Just an audio streamer

Hi Guys

I am seeking some help and advice.

I want an good audiophile grade audio streamer. Not a media streamer. I only want to stream music from the Tidal and Spotify app on my phone to my DAC.

I have a DAC, pre amp and power amp.

So far, I find when I look for a streamer, it come bundled with a DAC. I guess that makes me pay for a DAC that I do not need or want.

I’m not a DIY person so not looking at assembling a raspberry pi based DAC/streamer , or anything on those lines. Just want to buy something off the shelf.

Any recommendations or advice will be welcome.
Have you considered Yamaha WXC-50?
It has an onboard DAC but you can bypass it if needed.

I am considering it for my use, so not exactly sure how this one performs but I have seen a few good reviews about it and I am sure others in this forum can help you with more detail.

 
I use the mercury streamer v1 , it is amazing and works very well, cant recommend enough at that price , the clean sound and dynamics can rival streamers 2-3x cost of it, you should definitely consider a mercury streamer if you are after sound quality, if you are in Bangalore feel free to experience it at my place.

for spotify connect on it you could always use ropieeXL on it and use it to stream spotify, i currently use it with Roon as an endpoint and it sounds really good.
 
I really want to use wiim mini streamer, currently using rpi with volumio and lately it's been a real headache with glitches, my issue is my DIY Dac supports only USB in and wiim mini has only spdif/ toslink for digital out, searching for an adapter or something to convert the signal but I am not sure thing like this exists, any help will be appreciated
 
I use the mercury streamer v1 , it is amazing and works very well, cant recommend enough at that price , the clean sound and dynamics can rival streamers 2-3x cost of it, you should definitely consider a mercury streamer if you are after sound quality, if you are in Bangalore feel free to experience it at my place.

for spotify connect on it you could always use ropieeXL on it and use it to stream spotify, i currently use it with Roon as an endpoint and it sounds really good.
Agreed. Only Micheal Kelly is out of the V1. The V2 is $699 (I think) on Pi2's website.

Comparatively, the SMSL SD9 (which might have glitches with Spotify/Tidal but has USB, SPDIF AES and I2S out) and the IFI Zen Stream (no known glitches with Tidal/Spotify but only SPDIF and USB out) are both $399 on Amazon.com.

For $399, you could get the Pi2AES HAT ($250) and an RPI4B 8GB ($135-150) with Volumio, or for $250, you could get the USBridge Signature Player and have a USB-only streamer, then add either the DigiOne HAT or Pi2AES HAT for $250.

I've used Indian links where I could.
 
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Hi Guys

I am seeking some help and advice.

I want an good audiophile grade audio streamer. Not a media streamer. I only want to stream music from the Tidal and Spotify app on my phone to my DAC.

I have a DAC, pre amp and power amp.

So far, I find when I look for a streamer, it come bundled with a DAC. I guess that makes me pay for a DAC that I do not need or want.

I’m not a DIY person so not looking at assembling a raspberry pi based DAC/streamer , or anything on those lines. Just want to buy something off the shelf.

Any recommendations or advice will be welcome.
Please try cocktail audio streamers. Awesome and on par with CD playback SQ
 
Has anyone suggest you Aurender N150?

This is audiophile streamer only, has USB output stage only so you can connect to your DAC then preAmp
Although this is entry level from Aurender but very greatly build, there is user install SSD or HDD if you want to keep your local audio files within same box. There is 24GB SSD on board that take care of streaming source cashing and also UPS build in that take care of accidental power shutdown.
In India this will cost you about 3.5 to 4L

I use its sibling product called A200 that has DAC build in so I use analog output to my Integrated Amp then speaker

Cheers,
VijayK
 
Where can we get this streamer in India?
You need to import directly from Michael Kelly.

At $800, it's kind of expensive, though. For that money, you can get other RPi-based streamers, such as the Magna Mano Ultra.
Review here
 
You could place an order here.
Would it be worth the price which calculates to around 65k INR, which is likely to increase with shipping charges. Wouldn't it be wiser to go for Yamaha WXC 50 which is now available for 41k.
 
Any replacement of allo boss player in similar price range since that is not available whenever i tried
 
Hi Guys

I am seeking some help and advice.

I want an good audiophile grade audio streamer. Not a media streamer. I only want to stream music from the Tidal and Spotify app on my phone to my DAC.

