Network Streamer?

[rpokuls]

My audio salesperson is urging me to buy a network streamer, in particular the Aurender N150. He's asking
$3500 for it.

Right now, I have a subscription to Tidal and connect my laptop via USB to my integrated amp. The amp has a pretty
good DAC and does the full MQA "unfolding" thing.

The only problem is that I have to get up and go to the laptop if I want to do anything, i.e. no remote.

$3500 seems pretty steep to me for something which the laptop is doing for free.

Am I missing something? Any advice appreciated.

Thx.

 

[TomDac]

Yeah, I never understood these crazy expensive streamers. Before I got my anthem AVM-70, I was using my Oppo 105D to stream and it worked great. All my music on a NAS, using an external DAC and I could control it all from my iphone. Now with the AVM-70, it does ALL of it, including DSD files, which I don't really listen to using this method.... the computer and headphones is better for this.

 

[Robert D]

I got the Lumin D2, and its sounds much better than what either the Sonos or my Marantz receiver was able to do. It's a bit less expensive, at around $2300. I'm glad I bought it. I also got an external power supply for it.
https://upscaleaudio.com/products/lumin-d2-network-music-player
Maybe the shop will let you bring a sample player home and test it. Compare how it sounds to what you have now.

 

[Robert D]

Does the setup you have now have the ability to play the MQA files that Tidal has so many of? My pc has a decent Sound Blaster sound card and it can't do MQA.

 

[amey01]

My audio salesperson is urging me to buy a network streamer, in particular the Aurender N150. He's asking
$3500 for it.

A salesman is "urging you to buy" something. Geez, that'd be a first!

If anyone urges me to buy anything, I run. That's just my default position. Purchase decisions are mine. Nobody else's.

That said - connecting a laptop up is a pretty rudimentary way of listening. In your case, a streamer would be great - primarily because you don't really want noisy fans, a big flickering screen, and maybe a vibrating hard disk in your listening room.

But spending that kind of money is a joke and not necessary. It is a network device. Network devices are a dime-a-dozen and very inexpensive and reliable. If you must have a audio-specific streaming device, check out the Bluesound Node.

 

[rpokuls]

Dosetup you have e now have the ability to play the MQA files that Tidal has so many of? My pc has a decent Sound Blaster sound card and it can't do MQA.

Yes. The DAC in the integrated amp does the full MQA unfolding. MQA is quite controversial though.

 

[rpokuls]

A salesman is "urging you to buy" something. Geez, that'd be a first!

If anyone urges me to buy anything, I run. That's just my default position. Purchase decisions are mine. Nobody else's.

That said - connecting a laptop up is a pretty rudimentary way of listening. In your case, a streamer would be great - primarily because you don't really want noisy fans, a big flickering screen, and maybe a vibrating hard disk in your listening room.

But spending that kind of money is a joke and not necessary. It is a network device. Network devices are a dime-a-dozen and very inexpensive and reliable. If you must have a audio-specific streaming device, check out the Bluesound Node.

Lol, he actually said that I would end up thanking him!

Will checkout Bluesound Node. Thx.

For stuff like this which is purely digital I think that a few hundred dollars should be sufficient. I don't need a DAC.

Just something that will attach to my home network, stream Tidal to my amp and be controllable from my phone.

The most expensive Aurender is $25,000 USD which is insane.

 

[ttocs]

I jumped ship from Tidal last year. I tried to like the MQA tracks, but came across too many that sounded worse than "low res". I ran concurrent subscriptions to Tidal and Qobuz and kept Qobuz. I've not used a dedicated hardware streamer, as I have been happy with an old Mac mini 2014 I updated with a 1TB SSD running Roon. Although, I've been interested in knowing more about dedicated streamers and what one might bring to the experience.

With all that being said, I control the mini using wireless keyboard and mouse. It runs "headless", meaning, no dedicated display. Instead it's connected to the processor via HDMI so I can choose to use the tv panel as the display, or use a MacBook Air as the controller using Share Screen. The mini is with the other A/V components in the rear of the room. The only time I ever need to touch it is if the power is interrupted and need to push the power button. Otherwise I just press a keyboard button to wake it up.

 

[Robert D]

Yes. The DAC in the integrated amp does the full MQA unfolding. MQA is quite controversial though.

I feel like the files sound better overall than FLAC, but some FLAC are very good.

 

[as350_b3]

I've been contemplating a similar move for the last 12 months or so. Initially I was going to go with a Hifi Rose 150b, and while that might still be the long term solution, I didn't want to spend that amount of money this year. So after much listening I went with a Wiim Pro. Available at Amazon for $150. I listen mostly to qobuz and the Wiim Pro has a great UI. I can control it via wifi from my phone or ipad and the Wiim is connected to my DAC via digiatl rca. I'm pretty happy with the configuration.

 

[Russr]

How about Android devices... Something like the NVidia Shield, or hell, even a $50 Android TV box? The "bits going in" to the device are all the same, I suppose it's a function of how the digital signal is transmitted to the Anthem (HDMI and which version, S/PDIF, Optical, etc.

