I too own (but use only for certain streaming radio) the Cambridge 851N. Bear in mind that it is also a DAC and a digital preamp for that $1500. Pairing with a good DAC instantly revealed its shortcomings, forcing me to buy a quality dedicated streamers. Tried several before settling on the Aurender line whose sound fits my ear and whose Conductor app is relatively user-friendly. These come in all price ranges with increasingly more bells and whistles, and greater refinement, as you spend more $. Also, in my experience, good USA product support team.
Now do yourself a second favor and switch to QOBUZ for streaming. I personally find MQA on Tidal phony and unlistenable. Other streaming services are not actually bad -- just not comparable to Qobuz.
Streamer/DAC - Where is the value?
I currently have ($10K) Olympica Nova II speakers, ($11K) McIntosh MA9000 integrated amp and a (~$1.5K) Cambridge Audio 851N network player. The weak link here seems to be the Cambridge unit.
I'm prepared to upgrade my streamer/DAC situation and my budget is about $4-6K. Although there are SO many options out there and it's tough to tell where I'll find the most value. My assumption is that the DAC is going to play a much larger part in sound quality than the Streamer. I play music primarily through Tidal. I don't have requirements for server storage or any other sophisticated source capabilities.
Many of the network players come with a pre-amp which I am assuming I should rule immediately. That pre-amp would be taking a share of the overall budget. On the other hand I was thinking maybe I should buy separates. I could max out the DAC and get something good enough for the streaming. Or even continue to use the Cambridge if I really wanted. Having a beautiful screen on a good looking streamer would be nice but seems like lower priority in terms of bang for buck.
Curious to hear people's thoughts. Are there any specific units anyone would recommend as either an all in one network player or as separates? The Auralic ALTAIR G2.1 seems like the ideal all in one but it's at the very peak of my budget.
Thanks!
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I’ve compared Tidal with Qobuz and find Qobuz to be the better sound quality.
Erik_Squires…what makes you think Tidal, or especially Qobuz, are going anywhere? For that matter I’m pretty sure streaming is here to stay for a long while. But then again, many pay big money for the inferior sound quality of vinyl…so who knows. |
@anotherbob you inspired me to explore the Tidal vs Qobuz question. My brief listening notes with a couple of Stan Getz tracks, Girl from Ipanema and Desafinado: Qobuz: slightly higher volume needs equalizing with Tidal. Sound image seems more stable, fixed. Clear left right and center images. More upper mids and bass resolution but doesn’t seem to go as deep. Tried briefly to use dB app to measure differences but unreliable. There seems to be more air and transparency around the bass, more reverb. Tidal: image seems denser, more depth and bloom. Not as clear and transparent, more bass bloom and depth. It seems to go deeper but couldn’t validate that. It just sounded quite different from Qobuz. If you like lemon gelati, fresh and open you’ll go for Qobuz, if you like rum and raisin ice cream you’ll be a Tidal fan. I still can’t make up my mind.
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Your weak link is not only the Cambridge, it’s also your Mcintosh IMO. If you’re looking for value it’s not in Mcintosh. I went to Simaudio from Mcintosh and find it’s way better dollar for dollar especially in the used market. Not saying Simaudio is the best but I’ve heard tons of gear that blows Mcintosh away at way lower price points. In terms of DACs I’d say your suggestion of Auralic G2.1 and use as a preamplifier then buy a decent amplifier like a Pass Labs, Bryston or whatever you like. I’m currently using U1 mini with Denafrips Venus. Sonus Faber Minima Amator 2 and Simaudio 340 i. |
While I definitely understand the wisdom of keeping the two separate, I purchased a bundle from Cary Audio. Their DMS650 is a DAC/Streamer priced at $4800. They are always running sales and you could probably get 15% off right now Unfortunately my only comparison is a Bluesound Node although at a dealer I did quite a bit of listening on a Cambridge unit. The Cary unit had an extremely profound impact on the sound of my system. This was not a night and day, this was a Quantum leap. Not only did the quality and clarity improve dramatically, but the power and impact of the sound was stunning. Maybe that can be said of any DAC and Streamer at that price. Steve Huff said this unit punches above its weight and is an easy recommendation for anyone spending up to 6k coincidentally. They also have B stock on their website which is discontinued models. They have a few DMS 550’s at $2995 right now, but those are exempt from the 30 day return policy. |
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