Which Streamer should I buy ?

[Rajeevkale]

Hello Good afternoon
I am Rajeev Kale new member and new in Audiophile hobby. I ready many of your post and was fascinated by your knowledge and passion for music.

Please recommend me good streamer with DAC which will be great on sound quality as well as good user interface from App point of view.
My present set up is
Marantz PM KI Ruby Integrated Amplifier 100 Watt RMS @ 8 ohms
Oppo BDP 103 Blue ray player ( Currently I am using it for Tidal and driving USB hard drive where I have large stock of songs)
Speakers PMC twenty25 23 floor stand

For Home theatre I am using same PMC floor stand and have Denon 7200 WA AV Receiver.
Currently I use Denon music direct as it is Roon tested
I have Roon Software 1 year subscription.
For Spotify I use again Denon because Oppo doesn't recognize Spotify.

The quality out of Denon is below average and Oppo 103 while DAC is good and sound is better than Denon AVR but the user interface Oppo media control app is below average.

Keeping the above in mind please recommend some device which will be good value for money.

I have already done demo of Bluesound node 2 I ( found very average )
Lindeman Lime tree ( slightly better than Node 2 I but the app sucks )
Lumin D 2 I found very bright on sound quality.

Cambridge Audio CXN V2 again not sure about the sound quality and Demo is not possible.

So bit confused now and need expert advise.

Regards

Rajeev Kale.

 

[sydney]

+1 to lindemann bridge. Yes the App sucks and for that you have Roon

 

[Rajeevkale]

Hi you mean Lindemann Limetree Network

 

[sydney]

Hi you mean Lindemann Limetree Network

no the bridge, the network has an in built dac, bridge is a pure streamer. (Oops missed that you needed a DAC inbuilt)

 

[Amitdubey]

Best streamer for the price is still Chromecast audio

 

[OM_2K19]

Currently I use Denon music direct as it is Roon tested

If you are connecting the Roon to Denon via Airplay then it will sound below average, especially with Hi-Res Music. You better connect the Roon Core to Denon via HDMI and you will notice a significant improvement in the Audio Fidelity. You can also, stream your audio files/Tidal from your Android directly to Denon via BubbleUPnP.

 

[naks]

Try to get a lumin t1 or t2 all in one Dac / streamer

 

[Murty P N]

Hello Good afternoon
I am Rajeev Kale new member and new in Audiophile hobby. I ready many of your post and was fascinated by your knowledge and passion for music.

Please recommend me good streamer with DAC which will be great on sound quality as well as good user interface from App point of view.
My present set up is
Marantz PM KI Ruby Integrated Amplifier 100 Watt RMS @ 8 ohms
Oppo BDP 103 Blue ray player ( Currently I am using it for Tidal and driving USB hard drive where I have large stock of songs)
Speakers PMC twenty25 23 floor stand

For Home theatre I am using same PMC floor stand and have Denon 7200 WA AV Receiver.
Currently I use Denon music direct as it is Roon tested
I have Roon Software 1 year subscription.
For Spotify I use again Denon because Oppo doesn't recognize Spotify.

The quality out of Denon is below average and Oppo 103 while DAC is good and sound is better than Denon AVR but the user interface Oppo media control app is below average.

Keeping the above in mind please recommend some device which will be good value for money.

I have already done demo of Bluesound node 2 I ( found very average )
Lindeman Lime tree ( slightly better than Node 2 I but the app sucks )
Lumin D 2 I found very bright on sound quality.

Cambridge Audio CXN V2 again not sure about the sound quality and Demo is not possible.

So bit confused now and need expert advise.

Regards

Rajeev Kale.

Hi Good Morning. If you have no budget limitations may consider Naim Super Uniti all in one player. All in one system with streaming clien,DAB / FM Internet, tuner and networ streaming combined with a amplifier and it has the high quality digital to analog conversion of the DAC also. In addition to that you can connect direct to Spotify,Tidal,UPNP etc, one good thing this perfectly suit your speakers. I’m using same combination and the sound is very thrilling. Please see experts reviews on website.

 

[Rajeevkale]

Hi Good evening Thanks for this info. I have already got the Integrated Amplifier Marantz PM KI Ruby so Naim Unity ( Atom/Star/Nova) may not be the solution as they all come with inbuild Amplifier.
May be I can look at Naim's streamer ND5 XS2 or something similar.

regards
Rajeev

Best streamer for the price is still Chromecast audio

Any specific model of Chromecast Audio

 

[Rajeevkale]

If you are connecting the Roon to Denon via Airplay then it will sound below average, especially with Hi-Res Music. You better connect the Roon Core to Denon via HDMI and you will notice a significant improvement in the Audio Fidelity. You can also, stream your audio files/Tidal from your Android directly to Denon via BubbleUPnP.

My Roon Core is my desktop which is in my Study room and rest all Hifi equipment's are in Living room.
So I don't know how can I get best result from Denon ?

