(Another) New guy with questions on the next step

[JFS737]

Hi all,
been getting more hi fi lately. Just got some new speakers (Goldenear Triton 3+) and am now wondering what is the next step for me. For 2ch music, it's presently simple... I have a Denon s650h being fed by an NVIDIA Shield TV PRO (Apps... Tidal, Kodi, Plex) via an HDMI cable. There is a TV connected to the AVR but I'm not worried about that yet.
As the Shield is my "streamer" and the Denon is my Amp/DAC I'm wondering if I should spend the next $1200 on a streamer and send it to my fairly low end Denon? Or keep the Shield and get a DAC or AMP/DAC and bypass the Denon?
!! Or just get something like the NAD C 700 which is a streamer/dac/amp with excellent reviews and use the Shield/Denon for Video and have a (Much better?) 2ch music setup with the NAD? I'm leaning that way as I like the idea of multiroom, and the reviews are strong for this unit in my price range (open box). It's also simple which my wife likes and has a screen for album art (which allows the TV to be off which she likes). Thoughts?

Thanks for any help to another newbie.

John in the US

 

[Deleted member 195594]

Hi John, and welcome 👍

I think the decision to move your streaming away from the Shield is a sound one.

I'm not familiar with the NAD Streamer, but maybe look around to see what else is available at your budget, and try to audition different brands before making your decision.

Just as another option, take a look at the Cambridge Audio CXN v2; it has the screen your looking for, and is around $1100 in the US, brand new.

There also the ifi Neo Stream which is a new product just launched at around $1299.

Good luck with your journey, and have fun. Let us know how you get on 👍

 

[JFS737]

Hi Painter24,
Thanks so much for taking the time. I am struggling with some back and forth re keep the Denon (get a "better" streamer and maybe DAC?) or go with the C 700. I would love to try out a bunch of stuff but it's a drive to Orlando and there is not actually much there (that I can tell). That Neo Stream looks pretty nice, thanks for the tip.

John

 

[Friesiansam]

You've got enough budget to get a reasonably good streamer and, it's built-in DAC is likely to be better than the one in your amp. Maybe buy a better amp in the future.

 

[JFS737]

Great, now I'm seeing a bit of an agreement here, most are saying replace the streamer and get a DAC along with it. Use my present Denon as the amp and at a later time, upgrade the amp if needed. This seems clear from the 3 responses so far.

One question then is.... don't all or most Denon AVR's translate the analog input to digital and then back to analog for processing... and then output it to the speakers? If this is the case, then the DAC in the AVR is "messing" with the improved DAC in the streamer?? I.e. two DACs in use, the Denon being the last one before the speakers thus I get no benefit from the newer DAC? (My Denon has "Direct" mode but not pure direct mode, which means "The mode plays back audio as recorded in the source".... not sure if it still passes through the DAC). confused.

Thanks all

 

[Dom]

Denon AVR's translate the analog input to digital and then back to analog for processing... and then output it to the speakers?

Even if it did what you say it does, it's a Denon. Trust them. They are smart sound engineers with excellent sound quality's we love. 🧡

 

[suburbansky]

Bit of a conundrum... Every dealer I've talked to so far has, after a moment's hesitation, recommended against "all-in-ones" like the C700 - better keep your stuff in separate boxes. On the other hand, using an AVR as amp for some years has all but crushed my interest in my hifi setup, and replacing the AVR with a proper amp was a revelation! But as your Denon is certainly better than my former Onkyo, I'd suggest you get some streamer (Bluesound Node?) to go with your AVR for now and buy a proper amp when the time comes.

 

[JFS737]

Awesome info here. Thank you very much for the help. I'm still googling away. I've been reading quietly on the forums for months now and more to go. Seems like an amp is in my future, but maybe later (unless I end up C700, the wife is liking it). Really appreciate the thoughts from all and more.