Looking for a Music Streamer with a Built-In DAC

[NipperDog]

I'm hoping for recommendations on a streaming DAC in the $3000 or less price range with the following features:

 

No built-in storage

No volume control 

If it has a volume control, it must have a bypass setting 

The ability to unfold MQA

Gapless Playback

Roon capable

A nice smooth musical sound (not edgy)

WiFi capability

 

Thanks Guys, for any suggestions you can offer me.

 

 

[firedog]

One of the  Lumin  models

[NipperDog]

Thanks Firedog.

 

Boy, considering that I've only received one response to my query, what I'm looking for must be be a very unusual thing.

 

Maybe I need to lower my expectations a bit and eliminate a few of the features I'd like to have in a streaming DAC. But which ones?  ?

[mav52]

22 hours ago, firedog said:

One of the  Lumin  models

I do enjoy my Lumins they just work

[NipperDog]

Let me preface my post by saying, I'm still new to all this so please pardon my ignorance. 

 

I've been looking at the Lumin line and I'm not clear on how they connect to the internet. I'm not seeing anything about WiFi on their website and I think they require a hard wire connection via ethernet cable. I do have an ethernet output from the wall but it's already connected to my router through my modem

 

How would this work in my case?

[firedog]

44 minutes ago, Route 66 said:

Thanks Firedog.

 

Boy, considering that I've only received one response to my query, what I'm looking for must be be a very unusual thing.

 

Maybe I need to lower my expectations a bit and eliminate a few of the features I'd like to have in a streaming DAC. But which ones?  ?

There are a lot of streamer DACs. But not having all your other features- or if they do, not at your price. For some of them, you could do a workaround: For instance, get one with storage but not use it or remove the storage drive.  Or look at the Auralic models - but they don’t do MQA. You could do the first unfold in Roon for them, and then use their proprietary filters that substitute for the MQA filters 

[firedog]

4 minutes ago, Route 66 said:

Let me preface my post by saying, I'm still new to all this so please pardon my ignorance. 

 

I've been looking at the Lumin line and I'm not clear on how they connect to the internet. I'm not seeing anything about WiFi on their website and I think they require a hard wire connection via ethernet cable. I do have an ethernet output from the wall but it's already connected to my router through my modem

 

How would this work in my case?

May have overlooked that, but all you’d have to do is connect them to an Ethernet port on the router. Or add an Ethernet switch to the router and connect things to that. Once a device is connected to your network over Ethernet, you’ll be able to also find it over your wifi. 

[NipperDog]

5 minutes ago, firedog said:

May have overlooked that, but all you’d have to do is connect them to an Ethernet port on the router. Or add an Ethernet switch to the router and connect things to that. Once a device is connected to your network over Ethernet, you’ll be able to also find it over your wifi. 

No, you didn't overlook it. I remembered after I posted the thread that I needed WiFi too and went back and added it to my post.

 

Thanks for all your help!

[firedog]

BTW, the new iFi DAC - iDSD pro - might be suitable for you, but it isn’t Roon Ready. You’d have to use different software. 

[Doak]

1 hour ago, firedog said:

There are a lot of streamer DACs. But not having all your other features- or if they do, not at your price. For some of them, you could do a workaround: For instance, get one with storage but not use it or remove the storage drive.  Or look at the Auralic models - but they don’t do MQA. You could do the first unfold in Roon for them, and then use their proprietary filters that substitute for the MQA filters 

Auralic does "do" MQA though with Auralic proprietary decoding.

[firedog]

8 minutes ago, Doak said:

Auralic does "do" MQA though with Auralic proprietary decoding.

That’s what I wrote. But it is a substitute written by Auralic, not the same as the official MQA system. 

[davide256]

35 minutes ago, firedog said:

That’s what I wrote. But it is a substitute written by Auralic, not the same as the official MQA system. 

What the OP wants doesn't have a lot of choices in market, especially if you include MQA. The Auralic Altair seems to be a good candidate.