 

[Rajeevkale]

Try to get a lumin t1 or t2 all in one Dac / streamer

Rest all Lumin models are way too out of my budget almost 2 lacs plus.
I am looking for something in the price bracket of 1 to 1.50 lacs range

 

[OM_2K19]

So I don't know how can I get best result from Denon ?

Well, I didn't want to step on your Toes, but every tech. has its limitation. If your set-up looks like this (I might be wrong here), then you might have a problem.

Roon Remote (Android/iOS/Win10) > Roon Core (Win10) <Airplay for Roon Tested Devices> AVR-X7200W > Speakers

Unfortunately, Airplay is restricted to CD quality (plus it applies some crazy filters), that said if you are playing a Hi-Res/Master track from your Personal Collection/Tidal, Roon will downsample it in a way Airplay supports it. And most cases, the outcome is pretty bad. So the Denon might not be the real culprit here. Happy Listening...

 

[SaurabhK]

My Roon Core is my desktop which is in my Study room and rest all Hifi equipment's are in Living room.
So I don't know how can I get best result from Denon ?

Roon core on desktop/laptop sucks. Get a dedicated roon core device. Well worth thr investment . Get a roon ready streamer and ur good to go. U didnt mention ur budget for a streamer/ dac. Also a reciever for audio is not that great.. you have grearvspeakers and they deserve a 2 channel amp.

 

[dextrostar]

Roon core on desktop/laptop sucks. Get a dedicated roon core device. Well worth thr investment . Get a roon ready streamer and ur good to go. U didnt mention ur budget for a streamer/ dac. Also a reciever for audio is not that great.. you have grearvspeakers and they deserve a 2 channel amp.

I also have the same requirement however cannot spend more than 15k as I just upgraded my FS.
Heos on the AVR stopped working so am left with streaming through Chromecast however having a decent FS deserves a better source.

It's Chromecast video with Dali opticon 8 FS.
Should I be looking at upgrading in that budget or I should wait till I can afford something decent like Cambridge CXN V2 ?

Regards

 

[OM_2K19]

I also have the same requirement however cannot spend more than 15k as I just upgraded my FS.

If you meant that you are running Roon Core on a Desktop/Laptop machine, then grab one of these NUC , NUC7CJYSAL, really cheap around 15K, and run your Roon Core on this (on Ubuntu). Now, connect this NUC to your AVR via HDMI and you are all set.

 

[dextrostar]

If you meant that you are running Roon Core on a Desktop/Laptop machine, then grab one of these NUC , NUC7CJYSAL, really cheap around 15K, and run your Roon Core on this (on Ubuntu). Now, connect this NUC to your AVR via HDMI and you are all set.

I seem that my post was to a roon related one but that's not the case. I actually want a very simple Tidal streaming solution from my android phone.
Frankly I have no idea about roon. Is there a way to stream to this NUC using roon software on the phone?
Another possibility is to use my iMac which has Tidal. Can the Mac be used to connect to the AVR in any way to play Tidal?
Another route is to get a streamer with Tidal connect support but that would definitely be beyond my budget.
Suggestions please.

Regards

 

[sud98]

@Rajeevkale maybe you can start investing in a Roon Core and then change the rest of the chain. Its a smaller investment and you will realise quick gains. Post that you can look either at a pure play streamer and DAC or an all-in-one.

 

[reachkalyan.kr]

Frankly I have no idea about roon

Before deciding check for the subscription/packages options and investments.
It cost a bomb.. maybe for me.

Atb

 

[argho]

Why not consider Marantz, Denon or Yamaha.

The apps are simple and easy to use.

Marant NA6006 :

Marantz NA6006 Network Audio Player

The Marantz NA6006 Network Audio Player is a high quality audiophile component built to meet all the requirements of the modern digital music listener.

hifimart.com

NA6006 Network Audio Player - Audiophile Quality with HEOS® | Marantz™

NA6006

www.marantz.com

Denon DNP-800NE :

Shop Denon DNP-800NE Network Audio Player Online India

Shop Denon DNP-800NE Network Audio Player online India. With AirPlay, you can enjoy listening to your favourite tracks wirelessly from your portable iOS device

profx.com

Denon DNP-800NE Network Audio Player

The Denon DNP-800NE Network Audio Player is a thoughtfully designed Network Audio Player offering precision high-resolution audio and music streaming.

hifimart.com

Or Yamaha WXC-50 :

WXC-50 - Features - Yamaha - India

The WXC-50 is a new-concept audio component that goes beyond conventional audio thinking. It let you access a wide variety of audio content such as music from streaming services or stored on a smartphone, and enjoy high quality sound and style thanks to the ability to network with Yamaha’s...

in.yamaha.com

I understand that you are looking for something more high end, but these maybe worth consideration.

 

[dextrostar]

Before deciding check for the subscription/packages options and investments.
It cost a bomb.. maybe for me.

Atb

So true. I can't afford that as subscription just to stream. Maybe if I don't get anything within 15k guess would have to wait.