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Computer Audio..Stream or download?

Fellow Audiophiles,

Until now, i never cared for music streaming or downloads, simply because of compression. I owned fairly large selection of CD's, SACD's, DTS and DVD audio discs. DTS and DVD audio are long gone and SACD's are now pretty much limited to classical titles. I have been watching the digital trend pretty closely..it seems that we have evolved from digital downloads to now streaming. For sake of convenience, i have installed Sonos in couple of rooms. In my HT setup, Sonos just couldn't live up to high standards set by Krell and Raysonic. The streaming from Spotify, Amazon and Rhapsody is just average (flat and dull most times).

I am looking for ideas and feedback based on your experiences with high-res downloads. I am only interested in listening to high-rez / DSD64 or DSD128 files.

Please respond with your recommendations on DSD software and DAC's/Players.

MY Equipments:
Classe SSP-800 / CA-2200 / CA-5200
Krell Cipher
Raysonic CD-128
B&W 803s/804s/HTM2s/SCMS
Audience Au24 SE - IC's, Speaker, Power and Digital Cables
Audience AR6-TSSD/AR2-TSSD
128x128lalitk
bifwynne
2,069 posts
 
Got a question about Tidal streaming. How do you do it??

I have a wireless HP PC. Do I use that as the "receiver" and then hook my PC up to the DAC in my DEQX PreMATE?? Check my system for details on my gear.

Btw, if I have to use my PC to stream Tidal, does that detract from the sound quality? If so, is there a better way to get the music into my analogue based system?

Sorry for the simplistic questions. Still catching up to the 21st (twenty-first) century.

Cheers and thanks,

BIF
arh
366 posts
 
Install Tidal on your PC. Then run a USB cable from your PC to your dac. You should be good
Alan
bifwynne
2,069 posts
 
cool. I like the responses above about Tidal. Thnx
lalitk's avatar
lalitk OP
1,105 posts
 
I have signed up with Tidal yesterday. The HIFI service is bit expensive, $16.99/mo. if you sign up for 6 months. Otherwise, you pay $19.99. I did notice bit more transparency and overall robust sound in A/B comparison with Spotify. Overall, I was quite impressed with the Tidal sound. Looks like I am going to stick with Tidal and dump Spotify.

I am sure matters would improve with a quality dac or Sonos Connect mod.

Thank you all for great feedback.
beewax
173 posts
 
I dumped Beat Music to Tidal 6 months ago for $10 more and it worth every penny. Best deal ever.
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