Advice-Should I get an 851N
jonicont
Posts: 281
My current digital set up--Hard drive with 1600 cd's (flac) and maybe 2 dozen 192 hi-rez files>computer>Squeezebox Touch (cat 5 to the router)>Wyred for Sound Dac1(via coax)>preamp. I'm pretty much 99% vinyl these days (1500 records) and use the digital front end to preview records on Spotify before buying. I'm pretty happy with the way the cd's sound. Will the 851N be a significant improvement or am I just itching for a new toy
DynaudIo Evoke 30, VPI Prime, Soundsmith Zephyr MKIII, PS audio Stellar phono pre, McCormack DNA 0.5 Gold, ARC LS-17se, Eversolo dmp A8, MIT AVT MA ic’s and speaker cables, ps audio stellar power plant 3
Comments
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Personally I would spend the money on a better DAC, or a better streaming transport such as the Auralic Aries G1.
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To answer the OP's original question, the 851 will be a significant improvement over your current setup.
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My current digital set up--Hard drive with 1600 cd's (flac) and maybe 2 dozen 192 hi-rez files>computer>Squeezebox Touch (cat 5 to the router)>Wyred for Sound Dac1(via coax)>preamp. I'm pretty much 99% vinyl these days (1500 records) and use the digital front end to preview records on Spotify before buying. I'm pretty happy with the way the cd's sound. Will the 851N be a significant improvement or am I just itching for a new toy
Is there a make or break price point here?? Do you like the idea of more seperates as you are asking about a specific player which I have spent a lot of time with. The 851N is a great stand alone and sounds great. Wired or wireless, easy to use with a great App. We all know skys the limit on what ya can spend on a pre amp streaming DAC so hone in on what's important to you. Is this something you want to get and be done ,with it?? If so the 851N wasn't the one for me to do that with, but was a cool introduction to what could be done with a stand alone, accessing your files wheather or not on an external HD or (what I now know to be the best route for large libraries) A NAS!
I think the 851N is a great idea if you aren't looking for that magic that I also now know a great DAC will deliver!! Once that sound bites your ears, you are DONE!!"if it's not fun, it's not worth it & remember folks, "It's All About The Music"!!
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I do think any of you actually read the post
. @jonicont states that he mainly listens to vinyl and just uses streaming to preview albums through spotify, which is NOT lossless. Seems like a big fat waste of $1000+ to me... Living Room 2.2: Usher BE-718 "tiny dancers"; Dual DIY Dayton audio RSS210HF-4 Subs with Dayton SPA-250 amps; Arcam SA30; Musical Fidelity A308; Sony UBP-x1000es
Game Room 5.1.4: Denon AVR-X4200w; Sony UBP-x700; Definitive Technology Power Monitor 900 mains, CLR-3000 center, StudioMonitor 350 surrounds, ProMonitor 800 atmos x4; Sub - Monoprice Monolith 15in THX Ultra
Bedroom 2.1 Harmon Kardon HK3490; Bluesounds Node N130; Polk RT25i; ACI Titan Subwoofer -
He said he has 1,600 ripped CDs.
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I'm pretty much 99% vinyl these days (1500 records) and use the digital front end to preview records on Spotify before buying.Living Room 2.2: Usher BE-718 "tiny dancers"; Dual DIY Dayton audio RSS210HF-4 Subs with Dayton SPA-250 amps; Arcam SA30; Musical Fidelity A308; Sony UBP-x1000es
Game Room 5.1.4: Denon AVR-X4200w; Sony UBP-x700; Definitive Technology Power Monitor 900 mains, CLR-3000 center, StudioMonitor 350 surrounds, ProMonitor 800 atmos x4; Sub - Monoprice Monolith 15in THX Ultra
Bedroom 2.1 Harmon Kardon HK3490; Bluesounds Node N130; Polk RT25i; ACI Titan Subwoofer -
So he has 1,600 ripped CDs that he doesn't listen to?
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So he has 1,600 ripped CDs that he doesn't listen to?
