Digital Audio for Dummies

I have the Bluesound Vault 2 and I really like it. It has a slot load cd drive to copy your cd’s to the internal hard drive.  It takes about 8 minutes to copy each cd.  So it takes a bit of time to copy an entire collection. Since I’m retired I didn’t mind.

Storage capacity is 2TB.  I put in approximately 700 cd’s which consumed a measly 300 MB so that leaves a daunting 1700 MB remaining.  The case is small, approximately 8X8X4 inches so it consumes a very small amount of space.

The Vault stores the album cover artwork, lists by artist, album, and songs.  It does not categorize such as jazz, rock, contemporary, etc.

Control is through a device like an iPad or iPhone and I use both.  The one downside I found is that an Ethernet connection is required near your equipment which is no problem in my newer summer house which has many.  An older home may require some wiring added.

The Vault also has a digital out if you wish to use an external dac.  There is also an optical input which you can use to connect a digital tv audio to play through your stereo system.

Pricing is around $1200.00.  There are plenty of pricier exotic options out there but this one serves my needs just fine.

There are lots of streaming devices that are easy to use and fairly affordable Blue Sound has been mentioned the Auralic Aries and Aries Mini are another. On the subject of ripping, I guess I don't see the need to spend extra on a device that also rips. For me $35.99 spent on dbPoweramp and my laptops disc drive did the trick. Since you presumably only will rip once I don't personally see the point in putting extra money into a ripper. Unless of course you don't have an optical drive on your computer. Just my opinion of course.

I strongly recommend Tidal. It streams uncompressed, and has an enormous catalog. Everytime I hear an album on a Jazz or Classical station or Pop I can find it on Tidal. Even obscure things like the complete speeches of Martin Luther King Jr. are there as a play list.

And let's not forget all the wonderful internet enabled FM radio stations from around the world. KCSM, Jazz FM 91 (toronto), etc.

Just buy a Sony HAP-Z1ES and you are done. Connect it to your integrated amp using XLR cables if possible. It takes care of everything. Sounds very good too. Not too expensive.  I have heard it at shows in megabux systems.

With Bluesound, I would get an external DAC and maybe a reclocker and lots of digital cables of excellent quality. Sony is cheaper and immediate gratification.

Steve N.

Empirical Audio

The OP mentions playing CDs in his first post.