Re: streaming recommendations for newbie

I’m not aware of a less expensive high quality way to get into streaming than with the AudioQuest Cobalt DAC. It only costs a few hundred bucks. I also bought a quality AudioQuest cable for it. It plugs into your laptop. So for about 600 bucks you’ve in business! I use Qobuz and Audirvana for the software. I can control the streaming from my iphone.

This set up is crazy good and will most likely blow away all of your other sources!

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@tlh28, you’re getting a lot of good recommendations here. If I were starting to put a streaming setup together from scratch I’d use a laptop as a music source initially because of the variety of inputs available, and you can also use that platform to try the many different streaming services and hopefully find one that you enjoy. Then you can decide how you want to listen to your music. Speakers at home, headphones, or on the go. As far as a DAC I’d checkout something like an iFi Zen One Signature. 

@soix thanks a bunch- as it happens I back up all FLAC files on an external storage device so maybe I’m ahead of the game there. I would like to move away from the laptop so that’s great advice. Sorry but I still don’t understand how to use an Ethernet cable to get this done- I’m not very tech savvy so my learning curve is vertical! My router is on a separate floor from the system and I currently run eero mesh to strengthen the signal to the other floor (basement). So is using an Ethernet cable still possible? I’d prefer not to rely on WiFi… Because I already have a separate DAC I think I’m looking for just a server - if my understanding is correct… looking forward to getting this done so appreciate the help! 

My router is on a separate floor from the system and I currently run eero mesh to strengthen the signal to the other floor (basement). So is using an Ethernet cable still possible?

Absolutely.  You just need another Mesh node near your streamer and run an Ethernet cable from that node to the streamer and USB from the streamer to your DAC and you’re golden for streaming. Using the Node as an example, you can then just run a USB cable from your external drive into the Node and now all your music will be available from the Node.  You’re very close since you already have Mesh and music on an external drive.

I use a separate DAC which uses the new ESS9032Q2M which for single ended use with the SET preamp and amp, outperforms R2R ladder DACs. (Some reviewers consider the more expensive R2R ladder DAC better for balanced output.) 

I purchased a Bluesound Vault 2i a few years ago. While it does stream any classical music station in the world and other sources, it does not lend itself to storing my CD collection in its enormous memory. Calling up a composer and a symphony, overture, or a concerto is impossibly complicated because it is designed for pop songs accessed by song title and singer or group. I have to put my CD collection on a flash drive with folders for each composer and this often does not work the right way. Downloads do not always get onto the flash drive in a playable format. 

What I manage to keep on the flash drive does sound spectacular with the separate DAC that can also take that disc player as a digital source.