Advice needed please CA np30 or Marantz na7004 or Sonos ZP90

jon c

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ok after reading this month mag im very tempted with the new cambridge np30 network streamer/player anyone currently useing one that can give me a quality control review, but im also finding that some favour the marantz alternative.....but then i see some like the sonos zoneplayers......all 3 could be an option for me and anything useing apps is a plus as i can use my iphone to control plus im bound to get an ipad soon.

would appreciated some advice which is the best way to improve musical experience, and the option of not having computer on is a plus point too.

rgds jon c
 

Frank Harvey

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The Sonos will require an offboard DAC to sound as good as the other two, so once this is added, it's up to the price of the Marantz anyway. Plus, the Marantz can deal with 24/96.
 

jon c

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thxs for reply, advice noted.......anyone else out there with there experience with any of the units and if useing dac with sonos which ones?

rgds jon c
 

Scissor_digits

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Don't discount the Squeezebox Touch + DAC
smiley-wink.gif
 

jon c

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ive looked at logitech duet and sqeezebox's before and didnt like the bad feedback i found on some customer reviews, its seems it very hit and miss if you get a stable setup. how well do these network players/streamer work with nas devices?, obviously im trying not to have pc on all the time. im inclined to buy the cambridge np30 or the marantz but i would need to be sure it will work with my dlink nas drive

rgds jon
 
As far as my understanding goes, if you send a digital signal into your amplifier/AVR, the DAC within the amplifier/AVR has to process and convert the Digital signal to work with the internal analogue Amplifier stage that then drives your loudspeakers.

With the ZP90 + amplifier/AVR you have two choices – A. DAC in the ZP90 and send analogue to the amplifier/AVR (you then don’t use the DAC in the amplifier/AVR) or B. DAC in the amplifier/AVR and send Digital from the ZP90.

Adding in an external DAC gives you a third option C. DAC in the DAC - send digital from the ZP90 to the DAC and then analogue from the DAC to the amplifier/AVR.

Your simply shifting where you do the Digital to Analogue conversion – it has to happen somewhere and different DACS may produce a different sound!

Hi Fi amplifiers tend to offer superior performance than AVRs.

So an external DAC isn't really necessary if your amplifier is up to it. My advice is to check the sound quality without an external DAC first, & then go for a DAC if you're not happy.
 
FrankHarveyHiFi said:
The Sonos will require an offboard DAC to sound as good as the other two, so once this is added, it's up to the price of the Marantz anyway. Plus, the Marantz can deal with 24/96.

Depends on what's the Sonos ZP90 connected to. You won't always need a separate DAC to get superior sound.
 

Frank Harvey

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As I mentioned in the other thread, it depends how good the decoding is in the AVR. Those using a ZP90 through an AV receiver with a good DAC won't find the need for one, but many will if it's put through a 2 channel system that has no digital abilities. As I said, it's all down to how good the individual wans their streamed music to sound. I appreciate that many will be happy just listening analogue out from a ZP90.
 

jon c

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system info for david @ frank harvey hifi, i have the pioneer vsx- lx53 receiver currently useing a creative audigy 2 platinum ex soundcard with external device which outputs my audio by co-axial digital cable to my pioneer, ive been useing this as music source for a long long time and with new technology about im sure i can achieve a better sound, i think the marantz or cambridge audio network player is definately the way to go as long as they work with my current dlink dns 323 nas.

rgds jon c
 

jon c

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system info for david @ frank harvey hifi, i have the pioneer vsx- lx53 receiver currently useing a creative audigy 2 platinum ex soundcard with external device which outputs my audio by co-axial digital cable to my pioneer, ive been useing this as music source for a long long time and with new technology about im sure i can achieve a better sound, i think the marantz or cambridge audio network player is definately the way to go as long as they work with my current dlink dns 323 nas.

rgds jon c
 

Frank Harvey

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jon c said:
system info for david @ frank harvey hifi, i have the pioneer vsx- lx53 receiver currently useing a creative audigy 2 platinum ex soundcard with external device which outputs my audio by co-axial digital cable to my pioneer, ive been useing this as music source for a long long time and with new technology about im sure i can achieve a better sound, i think the marantz or cambridge audio network player is definately the way to go as long as they work with my current dlink dns 323 nas.

rgds jon c

With the benefit of 24/96, I think they'd be a better long term investment. Although the Sonos does have a very nice iPad app if you have one. A ZP90 through the LX53 will be fine - as I said, mine is being used through my LX83.
 
