Where to begin?

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jimbob
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Where to begin?

Unread post by jimbob »

Hi guys,

So I'm sorted on the power amp and speaker side of things. I'm going to pick up a cheap single input passive pre that'll have to do me until I have funds for a P50. I'm torn between Tidal and Qobuz for my streaming but I'm leaning towards Qobuz. For those of you with Qobuz, how do you stream it? What components do you use for your source?
Squeezebox Touch - Cambridge Audio Azur (pre) - Mycetias 250A Power Amp - Mycetias V2 Speakers

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Re: Where to begin?

Unread post by TheMadMick »

Have you seen the Tisbury passive. About £160.00 new and it has 3 inputs. Gets good write ups. My son has one and he seems to enjoy it.
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jimbob (Sun Aug 07, 2022 2:27 pm)
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Re: Where to begin?

Unread post by Fretless »

If you can find one, the Schiit Sys is a good passive preamp with 2 inputs and should be well under 100 quid.


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Tidal / Qobuz streaming can via devices from Sonos or Bluesound, for example. Or you could go the hobbyist route of Raspberry Pi SBC's.

:ugeek:
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jimbob (Sun Aug 07, 2022 2:26 pm)

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Re: Where to begin?

Unread post by Shevans »

Amazon Music is good and cheap, Tidal gets messy as most of the hires stuff is MQA and then you need the hardware / DAC that is compatible.

As for a budget streamer have a look at the Wiim mini streamer.

Edit… I actually use Bluesound hardware.
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jimbob (Sun Aug 07, 2022 2:27 pm)

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Re: Where to begin?

Unread post by savvypaul »

If you're only going to be using a single source, then you may not need a preamp. A DAC with a built in volume control can be used directly into the A80s. I've used my RME DAC into the little S80 and the M600s. You may even find a one box streamer / DAC / pre.

If you're going multiple sources then you might well pick up a secondhand (pre 2019) P50. They should sell secondhand for around £100, depending on exact age and condition. It can be upgraded to the latest SA spec at any time.
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jimbob (Sun Aug 07, 2022 3:22 pm)
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Re: Where to begin?

Unread post by jimbob »

I'm looking at something like the dacmagic 200m which looks to have volume control. I'm guessing something like this would be ideal for streaming Qobuz or similar from a phone/tablet?
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Re: Where to begin?

Unread post by Fretless »

I may be wrong. But my DacMagic has a volume control only for the headphone output and (I think) not for line-out. I'll have to check that.

Upstairs:
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Pro-Ject 1.2 + Grado Sig Jr + Cambridge Alva Duo
DigiVolumio PC + Kiss DP-500 + Sabaj A20d
NVA: P50sa - Cube2 - SSP - LS6+ Sabaj A10a (x2)
Downstairs:
Vinyl
Logic DM101 + Syrinx LE1 + Grado Sig MCX
DigiDenafrips Ares II + Volumio PC + Cambridge CXC
NVA: P50 - BMU+ Aiyima A07 MAX (x2) + Arcam One
HP: HifiBerry Digi+ PRO + Sabaj A10d
Office:
Allo DigiOne SIG + SMSL M300se + Douk G4 (x2)
Mission 760 + Monolith THX AAA 887
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Re: Where to begin?

Unread post by CycleCoach »

If you mean streaming via Bluetooth (which will work fine,) you are only going to get MP3 quality. Not a problem in itself, but something to be aware of.
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Re: Where to begin?

Unread post by jimbob »

Hmm... I'm going to take a look at the Bluesound streamers. I don't mind paying up to £500
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Re: Where to begin?

Unread post by antonio66 »

Ask Ant on here to make you a passive pre, as for streamers the Node gets good reports but here's some other suggestions

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/234640275621 ... Sw1UBi4~QF

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/185520855576 ... SwE3Ji57PU

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/143861422449 ... Sw9-9fvT02
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jimbob (Mon Aug 08, 2022 6:23 pm)

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