That’s what he said dude, not me 🤪Living Room 2.2: Usher BE-718 "tiny dancers"; Dual DIY Dayton audio RSS210HF-4 Subs with Dayton SPA-250 amps; Arcam SA30; Musical Fidelity A308; Sony UBP-x1000es
Game Room 5.1.4: Denon AVR-X4200w; Sony UBP-x700; Definitive Technology Power Monitor 900 mains, CLR-3000 center, StudioMonitor 350 surrounds, ProMonitor 800 atmos x4; Sub - Monoprice Monolith 15in THX Ultra
Bedroom 2.1 Harmon Kardon HK3490; Bluesounds Node N130; Polk RT25i; ACI Titan Subwoofer -
I guess we'll have to wait for clarification from the OP.
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Well, I'm 65yo. Started taking care of my vinyl around '72 (had to rebuy everything from the 60's) and they're all in excellent condition. Started with cd's in the mid 80's for convenience when my career got in the way (Physician). Got back into vinyl around 2008. I still listen to new music--mostly in the Americana vein but I'm still down for a good headbang. I love live music and got to about 75 shows a year-mostly small clubs (I'm retired). So yeah, I don't listen to cd's all that much. My digital front end is going on 10 years and I thought that it's probably getting a little long in the tooth. That seems to be the general consensus. I'm just looking for something reasonable that would be sufficient for my needs.DynaudIo Evoke 30, VPI Prime, Soundsmith Zephyr MKIII, PS audio Stellar phono pre, McCormack DNA 0.5 Gold, ARC LS-17se, Eversolo dmp A8, MIT AVT MA ic’s and speaker cables, ps audio stellar power plant 3
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The 851N would serve you well.oh..& Im only 5 years behind ya.😄"if it's not fun, it's not worth it & remember folks, "It's All About The Music"!!
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Do u listen to CDs? Or mostly vinyl? If the latter i just think it’s a waste of money that could be spent on upgrading cartridge, platter, etc. unless you just have $$$ burning a hole in ur pocket, then by all means 😎Living Room 2.2: Usher BE-718 "tiny dancers"; Dual DIY Dayton audio RSS210HF-4 Subs with Dayton SPA-250 amps; Arcam SA30; Musical Fidelity A308; Sony UBP-x1000es
Game Room 5.1.4: Denon AVR-X4200w; Sony UBP-x700; Definitive Technology Power Monitor 900 mains, CLR-3000 center, StudioMonitor 350 surrounds, ProMonitor 800 atmos x4; Sub - Monoprice Monolith 15in THX Ultra
Bedroom 2.1 Harmon Kardon HK3490; Bluesounds Node N130; Polk RT25i; ACI Titan Subwoofer -
My current digital set up--Hard drive with 1600 cd's (flac) and maybe 2 dozen 192 hi-rez files>computer>Squeezebox Touch (cat 5 to the router)>Wyred for Sound Dac1(via coax)>preamp. I'm pretty much 99% vinyl these days (1500 records) and use the digital front end to preview records on Spotify before buying. I'm pretty happy with the way the cd's sound. Will the 851N be a significant improvement or am I just itching for a new toy
Nothing wrong with itching for a new toy! IMO of course! I just got an 851N, and love it!Basement: Polk SDA SRS 1.2tl's, Cary SLP-05 Pre with ultimate upgrade,McIntosh MCD301 CD/SACD player, Northstar Designs Excelsio DAC, Cambridge 851N streamer, McIntosh MC300 Amp, Silnote Morpheus Ref2, Series2 Digital Cables, Silnote Morpheus Ref2 Series2 XLR's, Furman 15PFi Power Conditioner, Pangea Power Cables, MIT Shotgun S3 IC's, MIT Shotgun S1 Bi-Wire speaker cables
Office: PC, EAR Acute CD Player, EAR 834L Pre, Northstar Designs Intenso DAC, Antique Sound Labs AV8 Monoblocks, Denon UDR-F10 Cassette, Acoustic Technologies Classic FR Speakers, SVS SB12 Plus sub, MIT AVt2 speaker cables, IFI Purifier2, AQ Cinnamon USB cable, Groneberg Quatro Reference IC's
Spare Room: Dayens Ampino Integrated Amp, Tjoeb 99 tube CD player (modified Marantz CD-38), Analysis Plus Oval 9's, Zu Jumpers, AudioEngine B1 Streamer, Klipsch RB-61 v2, SVS PB1000 sub, Blue Jeans RCA IC's, Shunyata Hydra 8 Power Conditioner
Living Room: Peachtree Nova Integrated, Cambridge CXN v2 Streamer, Rotel RCD-1072 CD player, Furman 15PFi Power Conditioner, Polk RT265 In Wall Speakers, Polk DSW Pro 660wi sub
Garage #1: Cambridge Audio 640A Integrated Amp, Project Box-E BT Streamer, Polk Tsi200 Bookies, Douglas Speaker Cables, Shunyata Power Conditioner
Garage #2: Cambridge Audio EVO150 Integrated Amplifier, Polk L200's, Analysis Plus Silver Oval 2 Speaker Cables, IC's TBD. -
Hardly takes money to burn to pick.up an 851N. The economy is especially good..market hasn't been bad so OP is probably not sweating a med priced toy like the 851N and unless you have owned one and know it's ease of use..hard to advise.
