Need your help in choosing a tuner and a network player

[dfalir]

Hi all,

a couple of months ago I asked on the forum what network player I should get for my system, to replace my Arcam CD72T as I don't listen to CD's anymore, and haven't done so in years. On the contrary I find much easier to listen to Flac music, and MP3's. Also, I have also decided to look for a decent radio tuner as the Pioneer N50 that was proposed to me, does have internet radio, but no FM/AM stereo which I want also.

My system is (rather was, as the Arcam is history since yesterday), an Audio analogue Puccini SE amplifier with Monitor Audio Silver 4i as speakers. These, were accompanied with an Arcam CD72T which I sold yesterday, for the reason I described above.

Asking here (a couple of months ago) for a decent network player, Andy Clough was generous enough to share his knowledge with me and we decided to go for the Pioneer N50. I really - really like the styling on this player, but I am unable to hear it live before purchase.

So if i purchase it I will be stuck with it, and if i dont like it, I will not be happy. So I am a bit (a lot) anxious and I need some further reassurance or alternative options from you (including opinion of Andy Clough pls), regarding this purchase.

1. Will I have the same result with Pioneer N50 and flac music as I did when listening to CD's with my Arcam CD72T? I dont want to settle for anything lower than that. This is crucial for me. When you have heard (tried) something and like it, nothing below this standard is worth it. Is there a reason for me to worry? Should I spent 100 - 200 GBP more and get a definately much better alternative (if there is one)? The extra 200GBP is not easy for me to find, but I would rather spent 200 GBP more, than buying something that it will have lower quality. Because then I will regret not having spent that extra money, everyday...So do you have alternative suggestions or do you think that Pioneer N50 is a machine that I should not worry about music quality? (Propositions only in silver colour pls). For example... What do you think about Cambridge Audio Stream Magic 6 vs Pionneer N50? Is it worth the extra money?

2. About radio tuners. I am not as anxious to make a right decission as I am with the netwok player above, because I believe that radio tuners are well.... radio tuners. How much quality of sound can you get? So i was thinking about Yamaha T500 that sells around 200GBP i think. Is it any good?

Please advice.

Once again thank you for your time and helping me to decide.

 

[spiny norman]

How about the Marantz NA7004, which can be found for under £400? Well under £400 in fact, if you do a bit of Googling! It not only does the streaming thing and internet radio, it sounds very good and has an FM/DAB/AM tuner built-in.

 

[ID.]

There's always the option of running it with the DAC of your choice from the digital out. e.g., the Arcam irDAC.

Then again, for that you could get a much cheaper streamer and spend the money (e.g. AEX) and spend the money on a more expensive DAC.

I think that what you are asking is very subjective. The sonic signature of the Arcam CD player may be different from the Pioneer network player, but which is "better" may come down to personal preference. e.g. some may value warmth and a full bodied sound while others value airiness, instrumental separation and a big soundstage.

 

[dfalir]

Spiny Norman, thank you for your answer. But how does the Marantz compares to the Pioneer N50? Do you think / know that it sounds much better? My question is not how to spend less than the Pioneer (unless you think the MArantz actually sounds better AND will save me money), but if there is a network streamer out there, that is worth spending 100 - 200GBP more (the Pioneer N50 costs 400GBP) because the music result will be so much better than the Pioneer. I am willing to spend the extra money if it worth it. I am not looking to spend less money UNLESS the machine that costs less produces better sound. (Which would make me an idiot, automatically!)

What do you think?

 

[dfalir]

Spiny Norman, thank you for your answer. But how does the Marantz compares to the Pioneer N50? Do you think / know that it sounds much better? My question is not how to spend less than the Pioneer (unless you think the MArantz actually sounds better AND will save me money), but if there is a network streamer out there, that is worth spending 100 - 200GBP more (the Pioneer N50 costs 400GBP) because the music result will be so much better than the Pioneer. I am willing to spend the extra money if it worth it. I am not looking to spend less money UNLESS the machine that costs less produces better sound. (Which would make me an idiot, automatically!)

What do you think?

 

[luckylion100]

I've had my Pioneer N50 for about 6 months now and am very happy with it. It's flaws are obvious though, the lack of wireless compatibility out of the box (mines connected to a mains powerline adapter and works brilliantly when streaming Flac files from JRiver Media player), The display is a pain though, I'd much prefer a bigger, readable display, something visible from the listening position. The Pioneer control app, is a little hit and miss, I think they still need to improve this, although adequate it appears a little amateurish and still there's no album artwork displayed which would just add to the experience. As for sound quality though there can be no complaints, it's staggering good (if the source file is up to scratch, the flip side is you really hear poorly encoded files) A previous update saw the front usb socket accept files up to 24/196 so I've a 1TB external drive occupying that spot. All in all I'm very happy with it and you can get them now for under 350 quid.

