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  3. 172804-97860

Streaming Spotify

Currently I have a basic system consisting of pre-amp, ss-amp, Dynalab tuner. cd player and (2)speakers . Currently, I subscribe to a music streaming service mostly for running and workouts. Basic question: If I stream into the home system via my cell phone, am I missing out on better audio by not having a DAC connected to the cell? Would I bypass the pre-amp?  Does the pre-amp have a DAC circuit built in?

Thanks

128x128jmedici
fuzztone's avatar
fuzztone
5,607 posts
 

Yes.

Yes.

If you don’t know all hope is lost. My previous one did. I didn’t like it.

If you want decent sound lose the phone and get a dedicated player

 

ghdprentice
6,980 posts
 

Streamer —> DAC —> preamp —> amp —> speakers.

 

or

 

Streamer/DAC —> preamp —> amp —> speakers

 

While theoretically one could output DAC to amp. Well, let’s just say except for a very few people with incredible dedication and desire to do it. Keeping a preamp in the middle will result in the very best sound.

ozzy62's avatar
ozzy62
3,133 posts
 

Since you are talking about Spotify, I wouldn’t sweat it. It’s lossy audio so what does it matter?

ghdprentice
6,980 posts
 

Generally audiophiles prefer Qobuz first and then Tidal. I had Tidal for a year or so, my audio guy persistently pestered me to switch to Qobuz… I did, he was right.

soix
9,456 posts
 

First, if you’re not willing to upgrade your music subscription to Qobuz don’t bother as Spotify is a lossy, crap source and nothing can save it.  And yes, if you upgrade your streaming service you’ll need a separate DAC to get decent sound.  Next, do you need wireless control or can you go wired from your cell to a DAC?  If it’s the latter I have some good suggestions, but if wireless a Node 2i might be your best bet from a cost/benefit perspective, but you’ll still eventually want a better separate DAC if you want better sound. Hope this helps, and best of luck. 

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