I'm glad I had one that's no lie."if it's not fun, it's not worth it & remember folks, "It's All About The Music"!!
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I'm in the same boat as the OP physical media wise literally a few thousand,LP's, CD's SACD's, Cassettes probably a good 1500 digital files, and probably more than I need even got a lot of stuff I haven't listened to yet.
I do Flac, WAV, MWA lossless, ALAC, some Mp3s whatever I can get my hands on. I stream the files on laptops using the DAC in my Marantz 15S2B, my Oppo 105D, and my Musical Fidelety Dac yeah three rigs that run downloads on laptops.
I was wanting a Streamer to actually stream those files with a good app on my Samsung Tablet, but mostly for Streaming Tidal, and find out what MQA is all about. I searched for months and changed my mind several times could of spent around 1500 through 2000 on one, but dont really need another Preamp as some of the nicer ones offer nor do I want one with a built in hard drive. I settled on a Bluesound Node2 and couldn't be happier will be adding a NAS to it and I'm done. I will not be purchasing any new physical stuff as I have enough and have just about everything I need. I will be streaming Tidal for the stuff I haven't got or the new stuff coming out.
I would start with a Bluenode or a Arcam or a Aries mini if you can find one and start there, if you got the available funds go for that 851N, but if you listen to a lot of physical media, I would start with one that would work in your situation, go big if you plan on doing mostly streaming, more budget friendly if you plan on doing both physical and streaming. I don't need anything now that Tidal cant provide me, except for the occasional LP on record store day.Home Theater
Parasound Halo A 31 OnkyoTX-NR838 Sony XBR55X850B 55" 4K RtiA9 Fronts CsiA6 Center RtiA3 Rears FxiA6 Side Surrounds Dual Psw 111's Oppo 105D Signal Ultra Speaker Cables & IC's Signal Magic Power Cable Technics SL Q300 Panamax MR4300 Audioquest Chocolate HDMI Cables Audioquest Forest USB Cable
2 Channel
Adcom 555II Vincent SA-T1 Marantz SA 15S2 Denon DR-M11 Clearaudio Bluemotion SDA 2.3tl's (Z) edition MIT Terminator II Speaker Cables & IC's Adcom 545II Adcom Gtp-450 Marantz CD5004 Technics M245X SDA 2B's, SDA CRS+
Stuff for the Head
JD LABS C5 Headphone Amplifier, Sennheiser HD 598, Polk Audio Buckle, Polk Audio Hinge, Velodyne vPulse, Bose IE2, Sennheiser CX 200 Street II, Sennheiser MX 365
Shower & Off the beaten path Rigs
Polk Audio Boom Swimmer, Polk Audio Urchin
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Tidal for me was a wow moment! It literally opened up a whole universe of music I would never have been exposed to. Known genres to me, or others I just want to check out. Love it!
