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Up to now, I was streaming music to my amp using bluetooth or a rca/mini-jack cable connecting my phone or my Amazon Fire Tablet. This, of course, was not a hifi solution, and I was really curious about how my 1972 Heresy speakers would sound if connected to a more 'audiophile grade' streamer. I know how they sound with vinyl and a CD-player. But I wanted to find out what it would be like streaming Spotify Connect or local flac files. With the Amazon Fire tablet, I was particularly dissatisfied: 1) the output volume was really low and 2) there was often a popping sound. Take into account that the my TubeCube amp only has 3.5W output. With the cd player, this is enough, with the Fire Tablet, it was not enough. After doing extensive research - also on this forum - and shifting from really cheap solutions to considering the Bluesound Node 2, a Shiit dac and even more expensive DAC/streamers, I thought I had found it: I had an unused Raspberry Pi in the house, and thought, what the hell, why not, I’ll buy a Hifiberry add-on DAC and stream music with the RPI. Soon I realized, however, that this was a way too complicated solution, which could cost a lot of money too, esp. when you start adding linear power supply etc. So I ditched that project as well. So I started looking for the simplest, easiest, smallest solution. And somehow, I found the Advance Acoustic WTX Microstreamer. It is a real streamer: you plug it into your amp (rca aux in), it connects to your wifi network (2.4Ghz only), and you use a tablet or your phone as a remote, using the free Advance Playstream app. It comes with multi-room functionality. Haven’t tested that myself. All this in an apparatus that is smaller than a box of matches. It comes with the Wolfson WM8740 DAC chip, which has a pretty decent reputation (NAD uses its CD players and Cambridge Audio the CXA60). Setup: Comes with a small power unit. The streamer plugs directly into a standard RCA AUX input of the amp. It fits both my Marantz PM5005 amp and my TubeDepot TubeCube 7. So no cable is required. Wifi connection: it has a WPS button and comes with good instructions. It only connects to a 2.4Ghz network. Mine is both 2.5/5Ghz. After trying all different methods and failing, I had just made up my mind and was about to change the settings of my router to 2.4, and just before that, it worked. (it took about 10 minutes). I had the same happening with the wifi dongle of my solar panels. I guess my routers scans every few minutes in the 2.4Ghz area, and I have to wait until it connects. Since then, the WTX Microstreamer has never lost connection. It has no on/off button. It has a blue LED that is far too bright and always on. I considered ductape to shield it from view. At night, I sprays a laserbeam of blue light on the wall and the ceiling. I left it, because its helps me prevent bumping into things when on my way to the toilet. 😴 Sound Quality: To my ears, it sounds like CD quality. I’m using Spotify Family at 320Kbps, and I have also tried playing some commercially bought flac files. They sound marvellous. Rich in the bass frequencies, excellent in the mids and highs. I don’t have a subwoofer. I have no command of the usual audiophiliac vernacular. Let's just say it is "set and forget": I'm enjoying streamed music, as if I was listening to a cd or vinyl record, with access to millions of songs, without having to leave my sofa. Available services: Tidal, Deezer, Spotify Connect (with subscription), Qobuz, and many more. Internet Radio has many channels that sound excellent. Also Belgian radio stations sound much better than their DAB equivalent. Prize: €135, bought at Amazon.de, delivered within a week (in corona-time…) Specs: https://advance-acoustic.com/en/multimedia-and-wireless/wifi-network-player/130-wtx-microstreamer Conclusion: Pro: excellent value for money, great sound Con: no way to connect anything else to this DAC (no usb-connection available) & a very, very bright blue LED that is always on (see second picture)
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