Am I getting enough!

[Shildondurham]

Hi, Can anyone help me please, OK I'm streaming Tidal hifi via Bluetooth (Huawei P20 lite) to my Yamaha AS201 amp/receiver. I play hifi and master tracks and albums. Am I getting full potential or should I use a cable connection? If yes any USB cable or specifically a better quality cable?
And finally could say a dragonfly help with this?
Ps through the speakers not headphones.
Any help appreciated.

 

[Jimboo]

Dude , (others will argue) the full potential isn't what you think it is , don't sweat about it.

 

[Shildondurham]

Ha OK...... So just keep bluetooth no cable and keep on hifi subscription Jim?

 

[Jimboo]

People get their panties in a twist about whether what they are hearing equals what the subscription service states it is. For my ears many remasters on the streaming sites are not as nice sounding as the c.d pre mastered does. It's horses for courses. There are improvements to be made with Tidal over Spotify and Hi-Res over c.d quality. However , it isn't a drop your bacon sandwich and wide eyed moment. Some things are just louder and some are fuller. Tidal sounds better than Spotify streaming but they are very similar on Bluetooth. C.D sounds better than anything. You spend your dosh on what you like. It isn't jaw droppingingly , life affirming different.

 

[Shildondurham]

Yeah I get what your saying. I do hear the improvement from standard stream to hifi and then again onto master and I'm happy enough. It's just you wonder could I get more don't you.,the same as when buying hardware. You see the £300 amp and wonder hmmm what about the £400 option, is that going to give me more and if I'm spending 4 I might as well get the £500 amp etc etc and then right, iv got the £400 amp now how much can I maximise that ie speaker placement, cables, room set up. It goes on. So my thoughts were iv got the amp iv got, I stream via Bluetooth so am I getting my value. Could I use a cable instead, could I use a dragonfly. Not being fussy just wanting to use my set up to its full potential. You wouldn't buy a steak and just nibble the corner

 

[Shildondurham]

Yeah I get what your saying. I do hear the improvement from standard stream to hifi and then again onto master and I'm happy enough. It's just you wonder could I get more don't you.,the same as when buying hardware. You see the £300 amp and wonder hmmm what about the £400 option, is that going to give me more and if I'm spending 4 I might as well get the £500 amp etc etc and then right, iv got the £400 amp now how much can I maximise that ie speaker placement, cables, room set up. It goes on. So my thoughts were iv got the amp iv got, I stream via Bluetooth so am I getting my value. Could I use a cable instead, could I use a dragonfly. Not being fussy just wanting to use my set up to its full potential. You wouldn't buy a steak and just nibble the corner

Sorry meant to say I do still find playing a CD is better then the lot but like the convenience and freedom of streaming so want to maximise that method with my current set up.
Thanks for your help it is hugely appreciated.

 

[Dom]

Hi, Can anyone help me please, OK I'm streaming Tidal hifi via Bluetooth (Huawei P20 lite) to my Yamaha AS201 amp/receiver. I play hifi and master tracks and albums. Am I getting full potential or should I use a cable connection? If yes any USB cable or specifically a better quality cable?
And finally could say a dragonfly help with this?
Ps through the speakers not headphones.
Any help appreciated.

Bluetooth is fine. Cables act like antennas because they can pick RF and EMI. Whilst it doesn't usually add up too a hill of beans, Could be pause for concern. However, I say a wired connection is best. Try AQ.

 

[abacus]

Unless it is APT-X Bluetooth I would go with a cable if you can (Plenty of decent ones on Amazon (There basics range are great for the money) or get one from a professional music store)

If the service you are using is lossless (FLAC, ALAC etc.) then the only thing you are hearing is how the track was mastered in the studio, and whether it is being played back at 16/44.1 or 24/192 makes absolutely no difference. (Except in your mind)

Bill

 

[Dom]

Okay Bill.

 

[Shildondurham]

Unless it is APT-X Bluetooth I would go with a cable if you can (Plenty of decent ones on Amazon (There basics range are great for the money) or get one from a professional music store)

If the service you are using is lossless (FLAC, ALAC etc.) then the only thing you are hearing is how the track was mastered in the studio, and whether it is being played back at 16/44.1 or 24/192 makes absolutely no difference. (Except in your mind)

Bill

Right I see. What about the cable I use to charge the phone? Will that do or should I try something better.

 

[abacus]

Right I see. What about the cable I use to charge the phone? Will that do or should I try something better.

Better to get a dedicated cable (Supplied cables tend to be as cheap as they can get away with) with one from the Amazon Basics range being fine. (Or one from a professional music store if you want to be posh)

Bill

 

[Deleted member 116933]

Hang on hang on,

Are you streaming straight from the phone or planning to with a USB cable? and are you your amp is the 201?as far as i can tell doesn't have a USB input and doesn't have bluetooth capabilities?

So ill treat it as though your amp doesn't have USB from here on out.

As a streamer your phone is great ! many don't need more ,though can be a hassle! I suggest getting tablet maybe in the long term.

If your paying for tidal and its CD quality tier then your not getting its full value at all! (even through apt X) do yourself favour and get the dragon fly you mentioned, cheap as chips for a massive improvement in sound and its not about cable quality. Most DAC's in phones are shocking and they're mostly as matter of "kindness" they have those cheap little ear buds in mind not streaming music and there also surrounded by loads of interference and heat. The dragon fly will see you good all the way up to DSD quality playback and more importantly for you, natively support and output MQA should you wish. (though i can't remember if thats the black or red version that does MQA)

And i completely disagree with what's been said above, on many levels (and thats all i say on the matter), a properly sorted streamer with a good DAC will sound as good as any CD player and it doesn't have to cost a bomb, if your hearing a difference thats because bluetooth is really bad as a source it has potential! but its bad, its audibly soft in comparison to a dac and hard wired connection to a streamer and theres a clear night and day difference even going through a budget system.

