Suggestions for a streamer only (I have a great DAC)
I have a dCS Paganini DAC and Paganini Clock. I’m looking for a streamer only to pair with the Paganini to stream via Tidal. That’s it, I don’t need a streamer/DAC/etc. I don’t want to extra for pay for redundancy. Any good suggestions on a streamer only that you have paired to a high end DAC with good results would be appreciated.
PLEASE no “try some at home on your system” responses …. that’s the reason I came here, for some recommendations. Price range $1500-$5000.
Thanks!
Just to play devil’s advocate here: The Paganini is an older discontinued product. I have no idea what the used resale value is like? But it would be interesting to figure out the dollar value and sound quality against a new DCS Bartok for example? The Bartok would be a clean one box solution for streaming and DAC duties. |
@headphonedreams+1 for the Metronome. I had that home for a weekend and tested it against the dCS. It is as well built as the dCS and very musical sounding. The dCS digs out more details do, I find. I also prefer Mosaic before M-connect (the generic software that Metronome use and many others). Theoretica Applied Physics offer a few different configurations. The "Adio" for instance "doubles" as a streamer. However, as I use it, a PC or a MAC is needed in the network as a Roon core. It comes with a dedicated Mac 10.5inch Ipad from where music is operated via the Roon interface. It can however be configured to be a Roon core and end-point player and Tidal/Qobuz streamer, but I prefer to handle Roon outside of it. In my case I was looking for a strong streamer solution foremost, but found the machine add additional features (Cross talk eliminated 3D sound) I today can not live without. As it comes with a good DAC and a pre-amp I sold most of my other gear to justify the purchase. And now I keep the signal path as simple as possible. Power amplifier + Bacch + Speakers.
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@naperaudio, if you value plug and play ease of use when listening to music, and you intend to use Roon, then I highly recommend that you look at getting a Roon Nucleus. I have one running off of a 19v Sbooster linear power supply that’s plugged into an AudioQuest Niagara power conditioner. Clean power being the key to getting the best out of any piece of audio gear, no matter how costly that bit of kit might be. I just turn on my amplifier, put on my headphones, pick up my iPad, and start listening to millions of tracks of music within a matter of seconds. |
