Cambridge Audio Azur 851N

"07-14-15: Lalitk
I own a Classe CA-2200 amp. My goal is to get better dynamics out of digital music. The sound from Olive and Sonos is pretty dull and flat on most music. I may try some hi-res (DSD) downloads in near future. But for now, it's pretty much Spotify and Amazon."

That's not a format issue, its an analog one. The analog section of the dac is what you need to look at for dynamics. A good example of what I'm talking about, is to compare a couple of CD players that I have. One is an Arcam 33. Its a nice, easy to listen to player, but the dynamics are just OK. My Wadia 302, on the other hand, has really good dynamics. Almost on par with vinyl.

I wouldn't recommend a Wadia for you because the company has issues. But I would definitely recommend Ayre. They make some of the most dynamic digital products you can get. Also, try your system without the preamp like I recommended in my last post. Having the right preamp in your system, will also have a big effect on dynamics.

Thank you all for your feedback, much appreciated.

Follow up to my thread... I decided to keep Azur 851N after direct comparison with Classe CP-800. The Azur was hooked up to SSP-800 (balance input) and SSP-800 / CP-800 daisy chained in digital bypass mode.

After a weekend of listening, I could not discern any differences, both DAC's produced music with absolute clarity and poise. I used Tidal HIFI streaming services with AirPlay.

IMHO, Azur851N is a groundbreaking component, given its asking price. If you're in market for a DAC/Network player with Apple AirPlay, you owe it to yourself to check out this amazing unit. I am keeping mine and returning CP-800 to my dealer.

I'm thinking of getting cambridge azur 851n vs oppo 105d for audio streaming and hooked it to my audio  research reference 5se and ARC ds450 amp. 

Do guys see or experience any issues with these set up? As far as i know the 851n has a built in DAC so no need to get a separate dac right?

any inputs/alternative please

This is an old question but I added an Cambridge Audio 851N to my system about a month ago and  what an improvement. I replaced my Jolida Glass Fx DAC with the 851n. I use it as a preamp with my Jolida vacuum tube amp in bypass mode. The results are astounding. I have a few terabytes of digital music including many hi-res files [DSD-DSF] that playback via 851n the 24-192 +playback is amazing. Note the blue tooth dongle is optional 100.00 I declined it sofar no problem I use WiFi. I thought for the 1799.00 cost it should be included.