This has been working very well for me for many years and I would like to upgrade it a bit with a streamer.
From all the things that I’ve seen around the ONLY thing that would really fit my needs is Roon, since I have a big local library that I would like to interact with most of the time.
So, I made a research before coming here, but I got so damn lost. There is no list that I could select from and I feel overwhelmed by the choices. So, I decided to ask the community, since I am not quite the connoisseur in this type of devices.
Features:
Needed
Roon Ready
Great sound quality
Price up to 500euros, but the less, the better
Nice to haves (if any of these drives the price high, then omit them)
Optical input (to connect LG C1)
WiFi connectivity (if this drives the price high, I could live with just ethernet)
Bluetooth 5 connectivity (nice to have)
Any of your help would be very appreciated and thanks for having me in this community.
Cheers!
Hmmm, thanks Bauer.
I’ve been stumbling on this one. I feel it’s a bit over my budget, but maybe if everyone says that it’s worth it I could push some more money.
If you can find a Raspberry Pi - you could use Ropiee with a DAC Hat, or if you like Musical Fidelity - you could track down a used V90 DAC and connect it over USB (I still have a couple and they are still good!)
An alternative is an Allo Boss player - Allo’s stuff is fantastic specs for the money - and with the boss player - you don’t need to find a Raspberry Pi since it has the Pi compute module build in.
Strictly speaking these options aren’t roon ready, but they both run Roon’s bridge software - so you’re unlikely to have any issues.
Several options in at that or around that price point.
Cheapest one would be something based on a Raspberry Pi.
Others include: iFi Zen Stream, Primare NP5 (the MK2 if you fancy MQA), Bluesound Node (2021+ model if you want USB out).
I would go with the Bluesound Node since it comes with a rather nice app and a plethora of streaming services built in. Oh… and it also has a headphone out.
Damn guys, I guess I will be focusing on getting the Bluesound. The reviews are stellar everywhere and I cannot resist that thing.
One more question about it:
I want to connect my TV to the streamer. It has a optical out (check the image at the end)
Are those inputs matching? They seem a bit different to me. The optical in/analog in input that the Node seems like a 3.5mm jack while the one on the TV looks different.
I may give you an option
I am using a LINN Majik DS streamer
It is very good quality I am changing it because it can not reproduce my DSD local library
I bough it two years ago as my first streamer changing from MAC
Te SQ improved significantly
I paid for 800€ Now I sell for 500
This LINN update software regularly but not hardware update available for this model
Have a EQ very good in which you introduce the complete dimension of your roon and you download the righ EQ for your roon,as well giving the right position of speakers and listening position or adapting the EQ to your geometry
It works correctly with my NUC intel in my ethernet
It has RCA output and SPDIF optical and coaxial
No remote control since with roon you control everything
As first streamer with a high quality I can recommend it.It has a very good roon equalization
AceRimmer
(Smoke me a kipper, I'll be back for breakfast!)
#16
That is what is known as a mini toslink port. You will need a 3.5mm mini toslink to regular toslink cable.
Give me a few to find mine and add a photo
Edit…better still…this…
And they work just fine, I used to send toslink from my TV to a Bluesound unit back a couple years ago.
One more thing For this and any other if instead of connecting to Ethernet with RJ45 you introduce beefier the streamer two RJ45 to Fiber converter so First RJ to fiber and second fiber to RJ45 so you can acces the streamer, you get a galvanic isolation from the router and clarity and definition improve clearly
The price of the converters is around 30€ It worth installing it clearly
If you have a swicht then better to install the units between router and swich
I strongly recommend this to everybody
Try to get an used Matrix Audio Mini i-3 (pro) → I’ll sell mine in a few days.
With this item you’ll get a real good DAC, stable Roon Ready device, multiple digital (and one analogue) inputs, Bluetooth, a solid headphone amp, a display with many informations,…
Also here you can use WLAN, but also me, I prefer the cable.
Bill_Janssen
(now wearing snowshoes on my asymmetrical isolation feet)
#19
Let’s point out (again) that regular Ethernet already has galvanic isolation built in. Ethernet requires it. Different devices on the same Ethernet can be a fair distance apart, possibly powered by different distribution networks, though that’s unlikely in residential settings. So all connections are transformer-coupled. No fiber segment required.
The new Bluesound Node is pricier than the Node 2i, so I bought myself a second Bluesound Node 2i off of Amazon for $350, it looks brand new, came with all the interconects and the the manual and works just fine. It might even be refurbished, Amazon thanked me for giving it a second life. This is the first time I have purchased used consumer electronics and I am happy with it.
