2. digital
  3. 156548-145014

Another streaming newbie

Guys, I have tried to search and figure this out, because I know this topic has been well-covered. But I am still wandering in the dark, so plz forgive my redundant questions....

First, here's my current rig,: I built a Lenco table 15 yrs ago with a JMW 10 arm/London Super Gold that I run into a phono pre that I built from a pretty high end kit  (can't see the name, have no idea what it is now!) thru a VTL tube IT-85 integrated amp and then thru some SF Electa Amator II, supported by a sub I built.  So pretty mid-fi setup, but it really works for me.  Sounds great, to my ears.  

The Covid thing has me home (no golf in Los Angeles!), listening to music more. Would love to stream something that approaches the vinyl sound quality with a music service, but being retired, budget is more a concern now... I just subscribed to TIDAL with its premium level (MQA) that I was running straight from my iphone 6 to the VTL. Meh.  Then my daughter ran same stuff through her iphone 11 and, hey, that sounded better.  So, clearly, I am in need of a streaming DAC.  

I know MQA gets mixed reviews. I have no way really to test this or to go listen to stuff. Everything is shut down here. So here's the criteria that matters most to me:
  • A great UI app because now streaming is like going to the Smithsonian.  There's a lot to organize. 
  • Great sound. (whatever that means!) 
  • One box.  Cables get expensive & messy.  
  • I'd like to keep it under $2K. I'd really like to keep it under $1K, but that may be wishful thinking.  I mean, is Bluesound Node 2 up to it? I am sure it would beat my daughters iphone 11, but ... what are reasonable streamers/DACS?  Where's the killer solution that isn't $10K?  I know it's out there....
I am not so far into TIDAL that I can't change. My system is in the same room as my router, so I can run an ethernet cable to the DAC.  As I have looked at all of this, it has occurred to me to get an older, much higher quality used DAC that I can somehow mesh with TIDAL (or another service with high quality streaming) and forget the MQA.  But this has to somehow hook into my internet directly and be able to be run by a remote UI.  So now my head is spinning.

Thanks for your input.  Chuck
chuckccs
hsussman's avatar
hsussman
2 posts
 
I have had Tidal for over a year running with Bluesound 2i into Primaluna Pre and Ayre 5Vxe to Dynaudio Special 40s. MQA does make diff regardless what people say. Two downsides - MQA selection is limited and with Bluesound 2i, you must connect using RCAs if you want to leverage MQA in that box. The Burr Brown DAC’s are fine, but they are definitely inferior to a higher end DAC. I also use Roon, and recommend it highly for curating data. The metadata capture is second to none. 
Last thing i would mention, is that Amazon has a high Rez offer now that is far less expensive than other streaming services. The only challenge with my current setup is Roon doesn’t support Amazon. I think this is inevitable. If Tidal doesn’t find a way to scale MQA to many more tiles, I don’t see them surviving.
big_greg
6,646 posts
 
A couple of things.  Qobuz dropped the rate for their "Studio" subscription (which allows you to stream their hi-res files) to $14.99 / month.  Tidal is still $19.99 for the "Hi-Fi" subscription, which lets you stream MQA.  Some MQA files sound "different" to me also, but not necessarily better.
bajaed
269 posts
 
I need to get started cheaply and upgrade later. How is the basic Schitt Modi for a starter DAC? What is a cheaper but decent quality way to stream into it?
djones51
4,947 posts
 
The modi 3 is their best value and is a good dac for $100. Used Node2i would be easy way to start streaming or a raspberry pi4  if you are comfortable  assembling  a small computer or you can get them ready to go for about $300.
chuckccs OP
42 posts
 
I ordered Schitt Yggdrasil gs (sort of a hybrid of last version, new version of this dac) today. Next is to figure out the player/streamer. Interim will be iPhone. Seems that building the raspberry pi based digione signature is a great thing, I just have to make sure I understand how all the pieces connect - streaming system (assume qobuz), controller (Roon on iPhone), player/os/connectors, and dac all fit. The pi physical build is the easy part. It’s putting all this stuff together so software keeps working together that has me scratching my head. 15 day return will give me time to assess whether this is a good anchor for digital...
More to discover