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10 grand - what set up would you recommend?


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9 minutes ago, thyname said:

 

Thanks! Interesting. Although I use Roon, so not even looking at other protocols or manufacturers ‘ streaming interface/ app.

Stream Unlimited makes a hardware module for streaming.  For example, the dCS Network Bridge uses Stream Unlimited.  The Ayre QX-5 Twenty uses ConversDigital.  IP from companies like these enable manufacturers of streamers to include support for Roon, DLNA/UPnP, Spotify Connect, TIDAL and so on.

Pareto Audio AMD 7700 Server --> Berkeley Alpha USB --> Jeff Rowland Aeris --> Jeff Rowland 625 S2 --> Focal Utopia 3 Diablos with 2 x Focal Electra SW 1000 BE subs

 

i7-6700K/Windows 10  --> EVGA Nu Audio Card --> Focal CMS50's 

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10 minutes ago, thyname said:

It just hit me: has anyone tried Oppo UDP-205 as a preamp / DAC for streaming?

 

It is Roon Ready

 

I haven't heard it, but the general audiophile consensus seems to state that it’s mediocre as a DAC.

 

As a preamp...I wouldn’t let it touch my system with a 10 foot pole.

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On 7/21/2017 at 3:33 PM, bigblue said:

I am about to take my first steps down the Hard drive based Avenue of Music.

  • I am interested in a Roon based system. 
  • SOtM 200 Ultra or Sonore UltraRendu would be very interesting but the total number of boxes, 6 in total (NUC+PS, NAA+PS, Reclocker+PS) will not fit my rack.
  • If SQ would improve I would not hesitate to go with a Nucleus w music library feeding the endpoint. 
  • I want to minimize the risk of having "issues" with the set up (drop outs, pops and cracks).
  • The converter to be fed is the built in DAC of the Gryphon Diablo 300. It accepts S/PDIF as well as USB and AES/EBU.

 

Where would you suggest I go looking with a 8-10 k USD budget?

So far I have only 2 contenders on the list: Innous Zenith Mk II and Antipodes DX.

Would you say such a "one box solution" is a big compromise and the above mentioned 6-box set up would be far superior?

 

 

$10k for entire system, or just for source?

If you want ethernet and don't want multiple boxes,  high on my list is the newly released LUMIN D2

 

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48 minutes ago, thyname said:

It just hit me: has anyone tried Oppo UDP-205 as a preamp / DAC for streaming?

 

It is Roon Ready

 

Depends on if the $10K is his entire system budget or just the source budget.

I would believe that doing native DSD via Jriver and it's ethernet would sound close to as good as what is out there at it's price point.

 

The Auralics have built in LPS, and Lumin also have good reviews.

 

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6 hours ago, beerandmusic said:

 

$10k for entire system, or just for source?

If you want ethernet and don't want multiple boxes,  high on my list is the newly released LUMIN D2

 

 

I am thinking 10 000 USD for the source. I am looking for something that can deliver a musical experience on par with my analog set up (Brinkmann Bardo, RöNT tube power supply, Lyra Etna cartridge). My reference when it comes to sources is a Real 2 Real tape deck like a Studer A80 or B67.

The new Antipodes DX Gen 3 looks like an interesting contender. Any one planning to get a unit?

Sonus Faber Amati Futura, Oppo 105 (transport), Gryphon Diablo 300 with DAC, Brinkmann Bardo, 10.0 tone arm, Lyra Etna, Isotek Sigmas Evo 3, Nordost Valhalla cables, Stillpoints Ultra and Mini.

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7 minutes ago, bigblue said:

 

I am thinking 10 000 USD for the source. I am looking for something that can deliver a musical experience on par with my analog set up (Brinkmann Bardo, RöNT tube power supply, Lyra Etna cartridge). My reference when it comes to sources is a Real 2 Real tape deck like a Studer A80 or B67.

The new Antipodes DX Gen 3 looks like an interesting contender. Any one planning to get a unit?

 

your main bottleneck in your selections is the roon endpoint requirement...so pick your poison off the list....

 

SOTM does make a server (i dont think it is on the list?) about $4K i believe that is an all in one unit...so you don't need to go with the trifecta to get their edge on the market.

That or just find space to connect the sotm ultra to your dac choice.....
 

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SoTM sure makes some nice devices.

When was this released?

When Googling it seems it was released 2013.

In this world that is eons of time :-).

 

Sonus Faber Amati Futura, Oppo 105 (transport), Gryphon Diablo 300 with DAC, Brinkmann Bardo, 10.0 tone arm, Lyra Etna, Isotek Sigmas Evo 3, Nordost Valhalla cables, Stillpoints Ultra and Mini.

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2 minutes ago, bigblue said:

SoTM sure makes some nice devices.

When was this released?

When Googling it seems it was released 2013.

In this world that is eons of time :-).

 

nvm...i just deleted it....that is not a streamer....

I contacted SOTM and asked them if they had an all in one streamer box, and i thought they pointed me to that....i will have to check again...perhaps they misunderstood that i wanted a streamer/dac ....

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^^^^ I don't see one on their site (e.g. streamer dac).

I think if i had all the money in the world, i would either go with the rendu or sotm ultra to your choice of dac and make the space.  I am sure within a year, there will be options out there that take advantage of ethernet and advanced clocking and dac in one box, but you may have the best option with your T1 now.

 

Give it a year or go with the SOTM ultra and your choice dac.

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check out this article....

 

https://www.audiostream.com/content/iso-regen#C3W2zoAlYvEHIQYS.99

 

They are saying what i have been thinking for 4 years....forget which dac, go ethernet and the dac importance is minuscule.

 

EXCERPT::::

The reason any of this might be worth writing about is that the sonic and musical improvements offered by these upstream devices turn out, in many cases, to be surprisingly substantial, and often larger than those obtainable by swapping DACs.
 

