Good DAB Seperates for my system + DAC?

seasonsdownfall

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Hi guys,

Looking to add a couple of bits to my current set up in the near future, at the moment i have;

Yamaha AS-500, Monitor Audio BX2's, Project Essential Turntable, Chord Silverscreen Cable, & QED Jack to phono cable.

Priority is a DAC, as some of my listening comes through my Mac in the form of Spotify, Itunes etc - I just don't want to be spending a fortune, well, not something that costs almost as my current system!. So looked at the HRT music streamer, is this a good buy?

Also popped into richersounds in London today, and demo'd the cambridge audio np30, and mentioned to the guy in store how there's not many DAB seperates about, obviously network streamers are taking over in a sense...

Is there such thing as a good DAB tuner seperate for £100-£150? There's really not much choice nowadays!

If anyone could help, give suggestions etc... that'd be great, thanks! :)
 

Crocodile

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If you're considering a streamer then I don't see much point in buying a DAB tuner unless your ISP significantly limits your download. Just do your listening via Internet streams or even Freeview/satellite if the stations you want are available on those platforms.

Although if you're looking in NP30 territory then mabe also have a look at the Marantz NA7004 as that has radio tuners as well.

I've no experience of the HRT.
 

Crocodile

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seasonsdownfall said:
Thanks,

though i'm really not looking to get a network streamer

seasonsdownfall said:
Also popped into richersounds in London today, and demo'd the cambridge audio np30...
:?

If the Freeview/satellite option is no good then best bet would probably be to look out for a used Denon DAB1800 at around £100-120, but they do seem to have some reliability issues. If you were to deduct the cost of what you'd be willing to spend on a DAB tuner from the £350-ish that the Marantz costs, you'd be getiing a very good value streamer & DAC - even if you don't intend to use them right away.

About the best you can get from DAB is Radio 3 at 192k, whereas you can stream R3 from the Internet at 320k. With "digital" radio being available at equal or better bit rates on other platforms there's a reason for the dearth of HiFi DAB tuners!
 

seasonsdownfall

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Haha, sorry - wording... a guy in there just showed me what it was like as i was curious...

Ohh i did not know that! Investing in a good DAC and streaming radio online would be the best bet then?

I just don't want to be spending more than say my amplifier, so a DAC around the £200 mark would be good, any suggestions?

Thanks! :)
 

Crocodile

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I had a Beresford Caiman a while back & that was pretty good but will be a bit over budget unless you buy use. Buying used may well be the best option as you can trial extensively with your own kit & then resell for little or no loss if you want to try something else. Maybe buy a used Caiman & DacMagic & keep whichever you prefer?

Also for the £200 that you're looking to spend, the Squeezebox Touch would be a good option. It can stream Internet radio & Spotify Premium wirelessly direct from your router & has a pretty good DAC built in. It's certainly on a par with the DacMagic & Caiman IMO but has no additional inputs so would be no good for your Mac. Although if you installed the Loitech server software on the Mac you could then stream from that.

This is just based on the kit I have experience of. Others may different ideas.

Edit - As a sideways suggestion you could maybe look at replacing the amp with the Onkyo TX-8050. That would give you pretty much everything you want (except a USB PC input) in a single £250 box. Sell the Yamaha & it will have cost you very little. Obviously you'd need to listen to the Onkyo & see how it compares against the Yamaha but there are many here that think it's pretty peerless for the money & a fair bit more.
 

seasonsdownfall

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Cool thanks for the all the info!

Love the yamaha, so don't think a change of amp will be ideal! Definitely do like the look of the dacmagic, i just wish they done it in black! haha.
 

John Duncan

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cambridge-audio-dacmagic.jpg


DacMagic%20100_1.jpg
 

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