Linn Sneaky or stay with laptop

SteveR750

Well-known member
I know Cno has a view on the Sneaky, and am considering adding a dedicated DS rather than continue to use my PC. The SQ from the PC is unbelievabley good for something that is not a recognised piece of hi fi kit, and it's so good, I am struggling to accept that a aneaky would be much of an upgrade, given that it would need to be £800 worth of upgrade, as I am not selling the pc. I suspect the sytem id onlu borederline capable of revealing any great improvements....

Anyone else made a similar jump frpom a pc to a dedicated streamer, bearing in mind J River's software is one of the best out there, and is in a different league from itunes/windows media player etc
 

tino

Well-known member
Sep 29, 2011
135
10
18,595
Visit site
Except that it would need to be a £1200 upgrade ... don't forget the extra £250 for a NAS and £150 for a UPnP control device as well ... unless you want to stream from your PC which might be defeating the point of moving to a separate streamer.
 

Craig M.

New member
Mar 20, 2008
127
0
0
Visit site
i think you are looking at it from the wrong place. i would change to a ds if i liked the sound of the dac and output stage, not because i thought it could somehow do better than a bit perfect stream. i would buy a squeezebox touch and in future only worry about elements of your system that will yield a big improvement (amp/speaker/room interaction). for the money a sbt would save compared to a ds, you could get some nice looking acoustic panels which will probably improve the sound more than any source change. maybe not the advice you are after, but i genuinely think there is a lot of hot air on audio forums regarding sources. and yes, i've heard a sneaky a few times - i have a linn dealer about 2 miles from my house - there is nothing wrong with them, but there is also nothing wrong with a squeezebox.
 

CnoEvil

New member
Aug 21, 2009
556
13
0
Visit site
I try not to "tell" anyone what to do, but put forward the alternative/s that I believe should be heard, before making the decision (to ensure that it's more likely to be correct).

I don't think anyone (including me), can say for sure the right way for you to go, until you actually hear the Sneaky (through your system)......only then can you put a VFM judgement on the improvement (or not) that you hear.

At the price the Yamaha is going for, it should also be on your radar.
 

CnoEvil

New member
Aug 21, 2009
556
13
0
Visit site
Craig M. said:
i think you are looking at it from the wrong place. i would change to a ds if i liked the sound of the dac and output stage, not because i thought it could somehow do better than a bit perfect stream. i would buy a squeezebox touch and in future only worry about elements of your system that will yield a big improvement (amp/speaker/room interaction). for the money a sbt would save compared to a ds, you could get some nice looking acoustic panels which will probably improve the sound more than any source change. maybe not the advice you are after, but i genuinely think there is a lot of hot air on audio forums regarding sources. and yes, i've heard a sneaky a few times - i have a linn dealer about 2 miles from my house - there is nothing wrong with them, but there is also nothing wrong with a squeezebox.

If one checks out the Linn DS through an all Linn system, it gives an idea, but if you don't like Linn amps and/or speakers, it may not give a realistic idea of how it will sound in a different system. I say this as someone who doesn't get on with the modern Linn sound, especially from their amps.

I don't think Steve can make the correct decision without collating all viewpoints, evaluating them, and then coming up with the correct solution, that is right for him.
 

paradiziac

New member
Jan 8, 2011
17
0
0
Visit site
You do see computers at hi-end hifi shows (mainly Macs, but a PC is potentially as good) and people use them in their systems, so I'm not sure it's "not a recognised piece of hi fi kit". It's just that established hi fi manufacturers, shops and mags don't really push the PC (or Squeezebox) as a source. Why would they? These products are in direct competition to the hi fi branded streamers that do basically the same job.

In your shoes I'd be looking at the DAC, the digital side is more the "icing on the cake". If you find that the DAC you like is one that comes bundled with a "streamer" then fair enough, otherwise just use a computer or Squeezebox with the DAC of your choice.

P.S. looking at your sig, what happened to the Arcam?
 

Craig M.

New member
Mar 20, 2008
127
0
0
Visit site
sorry, should've been a bit clearer, i've heard one through an all linn system, naim and b&w, and my old atc amp and speakers. it's a nice sounding unit. i never make any kind of assumption about a component through an unfamiliar sytem/room - i don't see how you can? home demo all the way!
 