 

 

 

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I think your suggestion is right on. 

But it will always be in the back of my mind that I could improve the sound further with an upgraded power supply. And also with a USB isolator. And then a power supply upgrade to that isolator. And then the NUC could also sound better with a good power supply. And suddenly I have 6 boxes :-)

Sonus Faber Amati Futura, Oppo 105 (transport), Gryphon Diablo 300 with DAC, Brinkmann Bardo, 10.0 tone arm, Lyra Etna, Isotek Sigmas Evo 3, Nordost Valhalla cables, Stillpoints Ultra and Mini.

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32 minutes ago, bigblue said:

 

I am thinking 10 000 USD for the source. I am looking for something that can deliver a musical experience on par with my analog set up (Brinkmann Bardo, RöNT tube power supply, Lyra Etna cartridge). My reference when it comes to sources is a Real 2 Real tape deck like a Studer A80 or B67.

The new Antipodes DX Gen 3 looks like an interesting contender. Any one planning to get a unit?

 

I would suggest a PS Audio DirectStream DAC with Network Bridge II installed which will act as a Roon Endpoint via Ethernet. Then buy a dedicated Roon server with the rest of your money. You don’t really want the server and endpoint in the same box anyway. 

 

Boom....no USB!

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7 minutes ago, bigblue said:

I think your suggestion is right on. 

But it will always be in the back of my mind that I could improve the sound further with an upgraded power supply. And also with a USB isolator. And then a power supply upgrade to that isolator. And then the NUC could also sound better with a good power supply. And suddenly I have 6 boxes :-)

 

SOME boxes have LPS in them....I think no usb is the answer imho....Doesn't the T1 have upgraded LPS?  I know Auralic boxes do.

 

Land in the 200 SOTM thread...lots of good info there if you are a tweaker....

 

I just want a one box solution, as i believe it can be done RIGHT in one box and that the time is near.....good LPS, ethernet in, good clock, analog out....we are almost there...

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8 minutes ago, Speed Racer said:

 

I would suggest a PS Audio DirectStream DAC with Network Bridge II installed which will act as a Roon Endooint via Ethernet. Then buy a dedicated Roon server with the rest of your money. You don’t really want the server and endpoint in the same box anyway. 

 

Boom....no USB!

 

I think the PS AUDIO is a very good solution...does the network bridge have a good clock? Does it allow you to turn off hardware upsampling?  Those would be my 2 concerns

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2 minutes ago, beerandmusic said:

 

I think the PS AUDIO is a very good solution...does the network bridge have a good clock? Does it allow you to turn off hardware upsampling?  Those would be my 2 concerns

 

Why do you care if you can use it as a NOS DAC? 

 

Your list of requirements changes more often than you change your underwear!

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7 minutes ago, Speed Racer said:

 

Why do you care if you can use it as a NOS DAC? 

 

because i would prefer to play native dsd

If i have a dsd64 file i would prefer it without hardware upsampling.

 

My desires haven't changed since 4 years ago.....i keep harping for same things.

If you read through my history, you would know that....I have always preferred native dsd over ethernet, and given the choice, i would turn off hardware upsampling...it always sounds worse than native for DSD64+

 

Aren't you a pcm guy....what do you know about listening to native DSD...

 

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I have the PS Audio Directstream and the Bridge II network card and they are a VERY good DAC and endpoint combo.

 

I am a big fan of Paul McGowan, Ted Smith and the PSA team in general. Their ethos and the support they provide is truly excellent. I would heartily recommend this product to anyone. It should be an 'end-game' product especially when paired with a good server. 

 

The fact that they are continuing to release software updates that further improves this DAC is also phenomenal. For the time being it future proofs you and prevents you being left with an obsolete bit of kit.

 

Should tho is arbitrary in this game and what can I say. I wanted and still want 'more'.

 

I found I could squeeze a further improvement (on an already excellent SQ) by using (an over-complicated) setup that currently comprises the MicroRendu, the ISO Regen and the Singxer SU-1 (to feed the Directstream it's preferred format of I2S). The improvement is small but significant. That said I'm a bit fed up with the 'spaghetti' mix of power supplies and cables.

 

I'm also intrigued by the so called SOTM Trifecta but replacing one mess of cables with another is putting me off going down that road.

 

I'm therefore seriously considering the Innuos Zenith SE (as it's getting great praise) as a 'one-box' alternative to my current server>MR>IR>SU-1 to DAC digital pathway. It's not cheap but I'm hopeful that the combo of kick-ass server and kick-ass DAC finally quells the audiophilia nervosa and lets me relax a bit and enjoy the music.

 

For 10k ballpark I think you could do a lot worse than these two.

 

The new Antipodes DX Gen 3 is also intriguing but it's USB only for output whereas the Zenith SE has both USB and Ethernet output which is somewhat more flexible and future proof.

 

That said - it's not lost on me that the nature of this hobby being what it is that there's nothing to stop me from splashing a further 6k on the Zenith ZE and then still reinstating the IR, the SU-1 or the latest/greatest gizmo :P 

 

But then life would be dull if we could get the definitive 'this is the best possible kit' answer that Beer seems to be on such a quest to find!

 

Anyways - just my experience and thoughts based on my own journey.

 

Cheers,

Alan

Synergistic Research Powercell UEF SE > Sonore OpticalModule (LPS-1.2 & DXP-1A5DSC) > EtherRegen (SR4T & DXP-1A5DSC) > (Sablon 2020 LAN) Innuos PhoenixNet > Muon Streaming System > Grimm Audio MU1 server > (Sablon AES) Mola Mola Tambaqui DAC > PS Audio M1200 monoblocks > Salk Sound Supercharged Songtowers

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