How do the Marantz & Denon players stream music wirelessly? Is it through standard wifi? The one big advantage of Sonos is its own mesh network. So audio dropouts are far less than wifi dependent products like Logitech Squeezebox.
 
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Anonymous

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Iv 'e been using the NP 30 for the last month or so and I can highly recommend it. I ripped all my cd’s to FLAC and stored them on my iomega NAS drive, streaming them to my NP 30 via my wireless D-Link router (which is in the same room). The NP30 plays the FLAC music files without any dropouts at all. It sounds as good as a good budget CD player. It sounds nearly as good with 320kbps MP3’s too. I also tried 24 bit/96 kHz music files on a USB stick plugged into the USB port and they sound superb. The ipod remote app works well too.
 

jon c

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thnxs hawk, now i just need someone to fight marantz's corner as im tending to edge that way purely because i like the look of the unit more, but if the np30 possibly a better sound i may go for it soon, and it sound like the np30 has better app too, lot of reviews from people whjinging about the marantz one
 
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Anonymous

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I've had the Marantz for a couple of months now. I didn't do a lot of research before choosing - my other components are Marantz so it matched (well kind of, for some reason they don't stock the silver model here in Indonesia) and I read the What Hi-Fi review.

Overall, I've been really happy with it and would recommend it to others - but I can't compare it to other similar devices as it is the only one that I have used.

I have some of my music stored on a NAS (Thecus N3200PRO) in FLAC format. The sound is great - I can't hear a difference between streaming these to the NA7004 and playing the original CDs. (My CD player is a cd6000ose, my amp is a pm6001 and my speakers are Monitor Audio Silver 8i, all around 8 years old.) But I can hear a difference in quality relative to CD when I play MP3 files (blind testing), even though they still sound fine.

The link to the NAS was also simple. Both are connected by cable to my router. The network set-up on the Marantz is easy. The NAS runs TwonkyMedia Server and the Marantz detected it automatically (and also detects computers on our network when they are running software with media server functionality). Very easy to play my music on shuffle. A little more painful to scroll through the displays if you want to find a particular album or song.

Aside from playing music from the NAS, I have installed the optional Airplay update. My wife streams music and podcasts from her ipad and iphone (simply a matter of selecting the marantz from the ipad or iphone) and you can do the same from itunes on your computer.

I have the sound from my DVD player and video media player run through the digital inputs on the Marantz (one coax, one optical) and the quality is excellent compared with what I was getting from the TV (and also better than running it from the audio out on the TV to the amp).

I love the internet radio function - a huge selection of stations that stream with no problems. KEXP Seattle is my favourite, but also many to choose from if I get homesick for Australia. There are also podcasts available in the same way available for streaming. Again, navigation is the problem when you have a small screen and so many choices, but once you set up your favourites it's easy.

And finally it works as a regular tuner, so it's replaced my old Marantz tuner.

All in all, I am very happy and would hate to have to be without it now. But, as I said at the start, I can't really help with the comparison with other options.
 
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Anonymous

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Sorry, I should also have mentioned that there is a Marantz iphone app that you can used as a remote control (called Wizz App). It's not really up to scratch yet - the functionality feels incomplete, the interface is clunky and it crashes occasionally. That said, they do seem to be updating it pretty regularly and it works ok for basic tasks. It has the potential to overcome some of the problems that I mentioned with searching for particular things - songs, radio stations etc - if they keep improving it.
 
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Anonymous

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I seems the main differences between the two are the marantz doesn't have wi-fi , you’ll need to connect your nas drive to the marantz with a network cable. The NP30 doesn’t have a radio tuner and is £200 cheaper. As for sound quality only you can decide. So if you have a Richer Sounds store near you get down there and have a listen.
 

jon c

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thanks guppy for an insight to the marantz, im certainly heading towards one.
and for hawk im not a big fan of wifi anyway so that side of things isnt an issue, i always prefer to have wired connection.
i will probably never use radio functions it will be purely for listening to music from my dlink nas, and hopefully will be better quality that what i listen too, as i have nevr been able to find out if the soundcard i use has been up to the mark this past 6/7years
 
A

Anonymous

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So it looks like it’s down to two issues, the most important one, sound quality and maybe price. Since your leaning towards the Marantz you’ll need to find a dealer to let you listen them both. Good luck and I hope you enjoy which ever one you choose.
 

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