I second or 3rd or whatever the Auralic Aries Mini I think it's great and not just for the price. Upgrade the wall wart power supply to a linear supply like the Sbooster, around $300 and run it to a good outboard DAC and you have a very good sounding wireless system with a great interface. I wirelessly stream from my Synology NAS, think mini file server, but most of my listening these days is via Tidal for all of $20 a month it's like the cd collection of your dreams. Plus pretty sure Auralic offers a free one year Tidal subscription.
Network Audio Player - need some basic advice
I am a bit of a Marantz fanboy and currently listen to mostly vinyl and cd's. I have over 500 of each and never seem to be short of listening options. I use a Marantz PM-11S3 integrated amp and an SA-8004 SACD player.
This weekend my boys pressed me on why I cannot access music online. Being an old fart, I had no response other than to offer to play them some of my vinyl.
Shamed by my spawn, I tried to read up on what was offered by Marantz in this category. With at least four products (NA-6005; NA-8005; NA-11S1; HD DAC-1) spanning in price from $649 to $3,499, I quickly realized I had no idea what the basic selection criteria should be - there are so many formats I am unfamiliar with as well as a variety of input connections. In addition, I am quite concerned about the obsolescence factor given how rapidly these formats seem to change. I also do not understand why some have wireless connectivity and some do not and whether this is a big deal or not as my system is on a different floor than my incoming service.
My SA-8004 has a USB port on the front and coax and optical inputs /outputs on the rear, plus an input labeled "USB DAC" which is an unusual shaped input unlike the usb on the front panel. The PM-11S3 only has RCA inputs.
Can someone give me ( or point me to) a basic primer on this topic? What are the essential features to look for? I am a complete luddite, so it needs to be REALLY basic, i.e. the more acronyms used, the more my ears begin to bleed.
I love my other Marantz gear, and start with a bias towards the brand , but are they offering a good product line for this, or are they behind the curve. If not Marantz, then what does more for the same money? If I cannot plug directly into my internet connection, is there a device I can buy to make a wireless connection?
Given my preference for vinyl and cd's, I do not want to spend a ton of money for another piece of gear, especially if it will be obsolete in a year or two.
Thanks in advance for any guidance you can provide.
This weekend my boys pressed me on why I cannot access music online. Being an old fart, I had no response other than to offer to play them some of my vinyl.
Shamed by my spawn, I tried to read up on what was offered by Marantz in this category. With at least four products (NA-6005; NA-8005; NA-11S1; HD DAC-1) spanning in price from $649 to $3,499, I quickly realized I had no idea what the basic selection criteria should be - there are so many formats I am unfamiliar with as well as a variety of input connections. In addition, I am quite concerned about the obsolescence factor given how rapidly these formats seem to change. I also do not understand why some have wireless connectivity and some do not and whether this is a big deal or not as my system is on a different floor than my incoming service.
My SA-8004 has a USB port on the front and coax and optical inputs /outputs on the rear, plus an input labeled "USB DAC" which is an unusual shaped input unlike the usb on the front panel. The PM-11S3 only has RCA inputs.
Can someone give me ( or point me to) a basic primer on this topic? What are the essential features to look for? I am a complete luddite, so it needs to be REALLY basic, i.e. the more acronyms used, the more my ears begin to bleed.
I love my other Marantz gear, and start with a bias towards the brand , but are they offering a good product line for this, or are they behind the curve. If not Marantz, then what does more for the same money? If I cannot plug directly into my internet connection, is there a device I can buy to make a wireless connection?
Given my preference for vinyl and cd's, I do not want to spend a ton of money for another piece of gear, especially if it will be obsolete in a year or two.
Thanks in advance for any guidance you can provide.
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- 20 posts total
For what it’s worth, the LampizatOr DSD Komputer music server has been amazing in my system! Here’s a link to my review on it: http://ayllonmedia.com/news/the-lampizator-dsd-komputer-an-audio-expo-in-your-living-room-or-not |
I appreciate all the feedback. Much like most other audiophile topics, opinions vary based on perspective. Given that I have spent about $6K for my entire system, I prefer at the moment to take a more modest approach to the budget for this so long as there is good value / $$$. From the above, it would seem the Auralic Aries Mini is a good place to start. jond - can you elaborate a little more on what the benefit of the upgraded power supply? Also, can you give a more specific suggestion as to a brand / model of a "good outboard DAC"? Not sure what the combined cost of the mini +sbooster+DAC adds up to, but would like to be cost conscious. I assume there is no "all in one" piece that gives you the benefits of the above at a similar price point. |
Another great option you may want to look into is the Bluesound Node 2. It goes for $500, sounds great, the BluOS is outstanding, build quality is great and it looks good. I really enjoy mine and it's the main source in my system. You can pick it from Bluesound or many other online retailers and try it for 30-60 days and if you don't love it, return it. I picked mine up at Best Buy knowing if I didn't like it I could return it with no hassles. Good luck with your search. Cheers, Scott |
SJTM: Auralic sells an upgraded linear power supply for around 300.00...... It just provides less noise, better regulation, which is important when you're talking about clocked data.......it's just a nice way to go if you can.....but certainly not mandatory..... As to a DAC, you already have a DAC.....inside your SA8004 It will do up to 24/192 resolution if you feed it through the coax connection which you can do with the Aries mini.... |
- 20 posts total