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Fairly new to streaming. Where to start?

$2k & under budget

Aralic Vega has streamer  and DAC. May be the easiest start?
Then there is Schiit...Yiggy or Gumby...which streamer?
Ladder NOS dac? Or Chip? I'm old. maybe I'll like the old school DAC?
Then there is  Benchmark DAC 3...I think it has streamer?
Then
Exasound E32
Audio Mirror?
Metrum
MHDT Orchid
Border Patrol?
Musical Paradise?
Whats a newbie to do? I am a classic rock fan with lots of FLAC & M4a files. I like detail & PRaT. Love a good bass line. I also play some 70's jazz. I have a Theta Miles CD player from the 1900's & play a lot of vinyl too. But I need to come into the 21st century.  Besides, I will probably become tired of the vinyl ritual and work at some point as I get older. I think I have done enough homework to be somewhat confused. Maybe the biggest question in light of how fast digital changes is the question of streamer with DAC or separate Streamer and DAC. One other question is the streamer & bridge the same thing? OK Thanks!! 
128x128artemus_5
nekoaudio's avatar
nekoaudio
489 posts
 
@artemus_5 I actually just recently helped someone with this same question.

My advice is to consider the DAC first, because that's going to have the biggest influence on the sound character and maybe you'll like how the DAC in a network streaming DAC sounds, but maybe you won't like it as much as some other standalone DAC.

Likewise, the software and convenience of the network streamer will play a big part in how much you enjoy listening to music. You will also want to consider whether or not you need support for services like Qobuz, Tidal, Spotify, etc.

If you end up liking the DAC in a network streaming DAC, and you like the software and hardware of the same network streaming DAC, you're good to go. But otherwise separate units gives you more flexibility as I think you've also concluded.

Some other brands you may want to consider are Lumin, Bryston, Trinnov, and Devialet.
wsrrsw's avatar
wsrrsw
1,047 posts
 
artemus_5 Looked at your system. Very nice!


If you get a LUMEN T2 the sound will be close (maybe better) to your beloved vinyl. Yes it’s double your stated budget but here’s a case of getting what you pay for. The top PS audio unit also excellent. No need for more IMO.


I’m a happy Qobuz camper but Tidal’s great too. I have tested a CD against a high res streaming version of the same track and what a real difference. Night and day better. No. Richer and more enveloping? Heck yes. Hard to go back. You bet. 

Streaming is easy and there’s a plethora of what ever your audio taste are. HUGE!

mtraesbo
46 posts
 
I would recommend separate streamer and DAC. 

Regarding streamer I would first of all select one, where your favourite streaming services is embedded (Tidal, Spotify, etc). Secondly, I would vouch for using Roon. I enjoy the music metadata and music management capability. Personally, I am on my 2nd streamer and is using the Innuos Mini and that is great. 

For DAC a initial consideration is whether it is is MQA-enabled or not. Secondly, pending your budget, you could consider a FPGA-based DAC vs chip-based. Currently, I have the RME ADI-2 DAC and that works very well with the Innuos. 

Both sell for around 1k €. 
artemus_5's avatar
artemus_5 OP
1,979 posts
 
Gentlemen, many thanks again for the help/. One clarification I have.

I will NOT be using the services of a streaming service, IE Qobuz, etc. I have been collecting FLAC & Apple Lossless for 10 or more years. I probably have at least 1TB in files now .Plus I'll be ripping more Cd's of which I probably have 2k. Then there are 4k albums. I have plenty of music . So I see no need of a subscription to music. And I have no desire at this time to have a Roon subscription. So, in effect I will only be streaming my own library, which is why the Vault looks tempting. IF i could hook up  my computer to my stereo system and have it sound good, that's all I would need for now. But we know that's not the way to get good sound. Hope I haven't rambled too much . again thanks
big_greg
6,654 posts
 
If you already have a bunch of digital music and a way to continue ripping CD's, then the Vault would be redundant.  All you really need is the Node 2i.  As long as your music is available on a shared drive on your network, the Node 2i can access it.
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