advising against a streamer/dac but ONLY in the context of your budget. There are exceptional streamer/dacs that aren’t in your price range presently (DCS, Bricasti, Meitner, Totaldac, MSB, etc). Another option would be to stretch your budget into the $4-5k range and consider a product like the well reviewed Hifi Rose RS150b. It would serve as your hub and integrate everything analog or digital as well as any a/v needs.

Agree..DAC is first. I have a $15000 McIntosh integrated amplifier with DAC and phono stage. Think of this as a $6000 amp..$6000 preamp and$1500 each for phono and DAC. I purchased a $5500 DAC which was much more musical than the integrated DAC. I’ve listened to the Rega Apollo and the little Rega’s DAC sounded good for the price and I’ve never heard the Saturn.  I ripped my CDs to a NAS and used the CD player money to buy other components.

More important than a streamer is a DAC.  Even a mediocre stand alone DAC will be better than your CD player.  In the interim, you can stream with a tablet or a computer.  (Im assuming funding is keeping you from buying both, if not, then buy both).  You will see much more sound improvement with a good DAC.  The onboard DACs on CD players are not good.

And don't get a streamer/dac.  

I love my Project Stream Box S2 ultra

I think you have made a great choice. The future of high quality audio is streaming.

I have been doing digital for 40,years and only recently has it become competitive with analog and streaming can now sound better or at least as good as CDs. Also, you want Qobuz as a service. It sounds better and they have half a million high resolution albums. Better than all the rest. Might as well start there.

My rule of thumb is to spend at least as much on your streamer as your DAC, which should roughly equal your preamp and amp. Just a generality, you need to put in the effort evaluating the best and most compatible with your system. So, let’s say your

You have a good integrated amp, so $2K is the preamp, $2k amp. Your Rega is CD player / DAC… so say ~ $2K for each function. I would look for a streamer around $2K. I would look at Lumin. Assuming over time you want your system to sound better. You could later upgrade your DAC and get a performance improvement.

Alternatively, you could go Bluesound. I am not a dip your toe in kind of guy… I end up spending more money that way, but that is me. If I bought a Bluesound, it would prove to me that streaming was worth it… I would upgrade immediately (to an Aurender)… and well, I know myself, just skip the intermediate step, But lots of folks start with Bluesound.

You Can see my systems under my user ID.

I highly recommend the Cambridge Audio CXN 60.  A great feature is the Chromecast.  I cast files from my Android phone and they sound great.  The DAC is probably an improvement over the Rega DAC—I used to have an Apollo—and the whole package is about $1300

Get your feet wet with Bluesound Node 2 and sign up with Qobuz to take advantage of highest resolution available (upto 24bit/192kHz). The DAC inside Rega CD player is a good one. I would use a good quality Coax cable between Node 2 and Rega.

You could buy Bluesound Vault 2 if you plan to rip your CD collection. Once you get used to streaming, you may not feel the need to spin CD’s. That’s how I started and now all of my CD’s are ripped and easily managed and accessible by app. 

I am using two different approaches to streaming.   First, I have a BlueSound Node that I use for streaming most everything.   It also acts as a Roon endpoint, so I can stream from Roon.  I use a BlueSound Vault 2 to convert my entire CD library to WAV files and then use Roon to manage them when I stream my CD's.  My CD player is obsolete in a sense, I just use the Vault 2 to convert them to WAV, files and play them from Roon.   I still buy CD's though, along with digital downloads.   Everything can be controlled from my Android phone.   Do make sure what you buy specifies Android.   Some streamers out there work only with Apple phones.