Tony J Posted October 16, 2017 Share Posted October 16, 2017 (edited) Hi All, Currently I have been using my son's ps 4 to stream spotify premium via optical to my Peachtree pre to Peachtree 220 amp to Forte II. I'd like to free up the ps 4 and improve the source as well and maybe try Deezer hifi for lossless music. ( not sure if I'm gonna try Tidal or MQA). My budget is around 300 to 600. I've been looking at Sonos connect, bluesound node2, arcam rplay or even Chromecast audio. I'd prefer one with and Ethernet connection. Also If I went with the CCA or one of the others would it be better sending the signal digitally right to my Peachtree pre or even using a schiit bifrost dac for better sound quality. Also ease of apps to control from phone and or computer is important. Thanks in advance... Tony Edited October 16, 2017 by Tony J Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wstrickland1 Posted October 16, 2017 Share Posted October 16, 2017 I have an Oppo Sonica heading my way. Not sure if it does everything you're wanting or not but I'll hopefully be receiving it in the next day or so and will let you know what I think. I know it has Spotify and Tidal support, not sure about Deezer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony J Posted October 16, 2017 Author Share Posted October 16, 2017 Thanks I'll look into the Sonica and your feedback with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wstrickland1 Posted October 16, 2017 Share Posted October 16, 2017 I'm pretty sure nobody on this forum has one but there are a lot with the disc player/dac units. I am anxious to try it out. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rplace Posted October 16, 2017 Share Posted October 16, 2017 I'm not much of a music streamer, but I have a large collection of CDs ripped to FLAC. In the past I've had a Turtle Beach Audiotron, Several offerings from Slim devices/Logitech. I have a popcorn hour and others I can't remember. BARNONE there is nothing out there with a better user experience IMO than Sonos. The 1s 3s and 5s all sound great for what they are. I have two Connects hooked up to "real" audio systems in my basement and first floor. I have my music all over the house now and could not be happier given the various other systems I've had. The best thing about Sonos is it just works. I'm a software developer by profession so I'm pretty critical of user interfaces. Setting up, updating or just plain using the Sonos kills them all, no contest. IMHO, what people want from these things are convenience not high end audio. Sonos delivers simplicity in spades. I've got a HT with Khorns and Heresies with four 2-channel amps and a Sunfire processor. My friend finished his basement off a year ago and got the Sonos soundbar, sub and 1s for surrounds. Given the time, money and effort I think he won on some levels. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony J Posted October 16, 2017 Author Share Posted October 16, 2017 OPPO Sonica is a little more than I wanted to spend but considering the reviews and having most of what I'm looking for its on my short list. Only thing I'm not sure if or how I can play Deezer through it. If anyone can confirm if it's possible please let me know. Thanks Tony Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schu Posted October 16, 2017 Share Posted October 16, 2017 Sony hap... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derrickdj1 Posted October 16, 2017 Share Posted October 16, 2017 4 hours ago, Tony J said: OPPO Sonica is a little more than I wanted to spend It is a bit pricey, lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dirtmudd Posted October 17, 2017 Share Posted October 17, 2017 here's one but it's analog... 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wstrickland1 Posted October 17, 2017 Share Posted October 17, 2017 On 10/16/2017 at 2:09 PM, Tony J said: OPPO Sonica is a little more than I wanted to spend but considering the reviews and having most of what I'm looking for its on my short list. Only thing I'm not sure if or how I can play Deezer through it. If anyone can confirm if it's possible please let me know. Thanks Tony Well according to the email I just received there's a Sonica at my house, but it's not out of the realm of possibility that my wife has already taken it to the UPS Store and shipped it back. I will let you know my impressions as soon as possible 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muel Posted October 17, 2017 Share Posted October 17, 2017 Does any of these choices make it easy for multiple users to access and play "their" music? An example would be each family member being able to play from their Spotify account without too much trouble. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wstrickland1 Posted October 17, 2017 Share Posted October 17, 2017 23 minutes ago, muel said: Does any of these choices make it easy for multiple users to access and play "their" music? An example would be each family member being able to play from their Spotify account without too much trouble. Although not a big deal for me personally I can definitely see where that would be desirable. I will test that out on the Oppo and report back. I really hope the streaming features are solid, otherwise I could have just bought a decent dac. