Digital music sources

[NJB]

I am a bit old school and not well versed in the ways to get digital music into my hifi. I currently use an iPod Classic with a dock to send a digital stream to my amplifier. Are there other ways to achieve the same result? There are some streamers etc out there which include hard disks for storage, but many appear to be designed as an all-in-one solution with just analogue outputs. Ideas? It is upgrade time, and I am curious as to what I might be missing out on.

 

[the record spot]

There's a wide range out there with many options to going down the streaming route, what kind of general approach would you like? This is perhaps a more relevant way of looking at it, also what is your budget?

 

[kmlav]

The best way to store you music collection is on a networked nas drive , very cheap to buy and plug and play. One good tip is make sure you back everything up, I say this from personal experience! There are a number of program's that you can use to transfer you cd collection, db power amp is a good one for windows users .

these days most streamers will have some sort of app so you will be able to brouse and play your collection easily which is nice.

there is also the world of hi res to get in to however the selection of studio master stuff available is still quite limited , linn records is my store of choice. Not all streamers will be able to play these files so best to check if you think this will be important to you.

All you really need is some sort of streamer and an amp and you are set, naim and cyrus (there may be others) have some super nice all in one solutions which are really tidy if space is limited.

 

[the record spot]

Of course, the amp can be your streamer, such as mine, and not just a mini all in one system. Likewise, an Apple TV will also do the duties.

 

[matt49]

The best way to store you music collection is on a networked nas drive , very cheap to buy and plug and play. One good tip is make sure you back everything up, I say this from personal experience! There are a number of program's that you can use to transfer you cd collection, db power amp is a good one for windows users .

That's where I'd start. However you end up streaming your music, you'll have to store it somewhere, and a NAS drive is a relatively cheap and very flexible form of storage. I'd recommend the models from Synology (e.g. DS213J) or QNAP (HS-210). You then need to add the hard disks: Amazon will sell you the whole lot as a package with the disks already installed. The Synology or QNAP with 3TB of storage will be around £300.

Both come with their own packaged audio streaming software and the capacity to output a high-quality audio stream via USB straight into an asynchronous USB DAC. (Not all USB DACs will work this way, so try before you buy.) The audio streaming app can be used on a smartphone or tablet, so that your hand-held device turns into a nice remote control. The QNAP has the advantage of being fanless and hence virtually silent in operation.

IMO this kind of set up, assuming you have a half-way decent DAC, will give you sound quality as good as a high-end streamer from Linn or Naim. To my mind, the streamers sold by traditional hi-fi manufacturers are looking increasingly like seriously bad VFM.

From this point on there's a wide range of different configurations. As Record Spot has said, you can buy an integrated amp including a DAC. Or you can go the standalone async DAC route I suggested above. Some DACs, e.g. the Audiolab M-DAC, include a preamp with digital volume control, which means you just need to add a power amp to complete your set-up. Or you can buy a specialized streamer: the Sonos Connect is very popular because of its simplicity, expandability and its superb user interface. A Connect will plug straight into a DAC (via SPDIF or optical) or it contains its own DAC which can feed into an integrated amp.

Soz that was a bit wordy and has probably said lots that you already knew.

Matt

 

[abacus]

A lot of modern streamers, amplifiers and Blu-ray players can read the information off a USB HDD direct which will work out cheaper than a NAS (Not forgetting a decent router will also have a USB input that you can plug the HDD into if you want to expand to other parts of the house).

If you then decide to go for a NAS at a later stage it is easy to copy the files from the HDD onto the NAS and then use the HDD as your backup drive.

Don’t get hung up on Hi-res, as unless the original has been mastered in better quality you will not hear any difference. (As Hi-res becomes more popular I can see less reputable manufactures just converting standard masters into a Hi-res format and charging you more for no improvement, so buyer beware)

Hope this helps

Bill

 

[NJB]

Thanks for all the advice. I reckon I would go to £500, and really just need a digital source to feed into my existing DAC and amplifier. If you like, a single box solution to replace an iPod and Dock. I sounds like I will need to look around as there are several options.

 

[skippy]

I'd take the plunge and buy a Sonos connect.

I have a NAS, but I've signed up to rdio (similar to Spotify) and that is what I usually use now. The NAS has a slightly better sound quality, but rdio has more selection than what I have ripped to my NAS.

I mainly use the NAS for movies for which it seems to serve a better purpose in my system.

 

[unsleepable]

I'd take the plunge and buy a Sonos connect.

I have a NAS, but I've signed up to rdio (similar to Spotify) and that is what I usually use now. The NAS has a slightly better sound quality, but rdio has more selection than what I have ripped to my NAS.

I mainly use the NAS for movies for which it seems to serve a better purpose in my system.

I think this is a very good advice.

To hear the music collection that you have, you already have a solution. And a streaming service will make it easier to discover more music. In addition, it doesn't require additional efforts to maintain the music collection organized, and does not need to be backup either.

I have a music collection and am also a Spotify Premium subscriber. But the day it is possible to stream music from the Internet in higher-resolution format—and regrettably Qobuz does still not work well enough in my opinion—, I think I will just do streaming.