2. digital
  3. 152787-139138

Streaming + DAC questions. Please help this noob!

Hi Guys,

After a couple of decades avoiding the desire to become an audiophile . . . here I am. I've jumped head first and purchased the following:

Bryston BP 20 preamp
Bryston 4B SST amp
B&W 801 Matrix II

I'm actively avoiding becoming a vinyl collector (too many hobbies, not enough physical space, etc etc), so most of my music will be from Spotify. I know they aren't the greatest quality . . . but for the sake of ease and variety and modernity, that's what I'm using. My 'hub' would be an imac sitting 10 feet away from the hifi system. I'd like to control from that computer since that's where I'm sitting most of the day. 

At first, I had hoped to be able to connect via bluetooth adapter directly into preamp and that sounded horrible. (Lesson #1). I then tried with an Audioquest Beetle and that sounded pretty good. I also tried an ipad direct into the preamp and that's OK, too (not as good as with Beetle). But it's clear to me I probably need a dedicated DAC (Lesson #2). So my questions:

1. Whats the best way to use Spotify connect via my Imac? Should I dedicate the ipad to sit on top of the hifi? I also have an old macbook pro that could sit on the hifi and be the connected hardware. The beetle worked fine, but I don't want my computer sounds to come out of my hifi system, only Spotify. 

2. My head is spinning with DAC info. It seems like I can't go wrong with a $99 Schiit, but I'd rather just buy right the first time. Happy to spend up to 1k (used is definitely ok with me) on a DAC that I can just forget about. Did I mess up by not getting an integrated preamp/dac? 

I come to you guys with humility and ready for Lessons 3 thru infinity.
128x128quesofrito
rlross123
7 posts
 
I use an old iMac dedicated to music system. I mirror screen on my iPad for remote functions. I have two DACs Schiit modi multibit and Jolida tube DAC. I think the tube DAC has a richer, more nuanced tone, plus you get to roll tubes😝
I run signal to POLK SRS 3.1 tl speakers via Rogue chronus magnum tube amp. I use Apple Music streaming service. I find that despite all the numbers flying around about other hifi services, Apple  is as good as I can hear. I tell it like this: I can tell the difference between a $20 bottle of wine and a $200 bottle, but I can’t tell the difference between a $200 bottle and a $2000 bottle....
jimjohn316
4 posts
 
+1000 on the power cable upgrade per lowrider57.  Jason at the Cable Company (no affiliation, just a very satisfied customer) recommended the Wireworld Mini-Electra 7 and the difference was immediate and impressive.  Much more detail, the "haze" is gone, more 3D and lower noise.  Much larger soundstage as well.  I run my Node 2i through a Wyred 4 Sound DAC-2 DSDse playing Amazon Music HD and it sounds excellent.  
big_greg
6,623 posts
 
To those recommending a power cord upgrade to the Node 2i, have any of you tried the Pangea Audio C7 cord, and if so, what were your impressions?
gdnrbob
4,444 posts
 
@OP, 
Good move with the Codex.
It performs way past its pricepoint, and knowing Ayre, will be upgradable if they see fit.
As far as Spotify vs. Tidal.
Spotify has a larger catalog, but unfortunately doesn't offer higher resolutions that Tidal does.
Tidal, in my opinion, has a great catalog for contemporary music (think Hip Hop or anything current)
That is why I switched to Quobuz.
bob
jrwaudio
345 posts
 
As I'm still on the hunt for a streamer and also and maybe a good choice for OP. Has anyone have or input on the Audiolab 6000N streamer?
It sure seems to have some appealing features
See below  The price for the 6000N is around $600

The 6000N Play provides access to a wealth of internet music services: Spotify, Tidal, HDtracks, Deezer, Qobuz, Amazon Music, Napster, TuneIn, iHeartRadio and SiriusXM, to name a few. Users might choose to browse a radio guide listing thousands of stations and podcasts, or stream from a home media server with DLNA compatibility. The 6000N Play is hi-res audio enabled, capable of receiving data up to 24- bit/192kHz resolution over Wi-Fi – well in excess of CD quality – without transcoding or down-sampling.

DAC (Digital-to-Analogue Converter), utilising the same ES9018 Sabre32 Reference chip

The 6000N Play is configured and operated via the Play-Fi app, available for iOS, Android and Kindle Fire phones and tablets, as well as Apple and Android smartwatches and Windows PCs. It can also stream directly from Spotify via Spotify Connect, and is DLNA and UPnP compliant.
More to discover