The Marantz shout sounds like a good investment although I've not auditioned it. I like the brand though.

Sorry no idea concerning turners.

All the best.

 

[spiny norman]

But how does the Marantz compares to the Pioneer N50? Do you think / know that it sounds much better? My question is not how to spend less than the Pioneer

My answer wasn't intended to save you money, but get you the best network music player/tuner for your money. IMO the Marantz sounds at least as good as the Pioneer, and also has the benefit of a high-quality radio implementation, but even if it lacked the tuner I'd buy it over the Pioneer on sound quality.

Of course YMMV, and you really should try to have a listen to both. I did, which is why I'm suggesting the Marantz.

 

[luckylion100]

Oh one other bug bear of mine concerning the Pioneer N50. I'm an android phone user (HTC One), although I do have a somewhat aging ipod touch but getting my Spotify premium connected to the Pioneer is a pain unless I want to dig out the ipod. I wish Pioneer could sort this out with an update but I'm sure it's the cost of licenses etc so I'm not holding my breath. Actually the more I consider this, it's a major pain. ;-(

 

[dfalir]

--> ID. Thank you for your answer. I am pretty sure you have a good reason for suggeting an external DAC but I rather not buy another piece of equipment. If am fed up with cables, I would rather purchase a single machine. Imagine that in the living room there are two 5.1 speker setups, the hifi system we are discussing about, normal pc, another HTPC, printer, scanners, TV, projector, HDMI splitter, and that is probably not even half the list! I have reached a point where I am really fed up with all these cables.So I would rather avoid more cabling and equipment as much as I can.

--> Spinny. Thank you! I will search more about the Marantz through reviews. To be perfectly honest, I dont like the look of it as much as i like the Pioneer but that is not the most important thing.

--> luckylion. Thank you!having an opinion of an actual user it is invaluable!

If anyone of you know, how does the Marantz and Pioneer compare to the Cambridge Audio Street magic 6? I am asking this because i read quite a good review here... http://www.whathifi.com/review/cambridge-audio-stream-magic-6/specs. I also like more the look of Pioneer, but the review was quite definitive on sound quality...

 

[dfalir]

Lucky Lion, thank you so much for all the information!

To my luck, I dont care much about Spotify etc etc (have never used them before). I was particularly happy to hear about the hard drive connection though, because i had read that the N50 had a problem in recognizing large drives. So if this problem is sorted is a very good thing.

 

[luckylion100]

I connect two WD Elements 1TB Portable Hard Drive USB 3.0/2.0 full of 24/192 flac files from Hdtracks and other sources without any issue. I use the control app either on tablet or mobile phone to simply scroll down the basic file style menu to select my selection. The only slight annoyance is that the album covers don't appear on the N50's screen. Although to confuse me the album Signs of Infinite Power by Fu Manchu displays, so there must be a way of doing it. I simply haven't had the time to investigate. Happy to help. ;-)

 

[luckylion100]

Re; Harddrives. I forgot to mention they must be formatted as FAT32, it won't recognise them in the NTFS format. I simply connect to windows 7 laptop, load files and then connect to the N-50. Works everytime.And I know next to nothing about computing.

 

[Emeka]

I have been privileged to own all three. Marantz NA7004. Had it for two years. Regretted selling it. It is a very good product. However, sold it for Cambridge Audio Streamer 6. No regrets now, as this is definitely better but lost out on DAB tuner. Streamer 6 surely sounds better, clearer and authoritative, if no know what I mean. This is an audiophile product, hence I believe why it cost more. I had a Marantz M-CR603 for two years in the bedroom but never used the CD player. I used the streamer and the DAB tuner thoughout the period it was with me. Sold it deciding to upgrade to Marantz M610. But after reading the review of Pioneer N50, I bought it instead. Again, the reviewers were spot-on. This is a fantastic product. Well built, does the job perfectly well. Unfortunately, I do not have DAB radio anymore in the house but hope, when I get the money to buy a separate DAB tuner. In order of my preference for the streamers regarding the sound - at the end of the day that is what it all boils down to (1) Cambridge Audio Streamer 6 (2) Pioneer N50 (3) Marantz NA7004. Feed these streamers high definition audio FLAC files and they sound better than a CD player. I must confess that I have never heard music coming out of a top of the range CD player. But these streamers (cambridge & Pioneer) sound better than any of the CD players that I have owned in the past.

