Best compact headphone listening solution?

[Gray]

DOH!
Pass me another doughnut ☺️

Serves me right for talking about blind testing.....my power went off for the second time this week.
Currently sitting in the dark with no heat.
UK Power Networks woman asked if there was anywhere I could go to warm up. I said I could try the fridge.
(Nothing to do with storms, just the fuse of one phase, repeatedly blowing in the substation 😕 ).

 

[Jasonovich]

Serves me right for talking about blind testing.....my power went off for the second time this week.
Currently sitting in the dark with no heat.
UK Power Networks woman asked if there was anywhere I could go to warm up. I said I could try the fridge.
(Nothing to do with storms, just the fuse of one phase, repeatedly blowing in the substation 😕 ).

Sorry to hear that Gray. Really poor showing from NGRID.
Hopefully they're able to resolve this quickly.
Lots of candles, don't burn the house down. Lots of blankets and hot soup.
All the best mate.

 

[Revolutions]

@RTHerringbone have you got the K13 connected to the WiiM by usb?

Realised yesterday that I do a lot of music listening in bed with a book. Could be a perfect opportunity to use my planers instead of the Apple HomePod speaker. Been exploring single box options, thought to check here & saw this thread. Got cogs moving- I want Spotify lossless into headphones via a permanent box setup (that also looks lovely)…. BUT, I really should limit my budget to around £350 so it kinda makes things tricky. Maybe 2nd hand WiiM ultra & headphone dac.

 

[RTHerringbone]

@RTHerringbone have you got the K13 connected to the WiiM by usb?

Realised yesterday that I do a lot of music listening in bed with a book. Could be a perfect opportunity to use my planers instead of the Apple HomePod speaker. Been exploring single box options, thought to check here & saw this thread. Got cogs moving- I want Spotify lossless into headphones via a permanent box setup (that also looks lovely)…. BUT, I really should limit my budget to around £350 so it kinda makes things tricky. Maybe 2nd hand WiiM ultra & headphone dac.

Yep. The Ultra is a bit of an extravagance given I'm only using it as a transport. I went for it as it's a pretty close footprint match to the FiiO and I thought the screen would be a nice touch, but the reality is that I rarely look at that at all as I control it via my mobile phone, so that's the screen I look at the most 🤦‍♂️

If doing this again, I still think I'd go with this pairing though. The K13 is a lovely unit and whilst there's an active thread where an owner of the K11 has reservations about the way R2R handles treble, for my taste it's a good option.

 

[Revolutions]

@RTHerringbone seeing as you’ve used both brands, do you have an opinion on Bluesound Node 4 vs WiiM Ultra for Spotify connect only? Looks like I could get an an open box Node for £360.

Feels like these are my best option to start, then I could add a dac in future if it’s not hitting the spot.

 

[RTHerringbone]

@Revolutions So that places them pretty much at price parity, doesn't it? I haven't listened to a Node 4 and really I can't compare my Icon to my Ultra as they're just in totally different setups.

If you're using Spotify Connect rather than BluOS or the WiiM UI then really there's not much in it in terms of usability. I'm sure each has relative pros and cons in terms of inputs / outputs / compatibility etc. but a straightforward use case like yours renders that stuff irrelevant.

I find my Bluesound is rarely a bit unreliable with being recognised on my network. That could be entirely a network rather than Bluesound issue, but my Ultra has never had that issue. So on that basis, I'd go for a new Ultra with the moot perks of the screen and 100% newness over an open-box Node 4.

 

[RTHerringbone]

Note that the Ultra 100% needs to be paired with an amp of some sort. It was very weedy without.

 

[Revolutions]

@Revolutions So that places them pretty much at price parity, doesn't it? I haven't listened to a Node 4 and really I can't compare my Icon to my Ultra as they're just in totally different setups.

If you're using Spotify Connect rather than BluOS or the WiiM UI then really there's not much in it in terms of usability. I'm sure each has relative pros and cons in terms of inputs / outputs / compatibility etc. but a straightforward use case like yours renders that stuff irrelevant.

I find my Bluesound is rarely a bit unreliable with being recognised on my network. That could be entirely a network rather than Bluesound issue, but my Ultra has never had that issue. So on that basis, I'd go for a new Ultra with the moot perks of the screen and 100% newness over an open-box Node 4.

Thank you, that’s really helpful. The benefit of the Node 4 is the chance that the headphone amp is good enough on its own.

If there’s a chance that I’d add a dac/headphone amp anyway then I suppose the WiiM makes the most sense.

 

[Jasonovich]

@RTHerringbone seeing as you’ve used both brands, do you have an opinion on Bluesound Node 4 vs WiiM Ultra for Spotify connect only? Looks like I could get an an open box Node for £360.

Feels like these are my best option to start, then I could add a dac in future if it’s not hitting the spot.

Hi Rev, this might interest you.

Peter Tyson is selling nearly new Volumio Primo V2 streamer dac on eBay, highly commended by Turan from A British Audiophile and Darko.
With the coupon it's £440, a bit of a bargain. The only downside, it doesn't have a headphone socket.

Check link below 👇 😉

Pardon our interruption...

 

[Revolutions]

Hi Rev, this might interest you.

Peter Tyson is selling nearly new Volumio Primo V2 streamer dac on eBay, highly commended by Turan from A British Audiophile and Darko.
With the coupon it's £440, a bit of a bargain. The only downside, it doesn't have a headphone socket.

Check link below 👇 😉

Pardon our interruption...

Thanks for the heads-up. Not heard of that brand so will do some digging. Lack of headphone socket kinda gets in the way of using it with my headphones 😂

But I suppose a cheap headphone amp is easy to acquire.

 

[Jasonovich]

Thanks for the heads-up. Not heard of that brand so will do some digging. Lack of headphone socket kinda gets in the way of using it with my headphones 😂

But I suppose a cheap headphone amp is easy to acquire.

It's an Italian brand. Minimalist design, apparently renowned for it's excellent sounding DAC Streamer.
😊

 

[Angle Poise-Lamp]

It's an Italian brand. Minimalist design, apparently renowned for it's excellent sounding DAC Streamer.
😊

My DAC/headphone amp is Italian and, it hits the nail right square on the head in delivering my music the way I want it but, the Pathos Converto's low output means it's probably no good for planar magnetic headphones and, the price has risen A LOT since I bought mine for £1,295.

 

[Gray]

I do a lot of music listening in bed with a book.

One thing at a time Rev 😉
I never understand how anyone can concentrate on both, enough to make either, worthwhile 🤪

Under those circumstances though (and because I've owned an Ultra)....I reckon its own headphone output might be good enough 🤔

 

[Jasonovich]

I was looking up on eBay more deals for @Revolutions, I saw in absolutely good condition Moon 180 streamer dac for £313, nice.
Then I saw streamer only the Primare NP5, second hand, £260.
Didn't come with 5v power supply, meh, why do I need that, why do I need integrated DAC?
I was feeding WiiM Pro Plus coax output to my Eversolo DAC, this and small form factor was perfect for my study setup.
Ok...cash till....cha Ching....sold.
I hope software isn't crap!



Update.
Doesn't have software, works from Spotify connect direct. Should be easy to setup on my phone.

My Pro-ject Maia amp in Diner has this feature via Bluetooth. I was listening to SuperTramp on Spotify via the amp,
Give a little bit ....of your life.
sound was pretty good.

There is so much overlapping in HiFi, it's kind of welcoming but also irritating that stand alone streamer wasn't really a necessary purchase.
I might keep the WiiM Pro Plus, I can put it to use in the lounge or it's eBay!😊