Basement: Polk SDA SRS 1.2tl's, Cary SLP-05 Pre with ultimate upgrade,McIntosh MCD301 CD/SACD player, Northstar Designs Excelsio DAC, Cambridge 851N streamer, McIntosh MC300 Amp, Silnote Morpheus Ref2, Series2 Digital Cables, Silnote Morpheus Ref2 Series2 XLR's, Furman 15PFi Power Conditioner, Pangea Power Cables, MIT Shotgun S3 IC's, MIT Shotgun S1 Bi-Wire speaker cables
Office: PC, EAR Acute CD Player, EAR 834L Pre, Northstar Designs Intenso DAC, Antique Sound Labs AV8 Monoblocks, Denon UDR-F10 Cassette, Acoustic Technologies Classic FR Speakers, SVS SB12 Plus sub, MIT AVt2 speaker cables, IFI Purifier2, AQ Cinnamon USB cable, Groneberg Quatro Reference IC's
Spare Room: Dayens Ampino Integrated Amp, Tjoeb 99 tube CD player (modified Marantz CD-38), Analysis Plus Oval 9's, Zu Jumpers, AudioEngine B1 Streamer, Klipsch RB-61 v2, SVS PB1000 sub, Blue Jeans RCA IC's, Shunyata Hydra 8 Power Conditioner
Living Room: Peachtree Nova Integrated, Cambridge CXN v2 Streamer, Rotel RCD-1072 CD player, Furman 15PFi Power Conditioner, Polk RT265 In Wall Speakers, Polk DSW Pro 660wi sub
Garage #1: Cambridge Audio 640A Integrated Amp, Project Box-E BT Streamer, Polk Tsi200 Bookies, Douglas Speaker Cables, Shunyata Power Conditioner
Garage #2: Cambridge Audio EVO150 Integrated Amplifier, Polk L200's, Analysis Plus Silver Oval 2 Speaker Cables, IC's TBD. -
Well after deliberating and reading other folks experiences, I felt the CXN would fit my needs. So with the price increase coming, I picked up a refurb (tried to throw Skip some business but unfortunately he couldn't procure one). Ordered on Friday and it came this morning. Not a mark on it. Downloaded the App, hooked it up, and prompted to update the firmware (took 2 minutes). Went through the settings. My library showed up immediately (running Logitech Media Server). Playing 24/192 files and they sound great. More detail and space between the instruments. Slightly more 3D imaging. Connecting to Spotify was a breeze. Don't know if it's better electronics than I had before or the CXN's upscaling algorithim but the MP3's sound really good (for an MP3). More clarity and deeper and tighter bass. The only thing I find odd is no front feet. The front portion of the underside of the chassis protrudes downward (and is covered by a thin rubber strip) to keep the unit level. So the chassis is effectively resting on the shelf. Anyway, very happy with the purchase. Thanks to all who chimed in and for all the info contained in other threadsDynaudIo Evoke 30, VPI Prime, Soundsmith Zephyr MKIII, PS audio Stellar phono pre, McCormack DNA 0.5 Gold, ARC LS-17se, Eversolo dmp A8, MIT AVT MA ic’s and speaker cables, ps audio stellar power plant 3
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Congrats. Great unit.
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Basement: Polk SDA SRS 1.2tl's, Cary SLP-05 Pre with ultimate upgrade,McIntosh MCD301 CD/SACD player, Northstar Designs Excelsio DAC, Cambridge 851N streamer, McIntosh MC300 Amp, Silnote Morpheus Ref2, Series2 Digital Cables, Silnote Morpheus Ref2 Series2 XLR's, Furman 15PFi Power Conditioner, Pangea Power Cables, MIT Shotgun S3 IC's, MIT Shotgun S1 Bi-Wire speaker cables
Office: PC, EAR Acute CD Player, EAR 834L Pre, Northstar Designs Intenso DAC, Antique Sound Labs AV8 Monoblocks, Denon UDR-F10 Cassette, Acoustic Technologies Classic FR Speakers, SVS SB12 Plus sub, MIT AVt2 speaker cables, IFI Purifier2, AQ Cinnamon USB cable, Groneberg Quatro Reference IC's
Spare Room: Dayens Ampino Integrated Amp, Tjoeb 99 tube CD player (modified Marantz CD-38), Analysis Plus Oval 9's, Zu Jumpers, AudioEngine B1 Streamer, Klipsch RB-61 v2, SVS PB1000 sub, Blue Jeans RCA IC's, Shunyata Hydra 8 Power Conditioner
Living Room: Peachtree Nova Integrated, Cambridge CXN v2 Streamer, Rotel RCD-1072 CD player, Furman 15PFi Power Conditioner, Polk RT265 In Wall Speakers, Polk DSW Pro 660wi sub
Garage #1: Cambridge Audio 640A Integrated Amp, Project Box-E BT Streamer, Polk Tsi200 Bookies, Douglas Speaker Cables, Shunyata Power Conditioner
Garage #2: Cambridge Audio EVO150 Integrated Amplifier, Polk L200's, Analysis Plus Silver Oval 2 Speaker Cables, IC's TBD.