And If you have the luxury of 2 phones and you start getting really carried away you can even use one as a roon end point and then one as remote. But thats getting a little greedy and completely different topic.

Another way you could do it is to get a Schiit modi or similar and then a Chromecast audio (though getting rare now but still about) and use your phone to remote the chromecast. But you loose out on the MQA of the dragon fly and also wouldn't sound good as the dragon fly but you gain functionality over the dragonfly ie you could connect a TV to it and other bits and bobs. Making your little hifi versatile ineed, And these little dac will sound better than the inbuilt DACs too.

Hope that helps

 

[Shildondurham]

Yes millenia!
This is the info I was looking for! Right so.....
I stream direct from my Huawei p20 lite via Bluetooth to my Yamaha AS201 which is Bluetooth. I have a CD player with USB on the front.
I stream from either Tidal Deezer or amazon all HD whichever has a offer on at the time.
So you think buy a decent cable and go through the USB option.?
If I went the dragonfly route how do I set that up? Phone to dragonfly to USB??
I definitely hear quality improvement from standard stream to HD and then to mqa at the minute but do believe I could enjoy even more with most suitable set up.
Thanks so much.
Ps so the dragonfly boosts quality out of my phone which is sent to my amp yeah, and this is what gives the improvement? It doesn't do anything to my amp/CD player?
Thanks again for helping a keen novice.

 

[Deleted member 116933]

Yes millenia!
This is the info I was looking for! Right so.....
I stream direct from my Huawei p20 lite via Bluetooth to my Yamaha AS201 which is Bluetooth. I have a CD player with USB on the front.
I stream from either Tidal Deezer or amazon all HD whichever has a offer on at the time.
So you think buy a decent cable and go through the USB option.?
If I went the dragonfly route how do I set that up? Phone to dragonfly to USB??
I definitely hear quality improvement from standard stream to HD and then to mqa at the minute but do believe I could enjoy even more with most suitable set up.
Thanks so much.
Ps so the dragonfly boosts quality out of my phone which is sent to my amp yeah, and this is what gives the improvement? It doesn't do anything to my amp/CD player?
Thanks again for helping a keen novice.

Ok lets answer this in chunks,

So you think buy a decent cable and go through the USB option.? Quite bluntly No! This will not be optimal at all. You have to understand its not nessarily the chip but the implementation of the whole design and device and this is lost on some. Some think that the sound comes from the chip and thats not the case at all. The usb on the CD player will be an after thought and there for convince really. The chip inside will be set up optimally to retrieve data from a disc, it will have the cleanest path inside and given priority, which is fine its a CD player!

Then there software on the chips and the dragon flys have some of the best custom coding on the market.

Having said that the USB will give better sound quality than you currently have, as long as the USB is well built. So by all means go that route if you like.

If I went the dragonfly route how do I set that up? Phone to dragonfly to USB?? You would just need a short dongal from your phones usb-c/charger port to an A type USB, from there, the output from the dragonfly is 3.5mm jack. So a 3.5mm to red and white cable, which can be had pretty cheaply on all fronts. and if you like a nice pair headphones can also be inserted in there.

If it was desktop dac like the Schiit modi it would be just be a plug and red and white and an optical cable from the Chromecast/Tv.

So the dragonfly boosts quality out of my phone which is sent to my amp yeah, and this is what gives the improvement? You got it! let the phone/computer ( You can also run the dragonfly from a laptop buy the way. doesn't need to be a phone) do what its good at, running programs and apps, let the dac do its thing, decoding data into delicate analogue signals.

It doesn't do anything to my amp/CD player? No not the amp BUT could for your CD player if you had desktop DAC like the Schiit modi. This would turn your CD player into what they call a transport, literally just spins discs and would bypass its internal DAC POSSIBLY improving the sound of it. The dragon fly wouldn't be able to do this by design you need an optical or coaxial connection so again a DAC like the Schiit modi (cheaper buy the way than a dragonfly)

Nothing wrong with being a novice but its a shame that miss information/personal opinion gets thrown as facts

Look up videos on youtube by John Darko You'll soon learn all the in's and outs, and he just so happen to have a few videos on the dragon fly and how there used

 

[Shildondurham]

Once again....... Brilliantly put.
I'm thinking dragonfly red - dragon tail (or non branded equivalent) 3.5 to RCA to line in on my yamaha amp rear...
Is this correct?
My phone says 24bit 48khz capabilities.
Will the dragonfly upsample to 96 then to give me full bang or just improve the quality of the 48khz? Know what I mean?
Thanks so much✔️

 

[Deleted member 116933]

Once again....... Brilliantly put.
I'm thinking dragonfly red - dragon tail (or non branded equivalent) 3.5 to RCA to line in on my yamaha amp rear...
Is this correct?
My phone says 24bit 48khz capabilities.
Will the dragonfly upsample to 96 then to give me full bang or just improve the quality of the 48khz? Know what I mean?
Thanks so much✔

I'm thinking dragonfly red - dragon tail (or non branded equivalent) 3.5 to RCA to line in on my yamaha amp rear...
Is this correct? Yep thats right!

My phone says 24bit 48khz capabilities.
Will the dragonfly upsample to 96 then to give me full bang or just improve the quality of the 48khz? Know what I mean? Kind of! the phone can decode up to 24/48 as a native res, When your streaming from tidal and you get the right dac like the dragonfly you'll get full fat 24/96 or full MQA unfold and higher. No up sampling its all native decoding. You'll have to learn what all the different coloured lights mean. The only thing you will have to do is tell Tidal in its setting panel to pass through full fat Hi res where it can. I'm sure your aware not everything is hi res.

have fun