Sony BDP S370 & DAC or Music Streamer?

[Gareth82]

Hi everyone, i currently have my Sony BDP S370 connected via Analog to my Roksan Kandy so i can use my amp when watching dvds/blu rays. The other day i thought i would try some WAV music files through the Sony and Roksan to see how it sounded, to my amazement it sounded very good, even 320kps files sounded good as well.

Now my dilemma is, do i stick to my original plan and get a music streamer like a SB Touch or Cambridge Audio NP30 or do i stick with using the Sony and just add a external hard drive and a DAC to improve the sound?

The Sony pritty much does what any of the DNLA streamers seem to do (except internet radio) and i wouldn't need to buy a NAS and can just use a external hard drive.The only downside is that i would have to use my tv to brows folders and that the Sony can't display album art or create playlists.

Is there anyone who has had any experience with using something like the Sony BDP S370 plus DAC for music playback and how would the quality of using the Sony and DAC compare to using a stand alone streamer like the Cambridge Audio NP30 etc...

Thanks

 

[amcluesent]

I'd go with a dedicated streamer every time. I have a BDP-S370 and the user experience of the Touch is vastly better.

You'll likely find no gapless playback, no playlist support, no search by meta-data etc. etc.

 

[Gareth82]

Thanks for the reply.

Does the Touch support gapless playback?

I will have a budget of around £500 to get a streamer and i am considering the SB Touch, Sonos, Cambridge Audio NP30 and Denon DNP720AE. I have heard good things about the Touch but the only thing is that i know it can be a pain to get the SB server working on a NAS and a DNLA streamer would be easier and quicker to set up.

 

[amcluesent]

Yep, Touch gapless and hi-rez (Sonos won't). If you choose the right NAS it's no problem (ReadyNAS, QNAP, Vortexbox, etc)

 

[Gareth82]

The Touch Seems to be a winner then. I noticed that all of the streamers i have been looking at don't offer gapless playback and the cost of buying the Cambridge audio i could get a Touch and NAS.