Source options: Alexa, echo, MacBook Pro, others

[stephen sell]

I recently bought a nice pair of 1980 Heresy speakers. After refinishing tge outsides I took Michael Crites recommendations and replaced the capacitors, mid horn gasket and the tweeters. I thought they sounded great before and to me they sound great afterwards. I’m not able to discern the differences. 
 

I also purchased a Willsenston R300 tube amp. 
 

I have experimented with my Amazon echo as a source by just telling Alexa to play something. I’ve Ali connected my iPhone to the echo dot via Bluetooth. And I’ve also connected my MacBook Pro directly into amp.  My perception is that the MacBook direct produces the best sound.  
 

I want a simple system. I like the convenience of telling Alexa to play something, but I’m not wedded to that. 
 

All of these devices must have a dac, correct?  If I connect my iPhone via Bluetooth to the echo dot  is the dac in the iPhone used or the dac in the echo?

 

Ken Rockwell suggested to me that Apple’s DACs were very good. 
 

How do I  keep it simple and get the best quality sound?  Thanks for your help. 

[ned]

Welcome to the forum. 

 

Simplicity is not my strong suit, but it seems like you might consider getting a front end for your fine amp. 

 

A streamer like the Bluesound node (I haven't heard it;  just an example) would serve as a DAC and is controllable from your phone. It would support bluetooth in and out which opens up some options also. There are lots of streamers around and it is a growing segment. 

 

A preamp such as a Parasound P6 would provide a good DAC that you can plug into via USB from your Mac laptop (as in my system, I think it's great) or optical which is good for a CD transport or bluetooth unit. A preamp will provide lots of options if you go down the rabbit hole into HiFi. It will also give your amp a consistent signal and a volume knob if you were to go with multiple inputs, home theater, etc. I listed a mid-priced model. There are zillions of choices. 

 

Your excellent speakers and amp are a foundation from which you could build whatever you like. You're very much on the right path starting with speakers and working up the signal chain. 

 

Enjoy!

[Bubo]

Draw a diagram of your current set up

include the connections and types

laptop is your best dac, a c- at best.

get an inexpensive usb dac for $100 or less

connected to the pc

Emotiva big ego is good

check amazon, there are many good ones.

I haven't studied blutooth, but suspect it is bandwidth limited.

get a wireless keyboard

connect pc to tv hdmi

can also buy an hdmi upscaler later for better pic if needed

[Shakeydeal]

For simple and relatively inexpensive, look at a Blusesound Node. You can stream Tidal, Qobuz or Amazon and it has a decent sounding DAC built in and digital outs if you want to upgrade. The onboard DAC will be miles ahead of an iPhone.

 

If you care about sound quality what you don't want is Bluetooth and/or compressed audio.

[Vital]

On 5/11/2023 at 6:05 PM, stephen sell said:

I recently bought a nice pair of 1980 Heresy speakers. After refinishing tge outsides I took Michael Crites recommendations and replaced the capacitors, mid horn gasket and the tweeters. I thought they sounded great before and to me they sound great afterwards. I’m not able to discern the differences. 
 

I also purchased a Willsenston R300 tube amp. 
 

I have experimented with my Amazon echo as a source by just telling Alexa to play something. I’ve Ali connected my iPhone to the echo dot via Bluetooth. And I’ve also connected my MacBook Pro directly into amp.  My perception is that the MacBook direct produces the best sound.  
 

I want a simple system. I like the convenience of telling Alexa to play something, but I’m not wedded to that. 
 

All of these devices must have a dac, correct?  If I connect my iPhone via Bluetooth to the echo dot  is the dac in the iPhone used or the dac in the echo?

 

Ken Rockwell suggested to me that Apple’s DACs were very good. 
 

How do I  keep it simple and get the best quality sound?  Thanks for your help. 

Well, YMMV of course but I went through a lot of different things and to me and my ears, buying an Amazon Fire TV "the cube not the Firestick" and using Amazon Music gives me the best sound as far as streaming music. I also had Pandora, Spotify and TIDAL. I have Apple TV as well. In my setup I hardwired the Fire Cube TV straight to the fiber optic cable coming out of the wall. Ultra HD music on Amazon Music is up to 24/192 so it is very solid. I'm happy with the setup and very nice selection of music in a lot of formats from 16/44 to 24/192 and Dolby Atmos. Just depends on the track. 

[Marvel]

On 5/11/2023 at 7:05 PM, stephen sell said:

All of these devices must have a dac, correct?  If I connect my iPhone via Bluetooth to the echo dot  is the dac in the iPhone used or the dac in the echo?

From iPhone to the Echo remains digital. The DAC in the Echo would output analog into the amp. 

 

The DAC from your Macbook would probably be better than the Echo.

[fwphoto]

Here's my signal path:

 

iPad Pro (Apple Music) > KACES USB DA-151 DAC > Dynaco PAS3 (Spare Input) > Dynaco ST70 > Forte IIs

 

Even though I have a very good CD player & turntable I usually use the iPod Pro. Sounds great through my system & is very versatile. I love Apple Music's Essentials. Very nicely curated. Plus, I don't have to mess with it like I do with records or CDs.

 

Frank