Streaming 101


I know nothing about streaming and would like some feedback. All I have is a laptop running windows. Is there a one box way to do everything? I have an older SACD player and don't think I can access its DAC.( Esoteric X-01 D2) The rest of my setup is pretty evolved so I would like something commensurate without breaking the bank. Internet radio is something I would really like to be able to access. Excuse my ignorance, most of the music reviews I read about these days seem to be unavailable to me via my turntable or CD player. Thanks.

joeyfed55

You’d probably be better off looking at a Bluesound Vault as it’ll allow you to load your CDs into it, but at your budget I think you’re better served by something from Innuos, FWIW. 

One can run Roon on a computer or a dedicated NUC.
I am leaning towards that once I get all the CDs ripped to FLAC.
Then I am looking the Topping and March Audio DAC which can be fed from a USB from the computer or NUC.

But also the Lyngdorf I got has a Roon endpoint, so I may skip a DAC.
And Roon also does the streaming interface.


Hopefully some clues ^there^ will provide some options.

I think I'll investigate a Bluesound Node 2 and see if streaming is something I'll want to pursue. If I do I can get a seperate DAC later. 

This is a great idea, other than the idea to add a separate DAC to the Bluesound later. 

The Bluesound is a great entry level product and a great way to dip your toes in teh streaming waters.  If you decide streaming isn't for you, you can flip it and only be out a couple of hundred bucks.  

If you have a higher end system, you'll realize the Bluesound has some limitations in terms of sound quality.  That's when you should ditch the BlueSound and spend the time to learn more about streaming and invest in better quality products, either a better streamer/DAC or a separate streamer and DAC.

search youtube for reviewer john darko

he has a video series on the basic of streaming... easy to watch and well explained

I have a couple thousand CDs. If you streaming correctly it will sound as good as red book CD and better with higher resolution music from Qobuz or other HQ streaming services. The age of ripping CDs is about over. I would not waste time and money on it. On the other hand lots of streamers come with storage... My streamers came with storage and I had ripped all my CDs over the last 20 years. I haven’t played them once.

Since your looking at fairly high quality equipment... I’ll mention Aurender again. I guess if I was looking in that price range I would recommend a Schiit Yggdrasil DAC and a Aurender N100 Streamer (no DAC in it). The Yggdrasil is very inexpensive at ~$2,500 with performance of twice that. This combo would put you in some solid performance for ~ $5K

 

You can see my systems by clicking on my ID... I started on my system in 1973... have been upgrading to where my systems are today.