What's a really great Streamer/DAC box for just streaming Tidal?
chip if you really want to experience what your Chord can do, listen to an Innuous Zen you can upconvert PCM files to approximate high res and accomplish much what the Mscaler can do and you get a Roon core to boot. The quality of the signnal being feed to the dac makes a huge difference. Dave and Troy Audio Doctor NJ Innuous dealers |
Thanks for the suggestion. I did chance upon a forum where someone had the Innuos Zen + Qutest combination and he was very very pleased with it. The Innuous has been on my wishlist since then and all the more now that you've brought it up. However, I'm quite satisfied with the sound I'm getting from my Sony Vaio laptop (gasp!) with Audirvana + Fidelizer Pro for the time being. |
You could get a Raspberry Pi and use as streamer and then connect it to almost any dac you choose. This may leave you with more budget for the dac since the RPi only costs about $100 with a box. Here are some videos about this but you can search for Raspberry Pi and streaming. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCR4tuhqPppVp-PD0q17sPEA |
I recently purchased a Bluesound Node 2i and the dealer suggested adding a Pro-Ject S2 DAC. By connecting the two using a digital coax cable, I lost the complete unfold of MQA. Adding the Pro-Ject DAC added more trebble. More pronounced sound of cymbals and greater vocal focus, but I feel it sounds harsher than playing the Bluesound by itself. The bass seemed to tighten up a bit using the DAC, but it also sounds thinner. So far, I think I like the sound of the Bluesound Node 2i played by itself. I also feel I am noticing a difference when playing completely unfolded MQA recordings. The Dianna Krall MQA recording I listened to sounds warmer and more natural. Not sure I am imagining this. However, is there something about MQA I shouldn't miss out on? When connecting the Pro-Ject DAC by way of digital coax cable, I can only get one MQA unfold. If this is the case, is the Pro-Ject filtering out sound? Wish I knew more about this. The dealer kept telling me by adding the DAC I will hear greater detail and a more lifelike sound stage. There must be a reason why MQA came out. Can people hear a difference when hearing full MQA or was this a clever way for Bob Stewart to generate multiple revenue streams. I talked to the Pro-Ject customer service yesterday and he told me he doesn't recommend adding an external DAC to another DAC. Got the impression the DAC's fight each other. However, the dealer told me connecting the Bluesound to an external DAC by passes the DAC inside the Bluesound. Not sure who to believe. |
