Source Upgrade Advice

Dave White

New member
Jan 16, 2014
1
0
0
Visit site
What could be a good next step for a source upgrade on the system in my sig?

The XS2 is a few months old and sounding very good. It replaced a Cyrus 6, and now I feel it is time to upgrade the CD Player.

My budget is around £2K, and I am mainly interested in playing CD's, although opening the door to streaming is good too. I currently use the analogue output on an airport express for background listening, and I have an apple TV too.

My thoughts are

1) A Naim CD5XS although this does not open me to streaming any more than today

2) NDac, this would mean I keep the CD player and use the optical out, and also use the Apple TV optical out for streaming AIFF files from a NAS (which I'd have to buy)

3) Rega Saturn-R, CD's and then streaming using the same architecture as before but this reduces the box count by one

I think 1) and 3) work out the same price and 2) is the most expensive.

Any thoughts on the above and alternatives I could consider?
 

busb

Well-known member
Jun 14, 2011
83
5
18,545
Visit site
I would personally consider a DAC from the likes of MF, Rega, audiolab or NAD. audiolab are about to launch their M-NET streamer but needs a DAC. Others will suggest some streamers worth considering. I'd not consider a new CDP, even one with digital inputs. I went from a ATV2 over WiFi to my M-DAC to USB from a MAC Mini - gave me better sound, if not by a huge margin.

Edit: Welcome to the forum!
 

CnoEvil

New member
Aug 21, 2009
556
13
0
Visit site
Before shelling out £2k on a CDP, I would have a listen to what a streamer can do from Naim, Cyrus or Linn. I say this because I think the days of the CDP (not necessarily CDs) are numbered.

IME. A good streamer sounds better (at a given budget), is more convenient, more reliable and much more flexible. As all the regulars on here know, my streamer of choice is Linn, and your budget would get a Majik DS. Even the modest Sneaky performs like a CDP 2 or 3 times its price.

I was a vinyl man till the early 90s and then swapped to CD. I'm a complete luddite where computers are concerned, but about 3 years ago, the dealer made the transition to a streamer relatively simple and now I'm very glad I did.

All I'm saying is, before committing, talk to your dealer then listen to a few examples.
 

Philim

New member
Jan 16, 2013
13
0
0
Visit site
Personally if i had 2k burning i would consider...

1. Add a hicap dr and ndac. Both can be gotten second hand for about £2.1k

2. Buy a second hand supernait wiyh built in dac and hicap dr. About £1.5k should do it.
 

Philim

New member
Jan 16, 2013
13
0
0
Visit site
Actually i lied......

If it was my money i would get a 282 and hicap dr 2nd hand ....about £2.5 and forget about the dac or cdp. You will get more bang for your buck.
 

Dave White

New member
Jan 16, 2014
1
0
0
Visit site
thanks for the replies

I have been thinking a streamer at the same price point would be a better investment, at least from a SQ perspective, but the idea of only streaming music puts me off a bit, which is why I am looking for a CD solution too (still like browsing my collection and pulling out a few discs to listen to :). Linn sounds like an interesting perspective and I found a dealer near here that could be a solution for an audition.

before I bought the XS2, I auditioned the Superuniti and ND5XS/XS2 combination, and found the latter to be more engaging, however I haven't considered the ND5XS as the CD player playing through it was not very convincing.

while writing this, I am thinking I might have to get over it and get a streamer centred solution!

what a dilemma :)
 

CnoEvil

New member
Aug 21, 2009
556
13
0
Visit site
Dave White said:
thanks for the replies

I have been thinking a streamer at the same price point would be a better investment, at least from a SQ perspective, but the idea of only streaming music puts me off a bit, which is why I am looking for a CD solution too (still like browsing my collection and pulling out a few discs to listen to :). Linn sounds like an interesting perspective and I found a dealer near here that could be a solution for an audition.

before I bought the XS2, I auditioned the Superuniti and ND5XS/XS2 combination, and found the latter to be more engaging, however I haven't considered the ND5XS as the CD player playing through it was not very convincing.

while writing this, I am thinking I might have to get over it and get a streamer centred solution!

what a dilemma :)

You can still browse your collection and handle the physical CD, it's just you click play on a screen rather than press play on a remote (after getting off your seat and placing a silver disc in a tray).

Do an audition, preferably with your kit (or as close as possible), as Linn amps sound very different to Naim.

Naim streamers are also worth checking out.

My advice is to check all options before jumping in.........let us know how things go.

Cno
 

rdmaidment

New member
Dec 27, 2008
0
0
0
Visit site
I would buy an ND5XS or better still a used NDX. Your amp is fine, don't upgrade until you have done the source (you will probably find you don't need to)

Retain the CD player and feed in to the digital in of the streamer, i.e. use as a DAC. This will significantly improve the sound you get from CD's whilst you get used to streaming. Once you find you don't use the CD player you can move it on.

