The Dark Side; Digital audio equipment recommendations and setup.

My Onkyo receiver is DLNA certified, which I recently found out is only Windows Media Player compatible. It was my hope to use my old Macbook Pro as a hub and be able to access the content through my WiFi enabled receiver.

Would something like this be able to render the content from the Macbook Pro to my device? https://serviio.org
 
Joe Mac said:
The thing that puts me off the nucleus is that it’s in and around $2000 without a Roon subscription and it’s effectively a bespoke NUC. I priced up a NUC last night. It’s £550ish with a 2TB hybrid HD to hold your digital collection. I don’t think that there is anything in the nucleus that I’ve seen yet that justifies the difference in price.
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You can definitely build a NUC for less, no question. The thing with the Nucleus is that it will work straight out of the box, no question, no fiddling.

Also, on this side of the pond it’s a lot cheaper. Retail is $1,399 and Music Direct has an open box for $1,250. In Ireland O’d probably be looking seriously at the Zen Mini that @Ed Selley mentioned.
 
SnowmaNick said:
You can definitely build a NUC for less, no question. The thing with the Nucleus is that it will work straight out of the box, no question, no fiddling.

Also, on this side of the pond it’s a lot cheaper. Retail is $1,399 and Music Direct has an open box for $1,250. In Ireland O’d probably be looking seriously at the Zen Mini that @Ed Selley mentioned.
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Yeah I get that. But the ROCK software is built as an OS for you by Roon and it’s only screwing in a bit of ram and a couple of HDDs. The instructions don’t make it seem any harder than building and flashing my pi streamer was. If I’m going to have to spend $500 on the Roon software I’m not going to be put off doing a bit of fiddling to make the hardware more affordable lol!
 
If digital is The Dark Side call me Darth fcuking Vader! I listen digitally 100% of the time. Yes, my dear, sensitive, vinyl gets it’s analog signal fed through the internal DAC of my LS50Ws and guess what? It sounds fantastic!

On the true digital side of things I use a Cambridge Audio CXC transport to play CDs, via optical to my KEFs or via coax to my RME ADI-2 DAC for listening on my AKG K872s.

All of my music (24/96 needledrops, AIFF CD rips) gets stored on a 3TB external, is organized by iTunes, and gets coupled with Tidal HiFi in Roon for streaming around the house to various Apple TVs or AirPort Expresses.

I’ll take good music in either form! Why limit one’s self?
 
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My digital setup is ridiculously simple, but since I recently upgraded from a $50 Bluetooth speaker, it sounds great to me and I can put off more expensive upgrades for a while. You ready for this?

For digital, I've got Poweramp on my phone with a 400 GB microSD full of FLACs and mp3s (depending on how important the album is to me). I have a Chromecast Audio hooked up to my Klipsch R15-PMs, and I use Poweramp to cast to my speakers. It works great.
 
SnowmaNick said:
First off, I’m stoked Ed Selley made it over here. He has given lots of great advice, to me and others.

I love my Auralic Aries Mini’s. Especially paired with a linear power supply (either Auralic’s or the SBooster).

I can also recommend the Mytek Liberty, especially with the SBooster, as it’s very close to a Brooklyn for less $$$. I’ve had and enjoyed a Rega DAC-R as well as a few Schiits. I tell people to pay attention to not just the chip, but the power supply and overall layout. The chip isn’t everything.
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I'm looking into potentially buying a preowned Auralic Mini with linear power supply and built-in harddrive...wondering if you have some pros and cons for it versus some of the other options out there? Seems like you can run Roon on it?
 
MikeH said:
I'm looking into potentially buying a preowned Auralic Mini with linear power supply and built-in harddrive...wondering if you have some pros and cons for it versus some of the other options out there? Seems like you can run Roon on it?
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I have consistently heard from many people I trust that the Aries Mini is still the best bang for the buck on the market. A friend of mine that used to be a dealer for Auralic sold off all his stock, but he refuses to sell his last two Minis. He's even used the Mini to showcase his flagship system, feeding into DACs costing $4K+ in a $60K system. He also does so without a linear power supply. To me, that speaks volumes.
He'll use other gear for various things, and Lumin is still his go to, but when it comes to bang for the buck... seems like it's no contest.

So if you have a reliable lead on a reasonably priced Mini, I'd say take it. Worst case is you can sell it at a minimal loss later.

Only caveat - you must use iOS devices for control. I considered going with Auralic and getting a used iPad mini to function as the streamer remote.
 
displayname said:
I have consistently heard from many people I trust that the Aries Mini is still the best bang for the buck on the market. A friend of mine that used to be a dealer for Auralic sold off all his stock, but he refuses to sell his last two Minis. He's even used the Mini to showcase his flagship system, feeding into DACs costing $4K+ in a $60K system. He also does so without a linear power supply. To me, that speaks volumes.
He'll use other gear for various things, and Lumin is still his go to, but when it comes to bang for the buck... seems like it's no contest.

So if you have a reliable lead on a reasonably priced Mini, I'd say take it. Worst case is you can sell it at a minimal loss later.

Only caveat - you must use iOS devices for control. I considered going with Auralic and getting a used iPad mini to function as the streamer remote.
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I am mostly an iOS household, so that works for me. I also have a spare older iPhone as well as an iPad mini lying around that I could use as a remote. My lead is a used one in great shape with a 500gb hdd and the linear power supply for $475 shipped...so I might take the plunge.
 
