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Upgrading my streaming/digital system- what would make the most sense?
Hello all,
I would like to improve my digital chain and I'd like to get your feedback on which component(s) are worth upgrading first. I would like to get a more natural/organic sound and more naturally layered soundstage. Don't get me wrong, it sounds good but there is a bit of digital haze ( I think the blacks could be blacker and spatial cues could be more present- thus the somewhat flat presentation), and at times the music sounds a little artificial, albeit very clean.
I use Roon to stream Tidal and Qobuz and the digital audio chain consists of ethernet cable> switch (basic cisco)> 2 ethernet cables
> Macmini (roon core)
> Moon 280d with Mind2 bridge (roon endpoint etc)
(The rest is Vinnie Rossi preamp in passive mode to Pass Labs xa60.5 mono's to Avantgarde duo's or Thiel 3.7's; cabling Nordost Heimdall 2; I also have an analogue set up).
I had always assumed that the most effective upgrade would be the dac, particularly because in this configuration the '"noisy" Macmini does no processing other than sending a stream of 1's and 0's as a Roon core/server to the Moon/Mind2 bridge as Roon endpoint/renderer.
But some have suggested that this is not the case ie the Macmini should be replaced with a Nucleus or Small Green Computer, or something else along these lines, rather than the Dac. But would that really make such a noticeable improvement rather than a considerably better dac?
Or would something else yield a better improvement?
I would like to go in stages rather that doing a wholesale replacement of the entire chain so I need a bit of help to decide what the next step should be- many thx for your thoughts and feedback.
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- 19 posts total
I have spent 3-4 years experimenting , Fiberoptic sucks some life out of the music these are keys buy a modem- router combo ,I bought the latest Motorola 8702 that has docsis 3.1 especially if you have separates get rid of the wall wart crap power supplies ,put in linear power supplies to the router you want something decent minimal little green computer$299 look on bottom of router ,voltages normally 12v -4 amp the best one use by far is the Linear Tube Audio LPS $750 and comes witha great DC cable that goes to the router ,others charge $150 for included$750 then buy a good Ethernet hub which I found for $600 which is very good and Quality Ethernet cables, and usb cables a must ,Dac is the most crucial being the sourse. And makes a big difference then a server,streamer like a innuos or something similar. Good digital ,like good analog cost $$ imo $10 k minimum |
I'm in the camp that the DAC is the heard of your system and you get the most bang from the buck there. I'd put your core on a NUC, install ROCK and let that stand alone. Then spend big money upgrading your DAC. I personally highly recommend chord DAVE and also the Chord Mscaler. But there are lots of other great DACS out there when you are willing to spend 5 digits. Jerry |
Everyone is giving you their personal experience here, but you have to wonder how many ran controlled experiments, changing just one variable at a time, listening to the same set of test tracks that cover most/all important aspects of sound quality. I also assumed a better DAC would make the most impact, but after running about 5 DACs and 5 server/streamers through my system, I found the server/streamer made the most difference. I ended up with a Grimm Audio MU1. The Grimm performs a lot of functions to clean up the analog wave that carries the digital signal, so the router and switch quality became much less important. For the DAC, I finally picked a Chord Dave, which I was able to pick up used. The Grimm includes the equivalent of an M-Scaler, so you don’t need that. Think of the server/streamer as the turntable and cartridge and that helps the process. |
@dougthebiker I have an Innuos Zenith MK3 but you've got me reading up on the MU1. I too have the DAVE. If I sold my Innuos and M-scaler, it would almost fund the Grimm. What $5k streamers did you compare the Grimm to? I could also offload my NUC core which would clean up my rack. Jerry |
- 19 posts total