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Choosing a Network Player/DAC

I finally have the audio setup I want for vinyl. I’d like to add digital to the system. I’m finding it very difficult to choose a product and any help would be appreciated. I have a McIntosh MA5100 paired with PSB Stratus Mini’s. The best way I can describe the sound I’m wanting to achieve is smooth reference..I favor a bit of brightness and separation is important to me...none of that information may be important when choosing a digital component but I thought I’d share. I have a media server, mainly for video, running PLEX. I have like 500gb of FLAC files on that hard drive. I also have a Tidal Account. I’m looking to add both to my audio system. My budget is around $700 but I could do more if that doesn’t cut it. So Network Player? DAC Attached to my Laptop/Server? Buy a mac mini and attach to DAC? Tubes (since this is a vintage system)? There’s so many ways to slice this up..I’m having a hard time. If anybody has experience and can recommend the merits of one over the others, it would helpful...also, this isn't necessary, but multi-room/zone would be nice.
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mgreen27
147 posts
 

"The best way I can describe the sound I’m wanting to achieve is smooth reference..I favor a bit of brightness and separation is important to me...none of that information may be important when choosing a digital component but I thought I’d share."

Brightness in a digital system is not always the same as in an analog system. There's several reasons for this, so just keep it in mind as you do your research. Separation, dynamic contrast and imaging are definitely qualities to consider when selecting digital gear. Analog tends to replicate these things with very little trouble. Digital can do them as well, but you have to work a little harder. It doesn't come as easily. Where most people tend to go wrong, is not giving as much attention to the analog portion of a dac as they do the digital side. Both are equally important.

". So Network Player? DAC Attached to my Laptop/Server? Buy a mac mini and attach to DAC? Tubes (since this is a vintage system)?"

With a budget of $700, I would get a dac and use it with the laptop you currently own.

eli_tackla's avatar
eli_tackla OP
41 posts
 
@mgreen27...thank you for the advice. I'll narrow my search to DAC's
reubent
6,956 posts
 
eli,

Is your 500Gb of FLAC on a NAS or just an internal/external HDD connected to your laptop? Is this server going to sit stationary on your audio rack or does it need to be portable? Just curious because using NAS storage opens up more potential options for you.

I'm going through the same exercise right now. I just put together an open source music sever using a Raspberry Pi 3b, HiFiBerry DAC+ Pro, iFi Power Supply and I'm currently running MoOde OS. It's really inexpensive and it sounds Great! And it was super easy to assemble and set up. However, I'm not sure you can listen to Tidal using it. I haven't really fully configured it yet. But I can tell you it sounds great streaming Aiff files and internet radio. Heck, Radio Paradise typically shows up as a 320kbps stream and it sounds really good.

That said, if you aren't interested in building/experimenting, getting a USB DAC to connect to your laptop is a simple way to go. You might want to also look at the various digital USB filter devices like the Audioquest Jitterbug. It's only $50 and has gotten good reviews.

Good luck in your quest.
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