Pandora One on Home Audio System

Update: I ordered the Denon DNP-720AE through Crutchfield ($275 after $25 off coupon) and auditioned it for a week.

While it is an improvement over an iPod through the NAD dock, I found the sound a little thin and the menus difficult to navigate. I'd rate it as a good value for the money. If it were still selling for $500 - not so much.

I decided to return it and buy a Cambridge Audio Stream Magic 6 ($1,000). I received the unit last night and have been able to give it some critical listening.

What a difference! Having good quality twin onboard DACs delivers much better sound - very clean and full with throaty vocals.

It was a lot more than I was planning to spend but I'm glad I did.

I still need to hook it up to my NAS to play higher quality music but my objective of upgrading my Pandora listening has been met.

nicholas, upgrading your device can only do so much to improve the source material--you're still stuck with 128kb with pandora. i know i sound like a mog fanboy, but mog broadcasts at 320kb, which sounds immeasurably better, and at least on average recordings, almost cd-quality. plus, it has a vastly larger library and the option to download high-quality music files on your mobile, etc.

I got Pandora to sound a lot better with a good DAC but agree with Loomisjohnsom, you should give MOG a try, noticeably better with the 320. I believe they still have a 2 week free trial.

What I like about Pandora is how their algorithm serves up the music. I can listen to a station all day without repeat songs and enjoy nearly everything played. There's not a human DJ on Earth that can do better. I do wish they'd offer a higher bitrate service. I'm paying $36/year now and would gladly pay more for better quality tracks.

I have played some FLAC files through the Stream Magic 6 and realize there is so much more to be heard with better sources.

I'm sure these services will continue to evolve.

Thanks for the input.

Me too. It's why I keep paying for it.

MOG has something similar called MOG Radio. You can select an artist, hit the radio button and a slider pops up. All the way to the left is "that artist only", all the way to the right and it's "similar artists". You can put the slider anywhere in between to weigh it either way.