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CD Players, Digital Music & Servers Aurender, dCs, Esoteric, Lumin. |
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#11
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would be curious to know if anyone compared the Bluesound (Node 2i) with those very higher pricey streamers/DAC; what do they bring ? Is it a night and day affair?
Is it the streamer, or the DAC , that makes the difference? I am in the same state of mind than Jimmy, I could upgrade what I use today: PIONEER N70AE, which has good reviews and good reputation, but I wonder how much it would (or not) improve the sound, that I find to be excellent . Thank you in advance. |
#12
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Jimmy, I’m using an Innuos Zenith Mk3 streamer/server/ripper with great satisfaction. You can configure it as your Roon core unit. Price ranging USD 4250/4900/5650 for 1/2/4TB SSD units. You’ll need to add a separate DAC, there are plenty of good options out there for USD 2-3K.
An interesting all in one solution is the Aurender A10 server/streamer/DAC at 5.5K with 4TB HDD (but not Roon compatible). If you prefer an integrated streaming DAC and don’t need a built in server then as per other suggestions Auralic Vega G1/G2 or Lumin T2 ($4500) should be solid alternatives.
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Sonus Faber Elipsa SE | REL S/812 | Goldmund Telos 280 | EAR Yoshino 912 | Merason DAC1 | Innuos ZENith Mk3 | Clearaudio Innovation Basic + TT5 + Lyra Delos | Studer A810+A807 | Nakamichi Dragon | RDacoustic Hybrid Acoustic Diffuser |
#13
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#14
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I have been using for a few days an Auralic Aries g2.1 streamer connected in coaxial on my dac mcintosh.
I mainly use Qobuz and internet radios via the Auralic ds lightning application on Ipad. The sound is excellent and it's a treat to use. Cédric
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Mcintosh...For the love of Music... |
#15
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I began to compare and here are my preliminary results:
Bluesound Node 2i: 549 euros, I don't know the brand of the DAC, anyone? Pioneer N70AE: 1600 euros ESS SABRE 9016 DAC embedded McINTOSH MDA 1000 : around 10000 euros. I compared Bluesound first alone with it's own DAC,and via Pioneer's DAC and via McIntosh MDA1000. I also compared a CD in my MCD1000 through the MDA1000 and through the Pioneer's SABRE. To make it very short, there are no differences , and if any, not heard by my (old) ears. I know some of us think that comparisons using in the same time/song the remote control are not the best way to proceed; I also listened some hours to the different combos but I could not say if it was "more comfortable or less harsh or if I was less fatigued" etc...). I'm exploring further now but I doubt I'll find night and day differences in the weeks to come. That's why I'm wondering about the benefits I could get with Auralic, Lumin etc. Did someone the same type of tests? Or can someone explain? Last edited by Jean-Marc jmajma; 12-10-2020 at 08:58 AM. |
#16
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If you can live without MQA, the Bryston BDA-3.14 marries a really exceptional DAC to a very nice streamer in a single cost-effective box. Bryston had not been in the MQA camp when I last heard it discussed (maybe a year ago) but maybe they are reconsidering . Jim Tanner could speak to that. It would make for a nice firmware upgrade and they certainly do a great job of keeping the firmware upgraded and advancing.
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Office/Music Room Dynaudio Heritage Special. Uptone Audio EtherRegen Ethernet Switch. Akasa NUC 10i7 with Roon Rock. Bryston BDP-3 Digital Music Player (with 4 Tb Internal SSD and Synology DS920+ NAS)-->Holo Audio May Kitsune Edition DAC-->Shunyata Sigma USB—>Gryphon Diablo 120 Integreted Amp w Transpatent XL PC. Oppo BDP-105D and BDP-203. Power: Shunyata Hydra Sigma S12 PD. Additional Cabling: WW Silver Electra PC, WW Electra PC, Shunyata Venom 3 PC. Digital: WW Starlight Ethernet, WW Gold Starlight AES-EBU, WW Platinum Starlight USB. IC and Speaker: WW Eclipse 8. Bedroom System Ipad with MusicStreamer App-->Schiit Jotunheim DAC/Amp—>Audeze LCD-XC, Focal for Bentley Radiance HO, Massdrop E-MU Teak HP. AK SE 200 DAP. Mobile Survival Kit Astell & Kern SP1000M. Noble Kaiser Encore IEM with Double Helix Balanced cable, Westone W80 IEM w ALOaudio Ref 8 cable, Westone W60 IEM, Shure se535 Ltd with Westone Bluetooth Wireless cable-amp. Mark Levinson No. 5909 Wireless HP. |
#17
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For separates, I do like the concept of the dCS bridge - no display, no buttons - it is a bridge/streamer. As a recent convert to Roon, using an iPad pro or similar as the interface is superior to any built-in interface I have seen.
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Main - Roon on Synology/Sonos Port/SoTM Neo endpoints; Chord Qutest, Bryston BP-17 cubed with phono option; EAT C-sharp with Ortofon Bronze MM, Bryston cubed Amplifier; Revel F126Be on custom Atocha stands; interconnects by WireWorld, furniture by Atocha Design 'Phones Audeze LCD-3, Bryston BHA-1; Office: Sonos/Roon; OPPO HA-1, Naim NAP100 and PSB Mini-C. Media Room:, Samsung QLED QN90 series, Sonos, OPPO 205, ATI N-core driving KEF LS-50's with REL subs; furniture by Glassisimo; Kids - U-turn for vinyl, Sonos Play5; Summer Shack - Sonos, vintage Pioneer, Dynaudio Special 40's. |
#18
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New Streaming Unit Suggestions
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a dCS Network Bridge in a wired setup (wifi never happened for this unit) feeding an Analog Domain DAC1 (AES EBU XLR) an Auralic Aries G2 in a wireless setup feeding a McIntosh MDA1000 (AES EBU XLR) a Limetree Bridge (by Lindemann) in a wireless head fi setup feeding a Weiss DAC202 (Toslink) All as Roon endpoint...so native software is not used. IMHO for my use cases For a wired ethernet setup, dCS is King For a wireless setup Auralic is King When space is an issue, the Limetree is King Must say did not expect the dCS to be that good. Last edited by JemHadar; 12-10-2020 at 02:05 PM. |
#19
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^^^^Jacques, I'll have to come over to hear it in your system!
Jacques and I compared the Auralic Aries G2.1 with the Grimm MU1 a while ago: https://www.audioaficionado.org/showthread.php?t=48374
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Stereo: Hegel H590, Grimm Audio MU1, Mola Mola Tambaqui, Burmester 948 - V3 & V6 racks, Vivid Audio G2 Giyas, REL Carbon Special (pair), Silent Angel Bonn N8 Ethernet Switch & Forester F1, Wireworld Platinum Eclipse IC and SE SC, Furutech Digiflux AV: Hegel C-53, Marantz AV8802A, Oppo BDP-203EU, Pioneer Kuro 60", Vivid Audio C1 & V1w's, Wireworld Platinum Eclipse, SE & E Second system (veranda): Halgorythme preamp and monoblocks, Burmester 061, Avalon Avatar, Sharkwire & Wireworld cables |
#20
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New Streaming Unit Suggestions
Sounds like a plan...and vice versa [emoji573]...would love to hear the [emoji443]Grimm[emoji443] in your beautiful home |
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