Next step up on the streaming food chain?
I’ve been enjoying my Auralic Aries G1 for nearly 3 years now. If I wanted to explore a significant step up in my streaming quality, and not a small incremental increase in quality, what devices should be on my short list? Aries G2.2? Grimm MU1? Something else? The G1 is awfully good, however, I still perceive an extra layer of dimensionality and roundness with my analogs set up (see profile for details) that I would love too achieve in the digital realm. Or am I barking up the wrong tree, and should I focus on my DAC, a Bricasti M1, and try as non-oversampling R2R dac? FWIW, I think the Bricasti is excellent- it was the first DAC I ever heard that made me say- "that sounds terrific" instead of saying "that sounds great for digital"
@zavato I owned Auralic Aries G1 and it was overall a nice streamer. I found it to be slightly lean and “digital” sounding though. I also owned Bricasti M3 DAC. I would recommend you focus on the streamer and leave the M1 alone - there’s more to be had there. I own and really like the Aurender N200. Excellent streamer and sounds very natural. It was awesome with the Bricasti M3. I believe it will be a noticeable improvement over the Aries G1
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@audphile1 yes- XP-20 and X250.8. I've owned both since 2015 and love them. |
+1 @kennymacc Most likely, a better streamer would help achieve your goals. If budget is a concern, have you considered a DDC - such as one of these with a trial period. This approach would keep the Lightning DS interface. I’m also a fan of OCC wire. Then I installed this Synergistic Research Galileo digital cable between the DDC and the DAC. Wow! Full bodied & dynamic. No digital leanness. Zilch! Good luck in your quest. |
