I think you better budget in a better dac, here is a quote from the Asylum, when asked if anyone had compared the Meridian with any other dacs.
"
I have the
Meridian Explorer 2 and
compared to an Auralic Vega.
Meridian Explorer 2 sounds plastic and tinny. Good for $199 which is what it is going for now but no more than that.
I'll be on the lookout for a proper MQA DAC that is not a toy."
And I have read his posts for a long time, I trust his listening skills. I also have a friend who has at least four dacs, maybe more in the basement, I will be able to listen to the Explorer in the near future, if he has anything good to say about it. His main dacs are an AR CD9 and a PS Audio Directstream.
As to preamps, I have a CJ CT-5 which I really like, but I haven't heard the others. If I was shopping for a preamp, I would audition the PS Audio BJK Signature, among others. The one downside is that CJ is single ended. If you have long runs of IC between preamp and power amp, balanced is preferred. That said I run 15ft cables with no issues.
I just got a 3 month trial of Tidal, and am listening to the partially unfolded MQA. It is good, and I may subscribe if they don't raise the price. I don't think there 16/44 stuff sounds as good as either a proper rip or the actual CD in a good transport, with a good dac.
I personally like simple two-four tube preamps, I did a lot of tube rolling with my last preamp a totally modded Nobis Proteus. It gets old, I'd rather listen to music than listen to tubes. Do you remember Sound Investments on Silver Spring? The CJ was a huge step up.Have you listened to any of the Rogue preamps at Audio Emporium?
As far as dacs go,they need to be listened to for a while to appreciate the differences, but when you hear a few reference tracks you will want something better than the Explorer. Seeing as the majority of dac manufacturers have rejected MQA's requirement that they implement the changes, I think we may see full MQA become available as software. Just think if Tidal hadn't done the partial unfolding, there would be very little discussion, but check the various forums, it's a hot topic.
