I have a Sonos Connect feeding a Cyrus 8XPd and Monitor Audio Silver 6 speakers. I’ve been really happy with the detail of the sound and with good recordings it can sound amazing. However, I recently bought a Rega PR6 turntable and plugging that into my Cyrus has made me realise that my digital setup sounds a bit “artificial”. I know this is a common complaint about digital systems. However, I’d appreciate your thoughts on how I could upgrade my streaming system, retaining the detail but with the warm sound I get from my turntable. I'm keen to avoid anything “lean” sounding (I like plenty of bass) and in terms of budget, I could consider "mid range" Linn, Naim etc, if that would get me what I’m looking for. Any thoughts on what I should audition? Thanks, Paul
Wanted - streaming system with the qualities of my Rega RP6
- Thread starter thompsonpb
- Start date
It's the very reason I bought a Linn Majik DS........so maybe worth an audition of it, or the Sneaky DS.
You cant - just buy more vinyl!
I have the same problem as yourself - i have been advised to invest heavily in the digital side of my system but am reluctant to do so - it appears that like myself you prefer vinyl over digital. I am sure people will be along to tell you different, but you just have to accpet that CD is never gonna sound as good as vinyl to your ears!
I have the same problem as yourself - i have been advised to invest heavily in the digital side of my system but am reluctant to do so - it appears that like myself you prefer vinyl over digital. I am sure people will be along to tell you different, but you just have to accpet that CD is never gonna sound as good as vinyl to your ears!
CnoEvil said:
Cno - when I was at Cymbiosi the other week I was talking to Wayne about the Linn streamers without the pre-amp, I should really go an demo one just to see if they are as good as everyone says.
stevebrock said:
You should.....and the Linn DS thread is awaiting your thoughts, whether good, bad or indifferent.
What did Wayne have to say?
CnoEvil said:
that the Majik will kick the Rega Apollo R/DAC combo into touch, he even steered me away from a Saturn R - I am currently using a Mac Mini into a Rega DAC - dont get me wrong it is far from shabby - but wouldnt mind hearing the Majik DS
Thanks all for your amazingly fast responses! I guess there will always be a gap between the sound of digital and vinyl, but I'm keen to get closer to the vinyl sound but with the dynamics and clarity I get from digital.
I'm interested in the Linn Majik. I've not heard it, but it sounds like it should be on my short list.
Regarding budget - I guess upto £5K would be OK but if I can achieve what I want for less then great!
Thanks again for all your help so far. I'm interested to hear your ideas.
Paul
I'm interested in the Linn Majik. I've not heard it, but it sounds like it should be on my short list.
Regarding budget - I guess upto £5K would be OK but if I can achieve what I want for less then great!
Thanks again for all your help so far. I'm interested to hear your ideas.
Paul
thompsonpb said:
That budget would get an Akurate DS, but I think it's too much to spend to front your system. I would suggest you also hear a Majik DSM (includes a good phono stage), which has an amp built in, and (imo) sounds very good driving some Kef R500s. This could be got for your budget, and imo would be a big improvement on what you have.
With £5k to spend, you need to try a variety of options before parting with it.
stevebrock said:
Thx.
FWIW. I agree with Wayne....which is no great surprise to anyone on here. :shifty:
stevebrock said:
The Majik DS has a digital volume control for a power amp. The Majik DSM has a full power amp built in, though the models above it only have the Pre.
I have a different take on this, in two ways. I don’t think you need to spend much on a digital source. And I think the differences you'll hear between a (clean) digital source and e.g. your RP6 will be due to what the TT is adding to the signal, and not to any deficiency of the digital source.
Deep breath.
I’ve heard some high-end digital sources through my system, e.g. CDPs from Audio Research and Copland. But so far I haven’t heard any significant difference between them and the very cheap source I use. (I’m using a Synology NAS via USB. Including 4TB of hard disks, the Synology cost me a bit over £300.) Having said that, the Synology is piping into a Devialet, which combines a very good DAC with a supremely transparent and dynamic amp. Because the digital signal via USB is asynchronous, and because the Devialet’s DAC is so good, digital jitter is non-existent.
