Recent content by johnfryett

Another vote for ATC - I have the 11s and they are brilliant.

I don't think a NAS is "overkill" compared to a desktop computer - I'd suggest the reverse is true. Look at a QNAP or Synology model - you won't have to spend a fortune to get something that will do what you want. Since you want to continue to use your USB drive as a backup, you would only need...

Another vote for RPi + Volumio. I have a first-gen Pi running this in my home-office. I've added a DacMagic USB DAC which does improve the quality a little. Good free app + UPNP, Spotify.

I'd agree about MusicCast - well worth a look. The WXC-50 is a preamp as well as a streamer so you might not want to go that far. The WXAD-10 provides a streaming solution of similar quality at half the price. I have enjoyed using both of these. The app has some shortcomings but it has been...

Yes, it does.

I use the mConnect app - see here http://www.conversdigital.com/eng/product/product04.php

I have a NAD C368 driving ATC SCM11s and I love the result, particularly with classical music. Clean and precise.

The WXAD10 is a brilliant little box and extremely good value. However, I’ve upgraded from Yamaha WXC50 (which has a better spec than the WXAD10) to the BluOS NAD MDC module. Definitely an improvement and the Bluesound app is miles better than the MusicCast one. Having said that, I have kept the...

A fascinating thread. The only thing I’d add is that I found a managed (rather than unmanaged) switch did improve stability / reduce dropouts when streaming hires. A little bit more expensive but worth it.

RPi with Volumio will do a very decent job. Spotify is easy to add (for free). It will play from an external source, such as a NAS device. You can use mConnect to integrate Qobuz or Tidal via upnp. I found that a cheap USB DAC improved the quality somewhat. Id also add a vote for the Yamaha...

I’m no technical expert but I do know that a general purpose PC running Windows or MacOS is never going to provide the same quality of reproduction as a dedicated streamer, even with an external DAC. There are plenty of “boxes” out there that will do the job you want for a reasonable price - try...