New 2 Channel Choices

sk1939

Looking for help on deciding between the following:

Integrated:

HK 3490

NAD C 316BEE

Cambridge Audio Topaz AM10

or

Yamaha A-S500


DAC:

Sumiko Pro-Ject USB Box

or

HRT Music Streamer II

They will be replacing an Onkyo TX-6500MKII which currently takes up too much valuable space. Source with be one of the above DACs, Technics SL-QD33, Samsung DVD-1080P9 for CDs/DVDs, and a tape deck.

ryan4blu

sk1939 wrote: »

Looking for help on deciding between the following:

Integrated:

HK 3490

NAD C 316BEE

Cambridge Audio Topaz AM10

or

Yamaha A-S500


DAC:

Sumiko Pro-Ject USB Box

or

HRT Music Streamer II

They will be replacing an Onkyo TX-6500MKII which currently takes up too much valuable space. Source with be one of the above DACs, Technics SL-QD33, Samsung DVD-1080P9 for CDs/DVDs, and a tape deck.

nice choices. i have a primaluma Prologue two with phonostage that i am looking to sell, but i cant do that until i have 100 post on here. new to this forum on a recommendation. long time bluray.com forum member and audiogoner.

markmarc

Selling a Prologue 2???? That's a nice piece of gear, be careful not to be fooled and go sideways instead of up.

polkfarmboy

ryan4blu wrote: »

nice choices. i have a primaluma Prologue two with phonostage that i am looking to sell, but i cant do that until i have 100 post on here. new to this forum on a recommendation. long time bluray.com forum member and audiogoner.

Stick around and get your 100 + posts and share your experience . This forums the best

What kinda equipment do you have in your rig ryan4blu ?

Tbone289

I love my HRT Music Streamer II. It has great detail at a very attractive price point, IMO. I don't have experience with the Sumiko. If I were buying again, I would consider the Musical Fidelity V-DAC also.

ryan4blu

polkfarmboy wrote: »

Stick around and get your 100 + posts and share your experience . This forums the best

What kinda equipment do you have in your rig ryan4blu ?

just whats in my sig now, but i bought a whole setup from a guy on CL last week that is retired and he was moving. so he listed his whole setup for a price i cant even utter and i bought the whole thing.

what it consisted of was

7.1 axiom speaker setup ( pair of M80 towers, VP150 center, QS8 surrounds, M22 bookshelfs w/stands and EP500 powered sub) all in cherry finish and all mint! also got his denon 4306 receiver, denon 1930ci progressive scan SACD player, panny 3D BD player, 2 VTI audio stands, Music hall mmf-5 turntable and the jewel of it all was the primaluna prologue two integrated amp and by the way it was all MINT!!

so far i sold the music hall and i sold the primaluna today. i basically bought it all to resell. if i were to sell everything and still had the amp left than i may have kept it.

so thats enough babbling

sk1939

Tbone289 wrote: »

I love my HRT Music Streamer II. It has great detail at a very attractive price point, IMO. I don't have experience with the Sumiko. If I were buying again, I would consider the Musical Fidelity V-DAC also.

So which of the three would you choose if you were starting over again?

Tbone289

sk1939 wrote: »

So which of the three would you choose if you were starting over again?

I would buy the HRT Music Streamer II+ again, for its simplicity and portability. I use my DAC with a portable system frequently, consisting of the DAC, a Cambridge Soundworks Model 12, and a laptop. Since the HRT is USB-powered, and only offers one input type (USB), is is very portable and convenient. It sounds very good, and I don't feel like I'm giving up sound quality for the portability.

If I thought I needed the extra inputs that the V-DAC offers, and wasn't as concerned about portability, I would not hesitate to buy the V-DAC.

cnh

I had a NAD C325 and an HK 3490 also had the previous version of that Yamaha. Have to give the nod to the NAD--if you like that kind of sound! Depends on the speaker set?

Of course, your own 'ears' will be 'the' determining factor!

DACs not suire! I'd stick to Music Fidelity in the mid-price range.

Have fun.

cnh

sk1939

Tbone289 wrote: »

I would buy the HRT Music Streamer II+ again, for its simplicity and portability. I use my DAC with a portable system frequently, consisting of the DAC, a Cambridge Soundworks Model 12, and a laptop. Since the HRT is USB-powered, and only offers one input type (USB), is is very portable and convenient. It sounds very good, and I don't feel like I'm giving up sound quality for the portability.

If I thought I needed the extra inputs that the V-DAC offers, and wasn't as concerned about portability, I would not hesitate to buy the V-DAC.

So you think that the HRT is a better DAC than the Pro-ject? It dosen't have to be portable, it just has to sound good. I looked at a Cambridge Audio DacMagic, but $450 is too steep at this point in time.

sk1939

cnh wrote: »

I had a NAD C325 and an HK 3490 also had the previous version of that Yamaha. Have to give the nod to the NAD--if you like that kind of sound! Depends on the speaker set?

Of course, your own 'ears' will be 'the' determining factor!

DACs not suire! I'd stick to Music Fidelity in the mid-price range.

Have fun.

cnh

What do you mean by that "kind" of sound? The speakers are Polk TSi 100's, JBL L50's, or possibly Polk Monitor 60's or Kiplisch RF-42's at a later date.The problem I have is that everything is going to be ordered from Crutchfield, so I won't really get to do a "listening" test on them. How about the Cambridge Audio?

Edit: Or the Onkyo A-5VL?