[Doak]

1 hour ago, firedog said:

That’s what I wrote. But it is a substitute written by Auralic, not the same as the official MQA system. 

Gotcha, sorry.

Didn't get the 2nd part at first.

[Evo-No-Revo]

I would recommend Lumin as well.  I have had a U1 (no dac) and the D1 (with DAC).  They are both very well constructed and work without much fuss.  I don't use the Lumin app regularly as I use the Lumin as a Roon endpoint so I use the Roon app.  But the Lumin app is a nice experience. 

 

I added upgraded power supplies to both with uptick in SQ. 

 

There is a Lumin D1 with SBooster online for sale right now for $1705.00US.  Use Hifishark website and search for Lumin. 

 

The only thing that the D1 doesn't have is wifi.  Sounds like an ethernet switch at the location and that isn't an issue. 

 

I use one of these.... https://www.tp-link.com/us/products/details/cat-5508_RE650.html

 

 

[davide256]

You should try the bridged Ethernet experiment with your PC or Mac Roon server before you use wifi as a deciding factor. It may remove wifi as the desired connectivity

option for your streamer.

 

[NipperDog]

3 hours ago, davide256 said:

You should try the bridged Ethernet experiment with your PC or Mac Roon server before you use wifi as a deciding factor. It may remove wifi as the desired connectivity

option for your streamer.

 

Thanks, but this is so far over my head that I would need a telescope to see it.

[NipperDog]

On 6/15/2018 at 9:51 AM, firedog said:

One of the  Lumin  models

I had never heard of Lumin before you mentioned it here. At the moment I'm seriously considering the d2 model. I'm reading good things about it and the Lumin interface looks to be well-thought out.

 

Thanks for the suggestion!

[frederick184]

+1 for the Auralic Altair.  I own one and I'm very impressed by it.  I was curious, and decided to buy a Mytek Brooklyn DAC+, as I wanted to see what the MQA fuss was about, but that's another story.  I used the Altair as a streamer, connected to the Brooklyn using a Lush USB cable.  The combination was different in its presentation, but I wouldn't say it was necessarily better, until I powered the Brooklyn from my Uptone JS-2, then the Brooklyn jumped ahead. 

 

I then tried the Brooklyn alone with a Sonore ultraRendu, powered first from the second rail of my JS-2, then from an LPS 1.2, and found that combination didn't work at all.  It was too forward and strident, so I went back to the Altair as the streamer.  I could very easily live with the Altair alone.  It's a fantastic piece for the price.

 

Colin

[NipperDog]

Thanks to all of you that contributed to this thread, I really appreciate it!

 

I went yesterday morning to my local dealer and auditioned the Lumin D2. It sounded wonderful to me and I ended up buying one. It's been in my system for just over a day now and I can tell you that I'm truly amazed at how far digital has come in the 35 or so years it's been since I heard my fist CD. I'm streaming Tidal lossless and some of their recordings with MQA encoding. I don't claim to know the first thing about MQA and have no dog in the fight, but I am very pleased with what I've heard so far. If you're considering a streamer in the 2K price range, be sure to check out the D2.

[sonodynesrp205]

Hello,

 

Im new on this forum.

Im looking a one box solution - streamer/dac/preamp

for my active speakers. I like Ayon S3 but it is too expensive. Maybe from second hand...

 

regards,
Simon

[wklie]

7 hours ago, Route 66 said:

auditioned the Lumin D2. It sounded wonderful to me and I ended up buying one. It's been in my system for just over a day now and I can tell you that I'm truly amazed at how far digital has come in the 35 or so years it's been since I heard my fist CD.

 

If your (pre-)amplifier has XLR input, try using the XLR output of Lumin D2.  For the options of Digital output, Roon Ready, Spotify Connect, Lumin Streaming (AirPlay) - you may disable them if you don't use these features.  Turn on the repeat function to loop play PCM and DSD music files to burn-in the D2, with the pre-amp turned on.