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Looking at Anthem preamp. Do I need it? Also the Innuos Zenith (Zen?) and or Lumin T2?

So much to say, I will definitely NOT get it all out here now. 

I am not an audiophile but would like to get better sound from my system. As good as I can get it for my needs and budget. I have a 5.1 System with 2 subwoofers.

Anthem MRX 720 receiver
2 Rythmik 15 inch subwoofers
Paradigm Persona 3f speakers
Parasound HCA2205 AT amplifier (5 x 220 wpc)
I recently added an Anthem STR power amp for the Personas.

Ease of use is right up there with SQ. I love turning on my receiver and having everything there for me. I don't have a source really. I'm not that thrilled with Playfi. I tried Tidal on it, but I think it was just the small screen of my phone that made me not want to use it. I will probably go with Roon and if I could view the menus on my TV screen with anything else, that would trump anything else. SQ will have toi take a back seat to that. I just prefer hard button remotes to touch screens because of my poor eyesight.

I loved the sound before upgrading to the Anthem str amp. I only say this because I did not recalibrate the system as a whole yet. So the settings are still for the previous Parasound amp. I do hear a difference between the Parasound and Anthem. I had the system calibrated professionally, if you will. I don't have the knowledge or the patience to do it. I absolutely loved the results.

So, I want to ONLY stream music now to my 2 front speakers (and subs)  when not watching movies etc... Do I need both the Innuos type product AND the Lumin T2 AND an Anthem preamp? Can I get away with just one or 2 of these products? That is a lot of money for me to spend on just streaming Qobuz or Tidal etc... Maybe even Amazon HD if that ever gets settled. I want to decide and purchase over the next several months and just keep the system for many years. Definitely will be buying used. After that, I will look into speaker cables, IC etc.. But this comes first, I guess. 

Also, where will my bottleneck be if these pieces are selected? Can I get away with the Zen instead of the Zenith? D2 instead of the T2? Can I just buy the T2 and go directly into my AV receiver? One piece would be great! and more affordable of course.

The reason I'm looking at higher priced units is I do not swap out components after purchase.... ever. So, they will stay for a long while.

Thanks for reading.

Also, is there one unit I should buy before the others? I think I made a mistake in buying the amp first. Maybe the Innuos? I may like it into the 720? I doubt it.

Thanks
cissado
tuberist
951 posts
 
I'm a satisfied T2 owner. It is a one box solution that incorporates a DAC. To my ears, the sound is detailed and natural tone sounding. The operating app is thoughtfully engineered and easy to use. It is a Roon endpoint device also.  I don't know how you would get "playing now" info to appear on your TV monitor from the T2. Innuos streamers require a DAC, except for the entry level model. So, I run my T2 direct into my integrated amp and have a simple, but high quality solution. Good luck on your search.
cissado OP
113 posts
 
Thank you for the reply.

I recently saw someone with a Roon playing and he just "sent to TV" or something like that. The only thing I saw was the "now Playing" picture on the screen. I doubt there would also be a menu as well. That would have been great. The picture went from his phone straight to the TV screen. 

So, the T2 doesn't look bad. I don't know if I could connect it to my AVR or if I would have to purchase the Anthem STR preamp as well. 

I don't use a NAS or a library anything else. It would pretty much be like listening to Internet radio or streaming radio via Tidal or Qobuz, etc..

In case it matters, I would be using room correction with everything when it's done. I also use a MinidspHD right now.
david_ten
5,480 posts
 
Reach out to @audiotroy


cissado OP
113 posts
 
I've seen Audiotroy's posts. He seems very informed. But since I plan on purchasing used, I would not want to waste his time in that manner. I am only able to get into these high dollar pieces because I buy them used at a discount.
Quick question about the post above, if the T2 connects to an integrated amp, I assume it does not use the DAC inside the amp. It is just a passthrough to the amp then the speakers? If so, can't I do that with my AV receiver by taking its DAC out of the equation if connected to the T2? Thus eliminating the need for the str preamp?

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