2. digital
  3. 146738-128124

Newbie questions - Seeking a streamer with the right features - I'm confused!

OK, here is the situation.

I have a boatload of CDs I want to rip to disk and be able to stream.  I also intend to add to my music library by purchasing digital music files.

I want to "playback" digital music in two ways:

1) Connect the output of the streamer to my Parasound P5 preamp.  This preamp has both DAC digital inputs, as well as analog inputs (In other words, this preamp has an internal DAC).  Most streamers I see online have digital outputs, that I can connect to the DAC input on my preamp.  Some streamers have internal DACS, and have analog outputs as well, though it seems wasteful to pay for another DAC.  I want music played back via this method to have the maximum possible fidelity.  At any rate, for this method of playback, I think I understand my options.

2) THIS is where I get confused.  I would also like to stream music from the streamer, to remote speakers in my house.  Can this be done over my local Wi-Fi network, or would the streamer have to be able to stream to Bluetooth?  What streamers out there can do this?  I know I would have to purchase special remote speakers.  I am really confused about my options here.  It's OK if the music streaming via this method not be the best quality, just reasonable quality.

The most I can afford to spend on a streamer is $3000, MAX.  Is there anything out there that I can perform both use cases above?  Given my confusion, I suspect I have some sort of fundamental misunderstanding.

btanchors
junzhang10
166 posts
 
You don't need another streamer. Your laptop or PC is your streamer. You could load Tidal or Qobus app onto your PAC and use USB cable to connect to you Parasound P5. On window based PC, you might need install P5 DAC driver. Mac you don't need.
sbank's avatar
sbank
2,038 posts
 
Are you trying to get the best sound quality within your budget, or are you trying to get the cheapest solution that does what you want? If the latter, do what @junzhang10 suggested. If the former, get a NAS like a Synology or QNAP, add digital drives to the NAS (e.g. Western Digital Red drives). This is a basically a giant hard drive that connects to your router via ethernet cable. Put it in a room other than the audio room, with your router. Then get a good ethernet fed renderer aka network player(e.g. Sonore rendu series, Aurelic Aries (not Mini), etc. These are basically single purpose low computing devices that work to stream your files from the NAS, or playing music streamed from internet services like Tidal or Qobuz. They take ethernet input and the output goes to your DAC input. They are controlled via apps that can run on iPad or eve n phone. By sure to invest in a good linear power supply for the renderer, it makes a huge difference. 
I'm sure @audioengr will chime in with another good approach, but this thinking will get you far and well within your budget with good flexibility for future adaption as your dac, etc. change. 
FWIW, most computer solutions run tons of noisy processes that don't have anything to do with good audio and they are susceptible to electrical noise, EMI.RFI which all make them challenging at best. 
Tons of threads hear and on computeraudiophile have addressed the topic. Cheers,
Spencer
btanchors OP
4 posts
 

In response to sbank's questions:

I am trying to get the best sound quality within my budget - which is up to $3,000 for the streamer solution.

I already have a NAS.  All I need is the right streaming solution.

Thanks for the responses - but so far no one has addressed the #2 use case.  How do I stream from a streamer to remote speakers?  Does this happen over Wi-Fi, or over Blue Tooth?  I noticed the Roon solution seems to be proprietary via WiFi.

So in other words, I want to stream via a hard-wired connection between the streamer and my stereo - that part's easy.  The question is can I also stream to remote speakers?  If so, what streaming solutions allow me to do this?

thyname's avatar
thyname
257 posts
 
What are your remote speakers @btanchors ?
More to discover