Cambridge Audio Streamer 6, Pioneer N50, Marantz PM6005, Q Acoustics Concept 20, Acoustic Energy 301, NAD C350, Supra 2.0, Synology 211 (in the loft), Samsung Laptop, Atlas Equator 2.0, Sky HD box

 

[Emeka]

I have been privileged to own all three. Marantz NA7004. Had it for two years. Regretted selling it. It is a very good product. However, sold it for Cambridge Audio Streamer 6. No regrets now, as this is definitely better but lost out on DAB tuner. Streamer 6 surely sounds better, clearer and authoritative, if no know what I mean. This is an audiophile product, hence I believe why it cost more. I had a Marantz M-CR603 for two years in the bedroom but never used the CD player. I used the streamer and the DAB tuner thoughout the period it was with me. Sold it deciding to upgrade to Marantz M610. But after reading the review of Pioneer N50, I bought it instead. Again, the reviewers were spot-on. This is a fantastic product. Well built, does the job perfectly well. Unfortunately, I do not have DAB radio anymore in the house but hope, when I get the money to buy a separate DAB tuner. In order of my preference for the streamers regarding the sound - at the end of the day that is what it all boils down to (1) Cambridge Audio Streamer 6 (2) Pioneer N50 (3) Marantz NA7004. Feed these streamers high definition audio FLAC files and they sound better than a CD player. I must confess that I have never heard music coming out of a top of the range CD player. But these streamers (cambridge & Pioneer) sound better than any of the CD players that I have owned in the past.

Cambridge Audio Streamer 6, Pioneer N50, Marantz PM6005, Q Acoustics Concept 20, Acoustic Energy 301, NAD C350, Supra 2.0, Synology 211 (in the loft), Samsung Laptop, Atlas Equator 2.0, Sky HD box

 

[npoguy]

Emeka,

Thanks for the terrific thoughts. I've been comparing these systems as well and it's pretty unique for someone to have owned all three--so I really appreciate the "real world" analysis!

 

[dfalir]

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[dfalir]

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[ID.]

No worries. I think my point was that there is the option of an off-board DAC if you don't like the sound signature of your chosen streamer, but I fully appreciate the desire to keep the box count down - It's one of the reasons I use an all in one system myself.

 

[dfalir]

Emeka and Luckylion but also everyone else that was kind enough to provide me with feedback, thank you, it means a lot to me, since I dont have a way to test all three pieces of equipment. Let me share my thoughts on the subject....

First of all, I started to like the Marantz because of the built-in tuner. Great addition. But most of the reviews that I have read over the internet, place it below the pioneer N50 in terms of quality, and I read some very frustrating reviews regading this Marantz, while other reviews said that most problems where resolved after upgrades. But he whole complains story along with your offered opinions through this forum make me reluctant to decide on the Marantz, although the built in FM tuner is HUGE addition.

Cambridge Street Magic --> Emeka, please reply on this.

1. Does the Cambridge Audio S6 really have that much difference compared to Pioneer N50 in terms of quality? Do you think this sound difference justifies the price difference among them? And if I am not mistaken you now have both the Cambridge Audio s6 and the Pioneer?

2. Please provide some sound quality comparison between the Marantz and the Pioneer. Please share your thoughts on this...

LuckyLion -->Every piece of information you have provided here is invaluable. The Pioneer N50 still remains the most elligible candidate for me. And to know such information helps me a lot to decide. Besides i LOOOOOVe brushed aluminium! It will be music to my eyes!

I wish that Pioneer and Cambridge Streamer had a built in Tuner... Otherwise like Emeka said, I will have to buy a seperate tuner. I dont want this, Ideally I want a two-piece of HI-FI equipment in my home not a three one (amplifier - streamer - tuner). This is the only reason I have not excluded Marantz out of the equation yet. But from what i understand from you guys (and googling around) it is ranked 3rd in sound quality.

Hence, I tend to decide for Pioneer, for three reasons. 1. It produces better sound quality than Marantz, It is within my budget (unlike the Campbridge Audio), and lookes gorgeous. Emeka, if you have more thought on the comparison of the three, please feel free to share!

PS: Sorry for the flodding on next page. I post by mistake and there is no way to delete the posts. Replaced them with "." instead.