CD and Network Streamers

Thank you all for your advice and comments on this. I just pulled the trigger on Blue sound Vault 2i ripper/streamer combo. I'm excited and ready to get this up and running into my system.

@martineaud 

A wise choice at this juncture of your journey into streaming. Vault 2i will allow you to stream with a very good user interface app (iPad recommended) and doubles up as a ripper/storage for your precious CD collection. Take your time to settle down with Vault, get acclimated with your choice of streaming service and see what’s worth ripping from your CD collection. I started off with Vault, enjoyed it for 5 years before upgrading to Aurender ACS100. I figured, I couldn’t live without my rare CD collection that is not available on streaming or them sounding superior to the version available on streaming. Plus, I still buy CD’s (selectively) that are mastered from analog tapes so a CD ripper in my system is indispensable. It was a long drawn out process to rip my entire CD collection but it didn’t bother me as ripping process doesn’t interfere with streaming or your listening.

The internal DAC within Vault is its weak point. It’s listenable but not engaging enough for many. So I recommend buying a nice DAC to pair with your Vault down the road. I also recommend wired connection for best SQ and stability.  

@mahler123 I recently got the 6 TB Melco server along with their CD ripper.  Superb sonics.  I stream thru my Teac dac and a Synergistic ethernet switch.  The cd and the streamed files sound close but not exactly the same.  Nevertheless, one does not sound better than the other.  I am slowly loading my 10,000 cds on the Melco drive.  I am also storing my CDs.  Life is good.