I have another digital source: a heavily modded Sonos Connect piped into the Devialet via SPDIF. The Synology via USB sounds better to me than the Sonos.
But the key thing is: I get none of the digital harshness or coldness or artificiality that people talk about.
Second point. Modern music is recorded in an aseptic environment. Nasty echoes and reverb are eliminated in the studio, as these would muddy the sonic image that the studio engineers are working with. If you want to edit sound, best exclude all the nasties at the outset. Then what normally happens is that reverb is added digitally in order to make the sound warmer and more natural. (It’s ironic that most contemporary recordings, even what you hear on a vinyl disk, are the product of digital processes.)
Here’s a hypothesis for you. Analogue reply on a TT adds yet more reverb. No matter how well isolated a TT is, there'll inevitably be lots of reverb picked up by the cartridge from ambient vibrations, not least from the sound coming out of your speakers as the LP is playing. And we like reverb: it sounds warmer, more natural etc. (This is why recording engineers add it.) In other words, the so-called “analogue sound” is felt to be superior to "digital sound" because it has extra reverb added during playback, and we like reverb. But it’s not what’s in the original signal. Indeed, arguably the higher you go up the TT chain and the better the TT’s isolation is (think SME!), the less reverb will get through to the cartridge and the more the TT will sound like a digital source.
In conclusion, it’s possible to get a clean digital signal with little outlay, and if your DAC and amp are good (and that's where I'd spend my money, and on speakers too, of course), the result will be more transparent than from a TT. Whether you like it or not is a different matter though …
Anyway, that's how I see things now. But I still have a fair bit to learn.
:santa:
Matt
Deep breath.
I’ve heard some high-end digital sources through my system, e.g. CDPs from Audio Research and Copland. But so far I haven’t heard any significant difference between them and the very cheap source I use. (I’m using a Synology NAS via USB. Including 4TB of hard disks, the Synology cost me a bit over £300.) Having said that, the Synology is piping into a Devialet, which combines a very good DAC with a supremely transparent and dynamic amp. Because the digital signal via USB is asynchronous, and because the Devialet’s DAC is so good, digital jitter is non-existent.
I have another digital source: a heavily modded Sonos Connect piped into the Devialet via SPDIF. The Synology via USB sounds better to me than the Sonos.
But the key thing is: I get none of the digital harshness or coldness or artificiality that people talk about.
Second point. Modern music is recorded in an aseptic environment. Nasty echoes and reverb are eliminated in the studio, as these would muddy the sonic image that the studio engineers are working with. If you want to edit sound, best exclude all the nasties at the outset. Then what normally happens is that reverb is added digitally in order to make the sound warmer and more natural. (It’s ironic that most contemporary recordings, even what you hear on a vinyl disk, are the product of digital processes.)
Here’s a hypothesis for you. Analogue reply on a TT adds yet more reverb. No matter how well isolated a TT is, there'll inevitably be lots of reverb picked up by the cartridge from ambient vibrations, not least from the sound coming out of your speakers as the LP is playing. And we like reverb: it sounds warmer, more natural etc. (This is why recording engineers add it.) In other words, the so-called “analogue sound” is felt to be superior to "digital sound" because it has extra reverb added during playback, and we like reverb. But it’s not what’s in the original signal. Indeed, arguably the higher you go up the TT chain and the better the TT’s isolation is (think SME!), the less reverb will get through to the cartridge and the more the TT will sound like a digital source.
In conclusion, it’s possible to get a clean digital signal with little outlay, and if your DAC and amp are good (and that's where I'd spend my money, and on speakers too, of course), the result will be more transparent than from a TT. Whether you like it or not is a different matter though …
Anyway, that's how I see things now. But I still have a fair bit to learn.
:santa:
Matt
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