the best, cost-no-object, music streamer?

Thanks Agiaccio. Dont think i will be playing via network.

seem's i've decided to take the Mac Mini route. still keepin' my MC48 with built in DAC. if finances allow, i'll aim one day to own dSC Debussy DAC or better; or newer version of Debussy as Debussy was launched early 2010.

I heard the dCS Puccini CD Player and matching U-Clock. Amazing sound. jaw dropping. the Scarlatti stacked of 4 doesnt sound that much difference (costing more than 3 times the Puccini !!!)

With the Puccinis; red-book CD music such as Adele's Skyfall soundtrack sounds very detailed yet musical. definitely a huge orchestra of musician is involved; it's like i can hear individual groups of musicians are playing. while on another system (i was in an audio exhibition); the same CD sounds more like a noise on a system with Goldmund CD Player (US$ 5000).

The Puccinis could set me back US$23,000. So I think the Debussy may be the middle ground here while achieving archived music stored in my new Mac Mini with 6TB HDD via thunderbolt.

thanks everyone!

let's enjoy the music :-)

Some really good reviews of a few options on HiFi Advice:

http://www.hifi-advice.com/reviews-computer-audio.html

I also just tried the Simaudio MiND 180 streamer. Sounded fantastic through the Simaudio 650D dac (sounded better than cd play through the 650D) For about $1,200 it's a much more affordable option than some of the high end solutions like Linn. The MiND streamer will also be built into the new Simaudio 380D dac - just add a computer with a UPnP library management software program (like Asset), a wired/wireless network router and an iPad and you're all set!

I have to say, though, Meridian Sooloos is still miles better than any of the other streaming systems I've seen in terms of tagging, library management software and their iPad app. They've got a good few years on the other companies and it really shows. Different sounding than Simaudio, though. The Meridian house sound is smooth and rich (particularly with their apodizing digital filter, which is supposed to remove pre-ringing) whereas the Simaudio house sound is punchy/rock-solid bass, dynamic and detailed in the high frequencies. Both sound very good but people will have preferences. I'd say the Sim sound will have more initial appeal but the Meridian sound will grow on you over time (that's what happened to me, at least!).

For best SQ, I recommend to get a music server that has USB streaming audio output, such as Sonore or Aurality. With these you can add an external USB converter or USB DAC that contains a better master clock and power delivery to achieve much lower jitter than any of these servers. You can also update these devices as technical advances take place in the future without replacing the server.

Steve N.
Empirical Audio

Hello Steve,
On the topic of converters, do you have any plans for an Offramp with DoP support, or do you know of converter out there with both DoP support and I2S out over RJ45? Thanks.

I hear you all.

From reading the posts it seems music streamer needs to be a dedicated unit like sooloos, aurender, linn etc. I've only seen and hear the sooloos. seems the presentation (demo) wasnt setup well in front of me. or probly the music was using a file that is compressed and lossy.

I enjoy listening to my mac mini (amarra+itunes) connected to mcintosh c48 via USB. for past 2 weeks i have been ripping my CD collection. turns out i have couple of albums that i have 2 CD of :-)

i enjoy very much the ability control the mac mini's itunes from my ipad using Remote HD app.

Is there something wrong with my setup? should i buy a master clock?

has anybody tried a master clock, how much "less jitter" does the unit do the whole music experience?