I have an NDX and have done the same and the CD player sits unused.

Richard
 

MakkaPakka

New member
May 25, 2013
20
0
0
Visit site
CnoEvil said:
more convenient, more reliable

Convenient and reliable apart from the ripping, purchasing of a NAS, deciding how to wire the NAS to the streamer, having to switch on all these things just to listen to some music and hoping you don't hit any network problems at any point.

I would suggest my CD player is a lot more reliable and convenient than that. And yes, I have tried streaming.
 

CnoEvil

New member
Aug 21, 2009
556
13
0
Visit site
MakkaPakka said:
CnoEvil said:
more convenient, more reliable

Convenient and reliable apart from the ripping, purchasing of a NAS, deciding how to wire the NAS to the streamer, having to switch on all these things just to listen to some music and hoping you don't hit any network problems at any point.

I would suggest my CD player is a lot more reliable and convenient than that. And yes, I have tried streaming.

Which is precisely why Linn work through dealers, who can hold your hand through the process. Without that, I would have found it all more difficult.

Once up and running, my experience has been that it's been reliable and a cinch to use......and the dealer is only a phone call away if I get into trouble.
 

andrew_cawood

New member
Nov 13, 2011
34
0
0
Visit site
MakkaPakka said:
CnoEvil said:
more convenient, more reliable

Convenient and reliable apart from the ripping, purchasing of a NAS, deciding how to wire the NAS to the streamer, having to switch on all these things just to listen to some music and hoping you don't hit any network problems at any point.

I would suggest my CD player is a lot more reliable and convenient than that. And yes, I have tried streaming.

Hard to argue against the convenience of a streamer once set up - even that's not too difficult with a bit of research.
 

matt49

Well-known member
Apr 7, 2013
51
1
18,540
Visit site
MakkaPakka said:
Convenient and reliable apart from the ripping, purchasing of a NAS, deciding how to wire the NAS to the streamer, having to switch on all these things just to listen to some music and hoping you don't hit any network problems at any point.

I would suggest my CD player is a lot more reliable and convenient than that. And yes, I have tried streaming.

What was it about streaming you didn't get on with?

Switching stuff on shouldn't be an issue: my NAS and streamer are designed to be on 24/7. Equally, how you connect your NAS shouldn't matter: just connect it with ethernet cable anywhere on your network.

Networking is a doddle these days. Home networking products are designed with consumers like us in mind.

I used to find ripping a chore, but now that I've got a decent routine going, I barely notice it.

Having said that, I think streaming really comes into its own when you have a multi-room set-up. It's not unusual in our house for everyone to be playing different music in different rooms at the same time, all from the same NAS.

Another advantage of having your music ripped is portability. I can take all my music with me wherever I go, and if I want to change what's on my iPod, it takes a matter of minutes.

Matt
 

HDNumpty

New member
Jan 17, 2008
86
1
0
Visit site
The only word of warning to the OP would be

a. Do you have NO ripped music at all currently?

b. If you do have some ripped music, is it in iTunes?

I only ask this because I bought a streamer (see below) thinking that it would work easily with my iTunes library - WRONG! thanks to Apple the metadata, artwork and structure of the library was literally all over the place!

If anything it's better to purchase DB Poweramp (£30 but well worth it) and start your digital music library from scratch on a NAS using FLAC encoder. 'Importing' libraries from elsewhere (unless it is amazingly well-structured on your PC) doesn't seem to work.

that said it wasn't the networking I struggled with after some initial glitches, any problems were all associated with the random disorganisation of an average iTunes library. :doh:
 

SpursGator

Well-known member
Jan 12, 2012
58
46
18,570
Visit site
OP - If you have an APX and an AppleTV, you already have a streamer - assuming you have easy access to your computer and/or an iDevice of some kind to use as the remote.

And since your CD player has digital outs, the opnly reaosn to replace it is if it stops working.

What you need is a good DAC. I highly recommend one of the Benchmark DACs. I've had my DAC1 for 12 years and you would need to spend a LOT of money (4K maybe) to do better. I saw a Weiss for 2500 euros on the German eBay - maybe that would beat it.

Audio Affair have got the DAC1 for £895 and the more flexible (but sonically identical) USC version for £1150. You would plug your CD player into one input, your ATV, computer, or APX into another, and you're off. And you have a grand or so to buy CDs - you could even buy the Benchmark, a dedicated MacMini to be your music server, a small flatscreen, an iPod Touch to use as the remote, and a huge hard drive for under your budget. And you would have something that sounds better and is infinitely more flexible than any of your three proposals.

Audio Affair (just using them as an example and since they are a UK Benchmark Audio dealer) would happily send you a Benchmark to try at home - I can say from personal experience that they are serious about their return policy. Try the A/B test - you'll be amazed at what a good DAC can do for your music, and there is really nothing even close at that price (that I have heard, I hasten to add).
 

TRENDING THREADS

Latest posts