Request for advice

[szymtor]

Hello,

 

This is a question for advice from a noob to the experienced people out there.

 

I have a Marantz PM6005 amplifier, B&W DM305 speakers,

and listen to music from files on a computer (soon to be replaced by a network drive)

or from music servers such as Spotify. So far, I have been using a computer (MacBook Pro)

connected through a jack-RCA cable, but found the sound quality not satisfactory.

I suspect that the bottleneck is the computer DAC and the audio jack cable.

To test this, I am about to get toslink cable to connect the computer to the amp.

First question: will this help?

 

Next, I would like to have a multi-room system, so I was thinking of Sonos Connect or Bluesound Node 2,

or something similar, in a similar price range, to connect to the amplifier. My second question is whether

this will further improve the sound quality, and which one would deliver better sound quality

(I do not believe in hi-res), and how big are the differences in the quality.

 

The third question is whether I'm missing something important?

Like a dedicated DAC, a preamp, or anything?

I would like to avoid buying any unnecessary things.

 

Excuse any possible confusion in the above questions.

Thanks in advance for your opinions.

[mansr]

You're probably correct suspecting the MacBook DAC as a main bottleneck. This means you need to get an external DAC to replace it. This could be in the shape of a simple USB-connected unit (e.g. ifi micro/nano) or something with more capabilities such as network streaming support. Either way, you will need to buy something other than a cable.

[maelob]

Your marantz amp has an internal Dac- the cheapest option is what you suggest toslink from Mac straight to Marantz should improve the sq greatly. A sonos or bluesound system will free you from having the computer connected to the amp.

But i suggest try toslink first to see if you like it. If not then you can try a new Dac.

[mansr]

You're probably correct suspecting the MacBook DAC as a main bottleneck. This means you need to get an external DAC to replace it. This could be in the shape of a simple USB-connected unit (e.g. ifi micro/nano) or something with more capabilities such as network streaming support. Either way, you will need to buy something other than a cable.

 

Sorry, I didn't realise the amp has digital inputs (PM8005 doesn't). The Toslink cable alone should give you a nice improvement.

[szymtor]

Thanks mansr and maelob for your reassuring advice.

I will check that out soon and report the result.

 

In any case, I will still probably want to replace the computer by a streamer.

How do you think the following compare in terms of sound quality:

1) Sonos connect,

2) Bluesound node,

3) Other streamers in similar price range, with multi-room support,

4) Macbook connected via toslink (placed on this list as a reference point).

 

Thanks in advance.

[mansr]

In any case, I will still probably want to replace the computer by a streamer.

How do you think the following compare in terms of sound quality:

1) Sonos connect,

2) Bluesound node,

3) Other streamers in similar price range, with multi-room support,

4) Macbook connected via toslink (placed on this list as a reference point).

 

Thanks in advance.

 

The streamer doesn't matter nearly as much to sound quality as the DAC or analogue components. I'd look at features first.