Anyone tried these?

 

[amey01]

Just something that will attach to my home network, stream Tidal to my amp and be controllable from my phone.

Plenty of PC/Mac apps have phone control software.

Check out the Bluesound for sure - but plenty of people use a Mac Mini with appropriate software too. Jriver, Roon, et al might give you what you need?

For me, I control Tidal through a phone with a Raspberry Pi as the endpoint (using LMS and PiCorePlayer). Works ridiculously well. Does anything you can name - MQA, DSD512, 32/384.......anything.

The most expensive Aurender is $25,000 USD which is insane.

Well, if that's $24, 600 on the DAC, I couldn't argue that it was a scam.

But I have also said before - why would you want a $24,600 DAC built in to a $50 network product? Network products become obsolete so quickly, and there is always a "next best thing". Best to keep the two well separated.

It only takes one new network protocol, codec, vulnerability...... whatever and your $25,000 streamer and it's very good DAC becomes a boat anchor (or at least seriously holds you back and limits your possibilities). No thanks.

 

[wink]

I finally picked up a HiFi Rose 150B a year and a half ago (after a few years of searching). Running through an Anthem AVM70, rendering audio and UHD video files from a Synology NAS. Plus Tidal, Qobuz, Apple Music, a Roon endpoint, and a bunch of other stuff. Handles MQA, DSD512, and a thousand other file formats, with all the control I could ever want. It wasn’t cheap, but I was looking for a unit that could do more than the standard streamer. To get that flexibility the price kept going up.

 

[Robert D]

Yes. The DAC in the integrated amp does the full MQA unfolding. MQA is quite controversial though.

Most MQA songs I play sound great. I have run across some that dont sound so good, like you say. I listened to some last night in fact. Overall, I think its a very good format. I hear some FLAC files that arent so good either. It seems to come down to who coded the file and how well it was done I suppose. In general, I specifically hunt out the MQA song files and play those. If they dont sound good then I will play another format. Id say for me its probably 1/10 or 10% that dont sound good.

 

[AlmostHome]

I finally picked up a HiFi Rose 150B a year and a half ago (after a few years of searching). Running through an Anthem AVM70, rendering audio and UHD video files from a Synology NAS. Plus Tidal, Qobuz, Apple Music, a Roon endpoint, and a bunch of other stuff. Handles MQA, DSD512, and a thousand other file formats, with all the control I could ever want. It wasn’t cheap, but I was looking for a unit that could do more than the standard streamer. To get that flexibility the price kept going up.

+1 on the Rose w/ Synology.
I could not be happier. I got tired of returning Auralic, Cocktail Audio etc. I didn't try Aurender because of all the comments on their GUI, which you are stuck with.

 

[rpokuls]

I think I'll just buy the Cambridge Audio CXN v2 streamer. It's $1000 and has a DAC that I don't need but it has gotten good reviews.

 

[Robert D]

I think I'll just buy the Cambridge Audio CXN v2 streamer. It's $1000 and has a DAC that I don't need but it has gotten good reviews.

I know in my case that the DAC in my Lumin sounds a lot better than my Marantz receiver, and it was the top end of their receiver line. I'm sure you won't be disappointed. What is the receiver or pre-amp you're using?

 

[rpokuls]

I know in my case that the DAC in my Lumin sounds a lot better than my Marantz receiver, and it was the top end of their receiver line. I'm sure you won't be disappointed. What is the receiver or pre-amp you're using?

 

[rpokuls]

I've got a Hegel H590 integrated amp. The Hegel DAC is pretty good. Maybe the Cambridge Audio CXN will be better.

But I'm really just looking for the convenience of being able to run Tidal from my phone and not my wife's laptop!

 

[MUTZ57]

So early days I streamed from my PC using a Qnap attached storage device, at this time there was a general consensus that digital didn't have the same issues as analogue and that most DAC's would therefore sound the same. About a year later I had the opportunity to try before I buy a high end Linn streamer in a repackaged box ("Klimax Renew") for a fraction of the 15k new price. Once I heard this that was it, I was hooked, the sound was so far ahead of my laptop it was (as they say) night and day and no going back. Since then I have had many opportunities to try the Linn against several high end package stand alone DACS and streamers and whilst some were just as good (different flavour) I haven't found anything that would encourage me to change from the Linn and I have recently traded up to their latest Organik DAC technology which is a further large step forward in SQ.
Of course this isn't a cheap path, (10K for me using the upgrade path!) but that said it depends on what you are looking for and whether the rest of your system (now or planned) warrants the investment.
If I had listened to all those telling me not to waste my money and time on any streamer / DAC more than a few hundred quid, I would have missed out on many years of listening pleasure, as always trust your own ears and try to get a home listen of a few players if possible.
It may be worth considering a Linn Klimax Renew streamer which still come up for sale from time to time for between £1,200 & £1,500 and (IMO) still represents a high end player for very "reasonable" money! (not sure if it does MQA mind you, so maybe a non-starter if this is one of your requirements)