Streamer or AVR advice needed please

[Jakey0611]

Hi,

Im a newbie to all this but I've done a bit of research and still have a couple of questions. If anyone could help I'd be grateful.

All my music content and most of my films (bar a few blu rays) are stored on hard disc so I want to play pretty much everything from nas via a control app on my iPad. I want to spend about £1200 but I'm not sure whether to get a streamer (I.e Cambridge audio minx xi or marantz mcr610 or alike) or an equivalently priced AVR. My wife and I listen to music (Internet radio is a must) about as much as tv so 50/50 music /tv. Im not bothered about surround sound so I'll only have the two speakers so here are my questions.

1) I've seen a few threads about hi fi amp Vs AVR and the answer all seem to be to go with hifi amp because of music quality but I haven't seen any recommendations for the difference in music quality between an equivalently priced AVR and streaming system. Am I going to get much better music from an all in one (I.e camb audio minx xi) that I would from an equivalently priced AVR?

2) is there a rule of thumb for what to spend on an AVR/ all in one compared to what you spend on speakers? For example I was looking at the camb audio aero 6 floor standers to go with the minx xi or equivalent AVR. Would I be over speccing one or the other here?

Thanks in advance

Jake

 

[Overdose]

Firstly, an AVR can sound every bit as good as a stereo hifi amp.

I think it is possible to stream video to an iPad from the NAS. If this is possible and I'm fairly sure it is, you could get away with an Apple TV as your streaming device. You could then look for a suitable amp/AVR that had an integral DAC to run your speakers.

I just use my Mac mini into my speakers, but my current Mac does not do HD, so I'm due an upgrade at some point. It is also used as a media server for the rest of the house and can be accessed and controlled by other Apple devices in the house.

 

[npoguy]

Overdose: you are correct, with the Synology DS Audio app, you have the choice of streaming to the Ipad, to Apple TV, directly from the USB out of the NAS, etc.

 

[Jakey0611]

Thanks for the advice, I'll have a look into it. Regarding the second question then, is there generally rule of thumb on splitting your money between an AVR and a set of set of speakers? 50/50? Any recommendations for an AVR and pair of floor standers for £1200-£1500 would be appreciated. I've read the reviews but I'd like to know what people of kit they have bought and lived with for a while. Thanks in advance.

 

[Overdose]

The speakers are the most important part of the system to get right. They give the overall presentation of the sound. I would spend as much as possible on the speakers with enough left over for an amp that drives them properly.

I am perhaps biased, but my recommendation would be for a pair of AVI ADM9 speakers coupled to an Apple TV via optical. Feed the ATV HDMI into the TV and back out via optical to the ADMs. This setup should enable you to use the ADMs for TV and music, both streamed via the ATV and also via terrestrial TV stations or whatever else feeds the TV an audio signal..

Why the ADMs?

They are active speakers and contain their own built in amplifiers, they also have an integral DAC and preamp, so you wouldn't actually need any more boxes in the system. They have a fantastic amount of overhead power for the dynamic swings that are present with movies and have excellent clarity for voices, vocals in music or dialogue in film.

Demoing maybe tricky as there are not too many retail outlets, they mainly sell via their online shop, but it would definitely be worth putting them on your shortlist and trying to get a listen

If I were starting from scratch, I'd be going down this route..