I have a DAC, pre amp and power amp.

So far, I find when I look for a streamer, it come bundled with a DAC. I guess that makes me pay for a DAC that I do not need or want.

I’m not a DIY person so not looking at assembling a raspberry pi based DAC/streamer , or anything on those lines. Just want to buy something off the shelf.

Any recommendations or advice will be welcome.
hi , You could check out the SOtM sms 200 ultra which is a very nice streamer and its just a plain streamer nothing else.
cheers
Anand
 
hi , You could check out the SOtM sms 200 ultra which is a very nice streamer and its just a plain streamer nothing else.
cheers
Anand
Great. Thanks Anand. I will. Also awaiting the Wiim Pro which is out for release this quarter.
 
Hi

The most economical solution would be to connect an old tablet or laptop to your DAC and control it using your phone as a remote. You can even connect an old phone to your DAC like this

If this isn't good enough, you can try a Rasberry Pi based solution like Allo USBridge or WIIM Mini or those that use proprietary software, e.g. Bluesound Node, Silent Angel or ifi. There are the more expensive ones like Lumin, Aurender, T+A, etc. but IMHO not superior in terms of audio quality. When selecting a streamer, I suggest you check which music services it supports. Many do not support YT Music and that's a bummer.
 
Hi

The most economical solution would be to connect an old tablet or laptop to your DAC and control it using your phone as a remote. You can even connect an old phone to your DAC like this

If this isn't good enough, you can try a Rasberry Pi based solution like Allo USBridge or WIIM Mini or those that use proprietary software, e.g. Bluesound Node, Silent Angel or ifi. There are the more expensive ones like Lumin, Aurender, T+A, etc. but IMHO not superior in terms of audio quality. When selecting a streamer, I suggest you check which music services it supports. Many do not support YT Music and that's a bummer.

@Fiftyfifty thanks for your advice. You have addressed the question for which I am seeking clarity. That is, does an expensive streamer improve sound quality, or am I better off buying going for a budget streamer and using the balance for a better DAC ? Without doing an A B comparison between streamers (not DAC combos) it is impossible for me to know. What makes you say the more expensive streamers need not / may not result in better sound ? Have you done any A B comparisons ? If I just replace a budget streamer (not DAC combo) with a more expensive one, will it improve the sound ?
 
@Fiftyfifty thanks for your advice. You have addressed the question for which I am seeking clarity. That is, does an expensive streamer improve sound quality, or am I better off buying going for a budget streamer and using the balance for a better DAC ? Without doing an A B comparison between streamers (not DAC combos) it is impossible for me to know. What makes you say the more expensive streamers need not / may not result in better sound ? Have you done any A B comparisons ? If I just replace a budget streamer (not DAC combo) with a more expensive one, will it improve the sound ?
Hi @Ash . I have personally used Mac Mini, Intel NUC, Allo, Bluesound, Silent Angel and Aurender N200 in my setup and compared the sq, not all at a time, but two at a time. I have not tried Lumin in my setup but have heard it elsewhere. There are multiple reviews on the net comparing Bluesound and Lumin U2 Mini and opinion is divided. I have not tried connecting a phone to the DAC. I have not tried Roon.
My own view is that it is not the streamer per se, but other features or facilities built into certain models that make a difference:
  • Type of digital outputs offered by the streamer and their compatibility with the DAC. I avoid using USB preferring AES/EBU or SPDIF Coaxial;
  • The choice of digital cable. This makes a big big difference;
  • Fanless chassis in the streamer;
  • External LPS for the streamer and other internet components;
  • Quality of ethernet cables;
  • Built-in software for the preferred music service
Hope this helps. Obviously YMMV
 
Read the comments of this video, it's hard to justify 2-4k usd for streamer imo, but opinions are polarising


After trying zen stream, mercury etc i settled down with humble Google Chromecast audio, with ifi power. Gets job done exceptionally well.


Thanks guys this clears my head about streamer transports.

Now if anybody has a Google chrome pls PM me as I am looking for a couple. Can’t post in the classifieds as I haven’t qualified as yet. It please so keep me in mind.
 
For excellent sound that won't break the bank, the 5 Star Award Winning Wharfedale Diamond 12.1 Bookshelf Speakers is the one to consider!
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