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wstrickland1 Posted October 17, 2017 Share Posted October 17, 2017 The Sonica is very plug and play. I powered it up, downloaded the app and hooked it up to wifi. Open the app and you can select Spotify or Tidal, play music stored on your phone or tablet, from networked servers, usb thumb drives or hard drives and whatever may be connected to the optical, coaxial, async USB or even analog inputs. Loving the ease of using spotify and tidal. Just so dam easy (no computer) and although it has played maybe 5 songs I can tell you this thing sounds very good. Roger Waters, The Last Refugee was amazing actually. It's running thru the Sansui right now but at some point I will try it as a preamp plugged directly in to a Carver amp. It doesn't appear to have Deezer support. It looks like for now you'd have to hook your computer to the asynchronous usb input for that, but with that dac you'll be loving it. Tidal is very good though and Spotify is as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony J Posted October 17, 2017 Author Share Posted October 17, 2017 @wstrickland1 Congratz on the Sonica Ive read many good reviews on it and it sounds like your enjoying it. I actually went with Bluesound Node 2 (got one on ebay new for 390) I would have preferred the Sonica but it was alittle out of my price range. No Deezer support either but I can try out Tidal's MQA. I should have it by the weekend and will post my thoughts. I will play around but think I will use the Burr Brown Dac in the Node instead of the peachtree Pre. Actually is there any benefit of sending the Analog out to my peachtree pre Or should I go straight into the Peachtree 220 amp. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adam2434 Posted October 18, 2017 Share Posted October 18, 2017 The Chromecast Audio will allow multiple users/accounts (on your wifi network) to cast Spotify. Not sure about Deezer, but I think it should work the same way. We have a couple Chromecast Audio in secondary systems connected via optical, and they work well with Spotify Premium. If Spotify was one's only source, the Chromecast Audio is hard to beat for such a low price, IMO. As long as your wifi signal and bandwidth are decent, I would not worry about ethernet vs. wifi...we're not talking about a lot of bandwidth needed for Spotify Premium 320 kbps streaming. For 35 bucks, the Chromecast Audio is a no-brainer to give a spin. I have a Sonos Connect in the main system and we have a Play 5 in the kitchen. The Sonos software and interface is solid and highly-evolved...and you pay for that with their relatively high hardware costs. The majority of my main system listening is with flac files on my PC (ripped from my CDs), and the Sonos interface works flawlessly with the flac files. I also use Spotify Premium with Sonos. One of the cool things about Sonos is that you can create playlists from a mixture of your own files and tracks from Spotify. With Sonos, you associate one Spotify account (not sure if you can associate more than one), but anyone with the Sonos app on your network can control the music selection from streaming services and your library. Also, if you have multiple Sonos units, each can play a separate Spotify stream from the same account. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wstrickland1 Posted October 18, 2017 Share Posted October 18, 2017 41 minutes ago, Tony J said: @wstrickland1 Congratz on the Sonica Ive read many good reviews on it and it sounds like your enjoying it. I actually went with Bluesound Node 2 (got one on ebay new for 390) I would have preferred the Sonica but it was alittle out of my price range. No Deezer support either but I can try out Tidal's MQA. I should have it by the weekend and will post my thoughts. I will play around but think I will use the Burr Brown Dac in the Node instead of the peachtree Pre. Actually is there any benefit of sending the Analog out to my peachtree pre Or should I go straight into the Peachtree 220 amp. Congrats on the Bluesound. I was looking at their products as well. Does it decode MQA? I do and don't understand that tech. I guess the Tidal Masters is MQA? As for going straight in to the pre I think it depends what other sources you're running. So what all else will you be playing music from? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony J Posted October 18, 2017 Author Share Posted October 18, 2017 I plan on mostly playing Tidal and Spotify with it. I am really interested in A B ing Tidals MQA to their CD quality to Spotify 380kbps. I am also in the process of ripping my CDs and playing them (still slightly newish to some of this I'm using EAC for the CDs). And yes the Tidal Masters is MQA. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muel Posted October 18, 2017 Share Posted October 18, 2017 55 minutes ago, Tony J said: I plan on mostly playing Tidal and Spotify with it. I am really interested in A B ing Tidals MQA to their CD quality to Spotify 380kbps. I am also in the process of ripping my CDs and playing them (still slightly newish to some of this I'm using EAC for the CDs). And yes the Tidal Masters is MQA. Exact Audio Copy is great for accurate CD backup! It can take a long time to run but it will catch those errors and often manage to read what would turn into clicks or pops with any of the other applications. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rplace Posted October 18, 2017 Share Posted October 18, 2017 +1 for EAC. Old school looking program and not all the intuitive but really gets the job done. Once you have your entire library ripped to FLAC and stored on a NAS no need to have a computer running anymore. There is a simple free program FlacSquisher that is very configurable. You can point it at your FLAC files anytime you want and make 320 CBR, 128VBR or what ever size you like MP3 when you need something portable and low-fi like for a phone or whatever. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wstrickland1 Posted October 19, 2017 Share Posted October 19, 2017 On 10/18/2017 at 10:00 AM, Tony J said: I plan on mostly playing Tidal and Spotify with it. I am really interested in A B ing Tidals MQA to their CD quality to Spotify 380kbps. I am also in the process of ripping my CDs and playing them (still slightly newish to some of this I'm using EAC for the CDs). And yes the Tidal Masters is MQA. So as I understand it, Tidal Masters is MQA, but what they call Step 1. In order to take it to step 2 you need an MQA capable dac. I wonder what you get if you run Masters thru a non-mqa dac? Is it still MQA Step 1 or just hifi? Also they say you can only get Masters when playing on a pc or mac. Would a streaming dac that natively plays Tidal play Masters? Is the Bluesound MQA and does it stream or is it just a dac? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.