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Been away for a while, need some help

OK folks, I have been away from the audiophile market for a while, about 10 years. Moved, built a new home, now I have a new home and beautiful finished basement with a dedicated area for music. My equipment is a little dated, but I am finally starting to enjoy listening again. I currently have a Classe CA-151 amp with a Classe SSP-25 pre and a Sony DVP 9000 ES player all on a pair of B&W CDM 9NT. Pursit Audio Musaeus speaker cables, Kimber Hero interconnects. I don't do video anymore so the SSP 25 and DVP 9000 are just 2 channel audio. I used to have a lot of SACD's but we had a break in 2 years ago and a lot of CD's were stolen among other items. 
I just started listening again and I realized how much I miss just listening to music. I was going to start repurchasing some of my favorite disc that were stolen like some Alison Kraus SACD's, but a friend turned me on to Qobuz. So I am trying a free trial and I plugged my MacBook Pro into my pre via cheap cable through the headphone jack. Listening to an Alison Krause CD I used to own on SACD and I must say it sounded pretty darn good. I was going to look at buying a new CD player since I know my Sony is pretty dated and I don't really have SACD's anymore so now I am exploring the thought of a streamer. 
This is where you all come in. Given my situation, what do you suggest. A decent streamer? I started looking and I am seeing everything from $500 to $5000. Its a stretch of the budget but I was intrigued by the Auralic G1. I have to admit the thought of maybe getting rid of the ugly CD cabinet and just streaming is enticing if it is worth it. I must admit tonight was the longest I listened to music in a loooong time listening to the Qobuz on the MacBook pro and listening to everything from Alison to Coltrane. I don't want to crazy anymore but I really enjoy music and I may eventually sell the classe stuff for some tubed integrated down the road, but I think the digital upgrade is my immediate need. I appreciate your help and direction for someone who has been away for a while. 
128x128jmphotography
ovinewar's avatar
ovinewar
172 posts
 
Mlsstl,
I don't want to hi-jack the thread, but curious which RPI you use and what OS. I have an RPI4 W/HifiBerry DSP +DAC running Volumio.  I am contemplating a ZERO with an Allo miniboss for a camper and while Volumio works great, curious about others.
limomangus's avatar
limomangus
1,486 posts
 
To stream or not to stream ,that is the question, I dont stream well I listen on you tube .But I love my lps,cd,cassettes, r to r ...my own source. At times I just but the FM on .....to each his own.
ovinewar's avatar
ovinewar
172 posts
 
Agreed on the streaming. I still play CD's regularly and probably prefer it. I also listen to Tidal. I buy what I love, but Tidal opens new avenues. 
phcollie's avatar
phcollie
342 posts
 
Op,
    Before investing in a lot of equipment, you might want to take some time and explore or do a free trial of "Audirvana" on your mac book.  I use Audirvana with Qobuz and have no desire or need to purchase CDs or other equipment. The sound quality is beyond superb if you employ a good DAC.  I think the investment is around $80 and you can then take a lot of time to audition transports if that is the direction you choose to go.  Best of luck. Lots of different opinions on this topic. 
    
mlsstl
1,451 posts
 
@ovinewar, for my main system I use a RPi 3B+ with the HiFiBerry Digi+Pro Hat. OS is PiCorePlayer 6 as I have a 7" RPi touch screen attached that displays album info. The other RPi is also a 3B+, but it uses the HiFiBerry OS which works very well, but doesn't support an attached display. (I use LMS as a music server on a stand-alone PC.) The only reason to move to a RPi 4 is if you want USB output to the DAC. The USB output on the 3 shares it with the ethernet port and is problematic. Going to the 4 solves that problem. Since I don't use USB out on the RPis, the 3 model is more than sufficient.
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