2. digital
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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
artemus_5's avatar
artemus_5 OP
1,992 posts
 
Thanks guys. I’m getting tired of the hunt and the research My brains need a rest.
 
This thread has been a real eye opener which has helped me to understand more. Great bunch here. Thanks
audioguy85's avatar
audioguy85
2,018 posts
 
Just get a musical fidelity vdac 90 and call it a day for $299. It's a borderline class A component in Stereophile magazine and I agree with them that it is a wonderful peace of equipment for not very much and can rival many dacs 3 times its price. Yea, so it cannot play the highest of resolutions, who cares...at some point you have to say what is the point. In the end, at least to my ears, the vdac 90 sounds fantastic with all kinds of music. The real gold is in vinyl playback...I'm an analog guy and always will be...so to spend any more than what I did on the MF is not rational to me. Jmo
wsrrsw's avatar
wsrrsw
1,072 posts
 
artemus_5

What software do you use to rip? Mac or Windows?

 
artemus_5's avatar
artemus_5 OP
1,992 posts
 
@witswWindows. Son tried for years to get me into mac, thus the M4a files for Ipod. Hated Itunes. It took up every resource on my PC. I couldn’t run anything else with it running and I am a RAM man (Always more RAM)


@audioguy85

I’ve been playing records for 60 yrs. I have 4k and a very nice table et al. I have a pretty nice cdp, Theta Miles which, though not as good as the TT, is a good player. You have to do your research, which is why we both are here. Thanks for the heads up. I’ll look at it the Vdac. Sho... I may even start with that and a laptop. But I know I need to make a move soon. I’ll keep you guys updated
big_greg
6,668 posts
 
@artemus_5 I'm not familiar with the Yamaha unit you mentioned.  How's the interface?  One of the Bluesound's best features is its app.  Keep that in mind when making your decision.

As to your question about "better 1's and 0's", I've yet to see a definitive answer about that.  What I can tell you is that I went from a Bluesound Node 2 paired with an Auralic Vega DAC (which was $3500 when new) to a TEAC NT-505 streamer/DAC and it sounds better than the Node 2 / Vega combo did. 

I also tried my Node 2 with a Mytek Liberty DAC and the DAC in my Sony TA-ZH1ES headphone amp (which is very good).  They all improved the sound of the Node 2, but none of them sounded as good as the TEAC all-in-one device.

My thinking is that the streamer does matter, as it seems everything matters in the signal chain, but no way I can prove that.  I have no way of testing the streamer in the NT-505 with an external DAC.
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