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streamer for PWD DAC mkII - tired of a computer and complicated connectivity!

Hello All,

I have a PS Audio Perfect Wave DAC mkII (PWD II) and I am sick and tired of having a computer connected to my hi-fi system.  I find it far easier to clean and play a record than it is to play a digital file, this is not acceptable!

I would love to keep my PWD II as it is a great sounding piece of gear, but I need to feed it with a music stream that is simple, and eliminate the mac mini and software.  I would love to use a Sonos Connect, but it cannot handle high res music.  Is there any other solution?  Is there a competitor to Sonos that handles high res?  Can I plug in an Apple TV and play music from the network without needing to look at iTunes on a computer somewhere?  Is there a low cost streamer that can plug into the PWD?  Can I control a NAS drive connected to the PWD II via ethernet without a computer?

Or, do I sell the PWD II, raise some funds, and buy a Cambridge 851N or Sony HAP-Z1ES?  Both of these units look way simpler, and both have plusses and minuses:  The Sony supports DSD, The Cambridge supports iTunes Airplay (and I would assume I can stream Apple Music through that?).

Thank you for your help!
- Mark
marktomaras
acousticfrontiers
22 posts
 
Bluesound Node 2. Sounds better than Sonos, app easier to use, TIDAL integration and just around your $400 price point. Above that Aurender N100, which is on a different level in many ways. If you can find a dealer with some stuff on demo so you can get a feel for the apps and how they work etc.

i agree that computers can be a distraction from listening to music. They always seem to need some attention. Now that piece of dedicated streamers has come down so much I see little reason for a computer.
arafiq's avatar
arafiq
1,681 posts
 
acousticfrontiers: perhaps you can help me out. Most of my digital music is stored in iTunes (Mac OS 10). I am using iTunes --> AirPlay --> Apple TV --> TosLink --> Cambridge Audio 851D DAC/Preamp.

Do you think Bluesound Node 2 will give me noticeably better sound quality over Apple TV? I understand that ATV samples at 48 kHz, but the question is whether the degradation in SQ is noticeable at this point. I don't want to introduce a relocker in the chain in order to keep it simple.

Secondly, I understand that AirPlay cannot support anything higher than CD quality. What other streaming options are there to stream hi-res music?

Thanks in advance

acousticfrontiers
22 posts
 
@arafiq have not compared ATV to Bluesound, but compared to Sonos (both digital out) it is a clear step up in SQ. Bluesound iOS app then becomes your UI, and your music library in iTunes just another source. Bluesound does hires, as do many other streaming solutions, just not Sonos or ATV.

jon2020's avatar
jon2020
988 posts
 
Bluesound Node2 review :-

http://www.whathifi.com/bluesound/node-2/review?oq=node%202&src=textfield&aq=node%202&ty...
mahler123
3,354 posts
 
Hey Mark

   I too got tired of my Mac&Dac setup and got the Bluesound 2 Vault and Node.  As has been mentioned upstream, thehy require an ethernet connection.
  It generally works well, except there are frequent updates, and you have to rest the whole system with each update (or at least I have to reset mine, perhaps other uses don't have to).
Frequent unwanted i tunes updates were one reason that I bailed on Mac&Dac, so this does not make me happy.
   There is no substitue for Physical Media, imo
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