Best music streamer for a Roksan Kandy K2 / Dali Ikon 6 combo?

[PaulShaw01]

Hi All

I have a Roksan Kandy K2 amp, with Dali Ikon 6 speakers........currently using a Roksan Kandy K2 CD player.

With more of my music being held on my Mac, I've been wirelessly streaming music from my Mac to the Kandy amp (using airport express) but the sound quality is not great.

I've tried to find a DAC that could improve the sound, to avoid using the Mac DAC, that could fit with the overall system......but then noticed the Cambridge Audio Stream Magic 6 that could stream music as well as provide the DAC to improve the overall sound.

I really want to re-create the K2 amp / CD / Ikon 6 combo digitally, and unsure where to go with it.

The Cambridge Audio option seems appealling (and is in a similar price point to the Kandy - 700 GBP) but am unsure whether I will get the sound that Im looking for.......similar priced components doesn't necessarily mean a good match!!!!!

Can anyone provide thoughts / suggestions to help me here?

Thanks

Paul

 

[Anonymous]

Seeing as you're using your Mac, you could easily use a squeezebox and squeezebox server. The Squeezebox has a decent dac onboard (certainly better than you would expect at the price anyway) and would always allow the addition of a standalone dac at a later date.

 

[matthewpiano]

Squeezebox Touch is a good product but with the internal DAC it is miles off the sound quality of the K2 CD player. Add to that the fact that Logitech's support for it is bound to gradually ebb away over the next couple of years and it doesn't look like such a good buy.

I think the Cambridge Audio product is hard to beat at this price, particularly now it supports gapless playback. Nothing will sound exactly the same as the K2 CD player (unless Roksan eventually offer a Kandy streamer or DAC), but the quality of Cambridge's internal parts and their digital music knowhow is high enough to compete with it when fed with files of the appropriate quality.

 

[DavieCee]

You are going down a path that I have already trodden.

I had the full Roksan Kandy set - CD player, amp & speakers.

I got a Beresford Caiman DAC (no longer available AFAIK but the theory stands for other models/manufacturers) and hooked it up to my ATV1 (comparable with the AE). I did a side by side comparison of streaming Macbook Pro to ATV through DAC to amp and playing a CD. The sound was identical (not similar - identical) as far as I could tell with my ears. Based on this I sold my CD player and have not had a single regret.

Now for the extra bonus. If you use USB to hook up your Mac to a compatible DAC that can convert full HD tracks the sound is cleaner than streaming for all music. Play an HD track and the improvement over all previous set-ups is clearly noticeable! :dance:

 

[SteveR750]

You are going down a path that I have already trodden.

I had the full Roksan Kandy set - CD player, amp & speakers.

I got a Beresford Caiman DAC (no longer available AFAIK but the theory stands for other models/manufacturers) and hooked it up to my ATV1 (comparable with the AE). I did a side by side comparison of streaming Macbook Pro to ATV through DAC to amp and playing a CD. The sound was identical (not similar - identical) as far as I could tell with my ears. Based on this I sold my CD player and have not had a single regret.

Now for the extra bonus. If you use USB to hook up your Mac to a compatible DAC that can convert full HD tracks the sound is cleaner than streaming for all music. Play an HD track and the improvement over all previous set-ups is clearly noticeable! :dance:

Same for me too. Without wanting to start a debate over whether PCs sound different, a Mac or a PC can be set up to sound as good as most streamers. Allegedly. There is a reason why Chord mention J River software in their setup instructions, clearly using a PC is taken seriously.