Mcanaday

Thanks so much! I will pass all your good advice on to my friend. Margot

A friend of mine has been gifted with a nice collection of WAV files. She is hoping to get a Halide Design HD DAC to run between her MAC book and her Rega Elex amp. Our question...does she need special software like Amarra to optimize the sound? If so, what would be best for WAV files played through a MAC laptop? Also does she need to be concerned about jitter? Would a couple of jitterbugs be a good investment? Any other basics she should know in terms of settings etc before getting started? thanks!

Hi all- I'm home demo-ing an Aries streamer this weekend and trying out Tidal. I like the streamer, I'm not sure about Tidal. Technically, it's working well (no dropouts) but I'm not thrilled with the feature set. What I most wanted this for was not to create my own playlists or to call up records I already know but to stream a jazz "channel" or a rock "channel" etc. I'm not sure the curated playlists do it for me. And I also note that the "genre" function doesn't seem to appear in the Tidal app on the Aries anyway. And it just seems a bit buggy. Like when I select an album it plays the first song and then reverts to what it was playing before. How well does the interface for Deezer Elite work? Can I select a few jazz songs I like, and have it create a station for me, etc? And is Deezer Elite coming to Aries? If not and it has more of the features I care about, I might try Sonos (probably with a Synchro-Mesh from Empirical Audio to clean up the jitter). Thoughts from those who have tried Deezer Elite vs Tidal? Thanks- Margot

How is it??? Thanks...

hi Bear. I am only interested in streaming music to the "big rig," so I'll take a closer look at the Aries. Thanks again!

I'll be very interested to learn the answer to this question, as I have been trying to sort this out myself. From the reading I have done, I sort of suspect the upgraded power supply may give Empirical the edge, but it is quite a bit more expensive. And then I have been wondering if you're in that $ ballpark (Synchro-mesh + Dynamo power supply) how does streaming lossless cd quality through Tidal or something like it with Sonos/Empirical Audio set up compare to doing the same thing on the Auralic Aries, both in terms of ease of use and sound quality? Or is this apples and oranges?

Thanks, Bear!

That's great to hear, Tim. Thanks to all. cheers, Margot

Thanks to all for your generosity and insight in helping me sort this out. I bought a used Bryston BDA-1 just moments ago. So that part of this puzzle is solved. I'm excited and can return to work feeling like I accomplished something this long holiday weekend!

No need to apologize, I think things are getting a bit clearer! I like Paul's suggestion above to just stay at 16/44.1 with Sonos. The question is whether I am better off getting the Wyred4Sound modified unit (configured for 16/44.1) or getting a stock Sonos unit and running it through something like Empirical Audio's Synchro-Mesh? Any thoughts on that? And Paul, how do I figure out which DACs are built for 16/44.1 as you describe above. (When I click on the Benchmark it says 24 bit 192 kHz.) Or is it just a matter of sticking to these high quality older models? Thanks again, I'm grateful for everyone's help.

Hi Lewinski and all- thanks. I was assuming that the Wyred4Sound modification (which upgrades the jitter clock) was similar to something like Empirical Audio. You think Empirical Audio does something different, or just does it better? And I am still really confused by discussion above that I only get 16/44.1 from the upgraded Sonos. What does it mean then that Wyred4Sound says the consumer can chose output sample for the modified unit (44.1, 48, or 96 kHz.) If it is only 16/44.1 would my best move to buy a NOS dac like the Teradak? Or to try something like PS audio Nuwave where I have the option of selecting "native" function? And then would I be better off configuring the Sonos unit at 16/44.1? Any thoughts? This is confusing! with thanks, mc.

Hi all- Thanks for this very useful discussion, and especially the clarification that even with the modified unit I am still doing 16/44. I am assuming the modified W4S unit is the Remedy reclocker technology that removes jitter, though, and so I don't need to mess around with something like Audiophileo? And then I am gathering that a good DAC (maybe Schiit Bifrost or Gunguir, or new Arcam irDAm, or Meridian Director, or even Rega Dac) is probably the right level to come in at. And perhaps it would be ideal to demo a few in the system and see what sounds best? with thanks- mc

Thanks. I think with the Wyred4Sound you can select up to 96kHz. But the general point is a good one --I don't want to spend a fortune on a DAC for what isn't the highest level application...streaming lossless cd (Tidal or other) through the Sonos. So I don't want to spend money on a DAC that has way more functionality than I need, but I would still like my Sonos/DAC combo to sound as good as possible. What should I be looking at? Thanks!

Hello, all. I am looking for a DAC that would work well with a Sonos unit (Wyred4Sound modified version). The amplifier is an Exposure 2010s2 and the speakers are PMC twenty.21s. The Sonos will mostly be used to stream Tidal (when it becomes available on Sonos). I might also try Deezer. I would like like to spend between $500-$1200 on the DAC. Any thoughts about which particular DAC might work well for this application? Thanks, mc

Hi everyone- This is all very helpful, and you have given me lots to think about and follow up on. I'm grateful. cheers!