CnoEvil

New member
Aug 21, 2009
556
13
0
Visit site
Craig M. said:
sorry, should've been a bit clearer, i've heard one through an all linn system, naim and b&w, and my old atc amp and speakers. it's a nice sounding unit. i never make any kind of assumption about a component through an unfamiliar sytem/room - i don't see how you can? home demo all the way!

There's nothing to apologize for.

There are few enough people on here that have heard a DS, and fewer still who've heard one outside a Linn system......this makes it difficult to get my point across, as there is almost nobody who has the empirical evidence to either agree with, or challenge my standpoint.
 
T

the record spot

Guest
Hear a Linn Majik streamer a few months back auditioning my Tannoys. Very, very good. Then again, it used a great recording (or two); the hi-res Hotel California and Fragile albums, so it was always going to be good. On the other hand, offboard HDD into the Onkyo is also pretty impressive. The Linn stuff is nice, but £2.5ks worth of nice. I'm sure your PC and offboard DAC would be very close but it's your choice.
small-logo.png
 

moon

New member
Nov 10, 2011
47
0
0
Visit site
Unless someone can convince me otherwise, I just dont see how A netbook into a reasonable DAC can be bettered byone of these "High end Streamers" which cost muchos ££££££££.

Ive heard numerous streamers at shows, and really cannot see any improvment over my Netbook DAC combo. In fact to me netbooks have the advantage of having large screens for artwork .e.t.c. being able to run any type of file, stream any radio station, e.t.c, e.t.c.

So for me.....its the Laptop.
 

CnoEvil

New member
Aug 21, 2009
556
13
0
Visit site
the record spot said:
Hear a Linn Majik streamer a few months back auditioning my Tannoys. Very, very good. Then again, it used a great recording (or two); the hi-res Hotel California and Fragile albums, so it was always going to be good. On the other hand, offboard HDD into the Onkyo is also pretty impressive. The Linn stuff is nice, but £2.5ks worth of nice. I'm sure your PC and offboard DAC would be very close but it's your choice.
small-logo.png

RS, was it the Majik DS with the built in amp (ie. DSM/DSI)?
 

SteveR750

Well-known member
@Moon, this is my suspicion too, but then I haven't listened to one.

I thought the sneaky had a DAC inbuilt, hence it would be replacing my laptop and DCAmagic plus. If it's a good £800 DAC then it would be worth getting, as I am not so keen on using the PC all the time (as they break), but this not anough of a reason alone to get one.

The obvious alternative is to simply upgrade the DAC.
 
T

the record spot

Guest
CnoEvil said:
the record spot said:
Hear a Linn Majik streamer a few months back auditioning my Tannoys. Very, very good. Then again, it used a great recording (or two); the hi-res Hotel California and Fragile albums, so it was always going to be good. On the other hand, offboard HDD into the Onkyo is also pretty impressive. The Linn stuff is nice, but £2.5ks worth of nice. I'm sure your PC and offboard DAC would be very close but it's your choice.
small-logo.png

RS, was it the Majik DS with the built in amp (ie. DSM/DSI)?

Yes, I think it was one or the other - one is £1800, the other around £2600. So that was my other source, with the Tannoys and the Onkyo in the demo room. Sounded amazing and hence my confidence in the amp and speakers I selected. With the right source material, they made for a very capable pairing.
 

CnoEvil

New member
Aug 21, 2009
556
13
0
Visit site
the record spot said:
Yes, I think it was one or the other - one is £1800, the other around £2600. So that was my other source, with the Tannoys and the Onkyo in the demo room. Sounded amazing and hence my confidence in the amp and speakers I selected. With the right source material, they made for a very capable pairing.

Thx RS.
 

moon

New member
Nov 10, 2011
47
0
0
Visit site
Well if you do win it it would be still good to hear what you think of the sneaky .... I sounded a bit down on the Streamers earlier, I think people should use what ever works for them, its just in this instance I dont think they represent value for money.

Anyway, I had quite a result for me over the weekend, auction wise. Makes a change, as I usually get sniped on the bay.

My New ebay top tip. Bid on a Saturday afternoon , when the sun is out.
 

SteveR750

Well-known member
The business case was based on it making the dacmagic obsolote, which it wouldnt, as my satellite box and DVD are both optically connected. It's not the end of the world, thoogh as there are are analogue outputs on both.
 

TRENDING THREADS

Latest posts