With your C2500 having a built in DAC all you need is a streamer, the best sounding streamer which also has the best app (conductor) is Aurender, the X100 is a streamer that comes in different sizes 4TB's to 12TB's. I think they even make a 2TB one now the N100. http://www.aurender.com/page/x100 Matt M |
@roddyboy, To my ears, the digital files sounded dull and flat with C2500 internal DAC. My source was Aurender N10. IMO, C2500 has a very nice Analog sound. If you hadn’t already done so, try some Telefunken NOS tubes. If you really like the ‘house’ sound and synergy of MB100 through C2500, look for a used one. There is one on Agon on for $3500. https://www.audiogon.com/listings/lis8e5f4-mcintosh-mb-100-music-server-streamerr-media-servers?crea...= Outside MAC, like Matt recommended, Aurender N100C or N100H is a very good option but I recommend a better DAC to pair with Aurender. Honestly, you’re are very unlikely to hear any difference between N100 or Google Chromecast as a digital source with C2500 internal DAC. |
@roddyboy, Azur 851N would be a great choice. They are currently beta testing Tidal streaming (big plus). I used to own 851N, the SQ is pretty good and a great value considering it’s asking price. Most online vendors offers 30 days return policy. The other option is to consider is Aurender A10. You get streamer/DAC and very decent preamp all in one chassis. It also does full MQA decoding as well. I know you’re trying to stay within a budget, but these two components are worth mentioning considering the current industry trend of one box solution of DAC/Streamer. http://www.bricasti.com/en/consumer/m1.php http://nadac.merging.com/product/merging-player |
