Yamaha MusicCast

Hi I have a Yamaha MusicCast Streamer running through a Yamaha amp. My core is a basic Dell PC. Sound through Roon is much better than directly through the MusicCast.

Can anyone recommend a Roon ready piece of kit so I don’t have to keep my PC running?

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Do you just mean as a Core to replace the Dell PC or have I misunderstood? If so, worth looking at ROCK on a NUC - see https://kb.roonlabs.com/Roon_Optimized_Core_Kit .

Hi yes I am looking to replace the Dell pc as core. Thanks for your response. I will check out your suggestion. I am buying a Dragonfly Red and will experiment with this in my Dell to see if this makes any difference to sound quality (not that I am complaining- I was quite amazed at the improvement playing music through Roon made over the MusicCast- I don’t know why that this- if anyone can explain I am all ears!

Sorry, think I may have misunderstood here - I don’t know the Yamaha kit - sounds like you’re using the PC as a Core, Endpoint and now connecting to a USB DAC? There’s loads of folk on here far more knowledgeable than I who will probably have more comprehensive recommendations. Best practice for SQ seems to be to separate the Core from the endpoint via ethernet - something like a ROCK core and RPi endpoint is popular. That said, it’s perhaps more about the sound, convenience and cost that works best for you.

Thanks for your help. Yes I intend to get a USB dac and will see how it goes. Bit of a journey at moment and I am not that literate with the technical stiff so learning as I go. Current set up is

Dell PC

Yamaha xc-50

Yamaha amplifier

Speakers

Hello William,

I have the same hardware as you exempt for 1 main item.

In addition to what you have listed I have another Dell Latitude Laptop with an external USB hard drive setup as my core.

I have it configured for the laptop monitor to Just Go Blank when I close the lid. This is my core. My Dell PC is turned on and off as needed. My iPhone, iPad, Droid Phone, laptop and or any other wireless device can access the Yamaha XC-50 through the MusicCast app and play to my Yamaha receiver.

A re-certified used Dell laptop on Amazon can be purchased for $234 + an external USB (for music files) 1tb hard drive for $55 or 2tb for $69. Also a internal SSD hard drive for $59 for the Roon database.

From here you can setup Roon endpoints throughout your house and have access to all of your music on the Dell laptop core which you can have setup anywhere you like - network connection permitted.

MD