I have the itch to upgrade my streamer - suggestions?
rburgess714
Posts: 616
It has been a while. I have been pretty happy with my setup for some time now and haven't had the urge to upgrade until recently, as I have been reading about Eversolo and HiFi Rose streamers. My current streamer is the Cambridge Audio 851N, which I have no issues with. I want to know if I will get more out of some newer streaming offerings. I only use Tidal as a service and like to use Tidal Connect, not the native Cambridge App. Budget is roughly 2K. Any suggestions?
Living Room
Parasound HINT 6, Yamaha Aventage RX-A 1060, Oppo 103D, Cambridge Audio Azur 851N, KLH Model 5s, Polk CSi A6, Samsung 65" LED
Office
Yamaha A-S501, Auralic Aries Mini, LSiM 703s
Douglas Connection ICs and Cables
Parasound HINT 6, Yamaha Aventage RX-A 1060, Oppo 103D, Cambridge Audio Azur 851N, KLH Model 5s, Polk CSi A6, Samsung 65" LED
Office
Yamaha A-S501, Auralic Aries Mini, LSiM 703s
Douglas Connection ICs and Cables
Comments
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keep it. upgrade the dac- Not Tom ::::::: Any system can play Diana Krall. Only the best can play Limp Bizkit.
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Yeah I mean that's one way to look at it. Since you already have it, you can try using the 851N as a streaming transport and do digital coax out into a different DAC.
Trey says get a Ukrainian tube DAC!
Edit: I see that the 851N also has balanced AES/EBU digital XLR in and out. Cool. -
Abbas is the answer- Not Tom ::::::: Any system can play Diana Krall. Only the best can play Limp Bizkit.
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I went from a 851N to a Lumin U2 Mini (I already have a decent external DAC). I can’t say the change was massive, I did it more for real estate on the rack than for the actual upgrade of it. It’s a nice piece of kit though and right around your budget. Skip is a dealer2 Channel in my home attic/bar/man cave
2 Channel Focal Kanta 3 I Modwright SWL9.0 Anniversary Pre I Modwright PH9.0X I Modwright KWA-150SE I VPI Prime Signature w/ Soundsmith Zephyr MIMC I Lumin U2 Mini I North Star Designs Intenso DAC I Audience OHNO ICs/Audience Furutech FP-S55N and FP-S032N Power Cables/Acoustic Zen Satori I Isotek Sirius -
I found with streamers once you ditch a switching power supply for a high quality linear... If you are just streaming tidal or quobuz the law of deminishing returns is massive.
Going to a linear ps over switching yielded massive gains.
Furthermore cleaning up the signal before it reaches the streamer has yielded insane amounts of performance.- Not Tom ::::::: Any system can play Diana Krall. Only the best can play Limp Bizkit. -
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I replaced my 851n with an Eversolo DMP-A8 in December…
Also just replaced a Yamaha WXC-50 in my POOL system with an A6 (very affordable).
Extremely happy … nice feature is being able to install virtually any music streaming app available that isn’t native to the A8/6 - SiriusXM , for example.
Take a look at the A6 if the A8 is more than you need ..
Both will do Tidal connect HI-rez FLAC.
Endless customization , input / output options and state of the art specs and features .
Both sound fantastic, btw - straight into the amps , no preamp needed.
BkPS Audio S300 , WiiM Ultra , Yamaha wxc-50 , Salk SuperCharged Songtowers , Kimber Kable 4TC, Sony 42” - BEDROOM
B&K EX-442 ( it will go in my casket when I die ... ) , PS Audio 4.6 preamp ( old school , but it still jams on ... ) , Eversolo DMP-A6 , Boston Acoustic voyager 7’s - POOL
Parasound A21, Eversolo DMP-A8 , Kimber Kable 4vs , Ascend Acoustics ELX Ribbon Towers , Sony XBR-A8F 65” OLED - DEN , MAIN system
Onkyo TX-nr609 , Polk atrium 7 , Boston acoustic sound ware (4) , Boston acoustic sub , B&W center , Sharp 65” TV - PATIO -
Going to a linear ps over switching yielded massive gains.
That all depends on the topology and the amount of jitter, common mode noise and other unfiltered A/C signal noise is still left to go downstream. Some switching are better than a LPS. It just depends on so many factors. In general, yes. As a blanket statement? Yeah, no. FWIW.
Tom
~ In search of accurate reproduction of music. Real sound is my reference and while perfection may not be attainable? If I chase it, I might just catch excellence. ~ -
"This may not matter to you, but it does to me for various reasons, many of them illogical or irrational, but the vinyl hobby is not really logical or rational..." - member on Vinyl Engine
"Sometimes I do what I want to do. The rest of the time, I do what I have to." - Cicero, in Gladiator
Regarding collectibles: "It's not who gets it. It's who gets stuck with it." - Jimmy Fallon -
Black market deals at the borders - trade for American cigarettes and Levis.I disabled signatures.
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So I am hearing external DAC which I imagine would be beneficial but that’s another box and upgrading the power supply?
As well as thumbs up on the Lumin and Eversolo.
Considering ditching the AVR as well and doing 2-channel for tv and movies.Living Room
Parasound HINT 6, Yamaha Aventage RX-A 1060, Oppo 103D, Cambridge Audio Azur 851N, KLH Model 5s, Polk CSi A6, Samsung 65" LED
Office
Yamaha A-S501, Auralic Aries Mini, LSiM 703s
Douglas Connection ICs and Cables -
Eversolo is a fantastic product.
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Abbas is in Ukraine but they are shipping no problem- Not Tom ::::::: Any system can play Diana Krall. Only the best can play Limp Bizkit.
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rburgess714 wrote: »Considering ditching the AVR as well and doing 2-channel for tv and movies.
https://forum.polkaudio.com/discussion/199884/2-channel-as-home-theater-stranger-things-editionLiving 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’m strictly a 2 ch system- even for tv …. The A8’s HDMI ARC input allowed me to ditch the AVR - never been happier !
Bkrburgess714 wrote: »So I am hearing external DAC which I imagine would be beneficial but that’s another box and upgrading the power supply?
As well as thumbs up on the Lumin and Eversolo.
Considering ditching the AVR as well and doing 2-channel for tv and movies.
PS Audio S300 , WiiM Ultra , Yamaha wxc-50 , Salk SuperCharged Songtowers , Kimber Kable 4TC, Sony 42” - BEDROOM
B&K EX-442 ( it will go in my casket when I die ... ) , PS Audio 4.6 preamp ( old school , but it still jams on ... ) , Eversolo DMP-A6 , Boston Acoustic voyager 7’s - POOL
Parasound A21, Eversolo DMP-A8 , Kimber Kable 4vs , Ascend Acoustics ELX Ribbon Towers , Sony XBR-A8F 65” OLED - DEN , MAIN system
Onkyo TX-nr609 , Polk atrium 7 , Boston acoustic sound ware (4) , Boston acoustic sub , B&W center , Sharp 65” TV - PATIO