MikeH said:
I am mostly an iOS household, so that works for me. I also have a spare older iPhone as well as an iPad mini lying around that I could use as a remote. My lead is a used one in great shape with a 500gb hdd and the linear power supply for $475 shipped...so I might take the plunge.
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Honestly, that sounds well worth it. I think the original retail on the Mini alone was $500, and they seem to still go for $300... when you can find them.
Even if you moved purely to streaming you could probably sell off the hdd and even power supply and have a killer streamer for around $200 or less.

I know the DAC in the Mini competes in that $500 price range, but it scales up nicely. You could move up to virtually any DAC you want down the line with the USB out. I think that's probably the biggest sell point of the Mini vs others in this price range. It scales up very well with other DACs.
 
displayname said:
Honestly, that sounds well worth it. I think the original retail on the Mini alone was $500, and they seem to still go for $300... when you can find them.
Even if you moved purely to streaming you could probably sell off the hdd and even power supply and have a killer streamer for around $200 or less.

I know the DAC in the Mini competes in that $500 price range, but it scales up nicely. You could move up to virtually any DAC you want down the line with the USB out. I think that's probably the biggest sell point of the Mini vs others in this price range. It scales up very well with other DACs.
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Yea--they seem very difficult to find and I'd love something that is scalable in nature to upgrade in the future. Thanks so much for the advice and recommendations!
 
MikeH said:
Yea--they seem very difficult to find and I'd love something that is scalable in nature to upgrade in the future. Thanks so much for the advice and recommendations!
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No problem! I saw it listed on ebay, sounds like this exact one. You better make the call before someone else moves on it ;)

When you're ready to talk DACs, you know where to find us 😁
 
Ed Selley said:
Yes, this is a vinyl orientated forum, Yes, the bulk of hardware discussions are going to revolve around analogue hardware and this is the way things should be.

But...

It's foolish to suggest that digital isn't a useful part of our audio systems and that some prudent purchasing decisions can make it rather less incidental than would be the case if we don't like the way it is performing. As such, rather than have it intrude on the general equipment recs thread, I thought it might be worth having a thread that allows for the discussion of things pertaining to ones and zeros. I'll set myself up for a fall by announcing that;

1) I like well sorted digital audio- I'm listening to it as I type this.
2) The bang for your buck that modern digital offers is such that a relatively sensible outlay can give your equipment a 'reserve capability' that can come in very handy when you're too... 'tired and emotional'... to use a turntable.
3) I spend a lot of time playing about with it so if you've got specific questions, ask them and I'll do my best to answer them.

To kick off- this evening's music comes courtesy of this duo;

View attachment 3170

That's an Innuos Zenith Mk3 Server (bottom), configured as a Roon Core sending a 24/88.2 version of Dead Can Dance's Spiritchaser to a Naim Uniti Nova all in one. This isn't bargain basement stuff but I've been playing about with stuff recently that can mirror a lot of the functionality for a lot less so, if you're looking at the 'not the turntable' part of your system and have some questions how you might give it a dose of smelling salts, ask away.
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Seeing this thread for first time. Look forward to picking your brain.
 
MikeH said:
I'm looking into potentially buying a preowned Auralic Mini with linear power supply and built-in harddrive...wondering if you have some pros and cons for it versus some of the other options out there? Seems like you can run Roon on it?
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Sorry for the long delay in responding.

The Mini is an awesome piece of gear and still my favorite anywhere near its price point (*).

As far as pros, it has a fairly solid and robust proprietary OS, especially on an iPad. The ability to use a hard drive makes this a bargain server. You can use multiples across your house for multi room music, with each playing the same or their own songs. It’s a solid Room endpoint (Room needs to be on a different server though, this is just the endpoint). It provides a lot of output options. It has a DAC onboard. Excellent integration with Tidal. Can be used with Airplay.

Cons: Appleverse. The OS isn’t the most stable on an iPhone, especially if you swap apps a lot. The internal DAC doesn’t do MQA (although the info for MQA is passed to an external DAC, so if yours does you’re fine). Sometimes there is a decent lag between a command and something happening. Limited options for streaming services (no Spotify, etc).

* I use linear power supplies and have never used the internal DAC. If you are using the onboard DAC I have heard that some of the Bluesound units may best the Auralic. No first hand experience though. I have used both the coaxial digital output and the USB output and prefer the USB all things considered. I am currently using a Brooklyn+ in one system and a Liberty in the other. They play very well Aries Mini, but I’ve also used and enjoyed DAC’s from Rega, Schiit, and briefly with my Denon AVR-7200WA.
 
SnowmaNick said:
Sorry for the long delay in responding.

The Mini is an awesome piece of gear and still my favorite anywhere near its price point (*).

As far as pros, it has a fairly solid and robust proprietary OS, especially on an iPad. The ability to use a hard drive makes this a bargain server. You can use multiples across your house for multi room music, with each playing the same or their own songs. It’s a solid Room endpoint (Room needs to be on a different server though, this is just the endpoint). It provides a lot of output options. It has a DAC onboard. Excellent integration with Tidal. Can be used with Airplay.

Cons: Appleverse. The OS isn’t the most stable on an iPhone, especially if you swap apps a lot. The internal DAC doesn’t do MQA (although the info for MQA is passed to an external DAC, so if yours does you’re fine). Sometimes there is a decent lag between a command and something happening. Limited options for streaming services (no Spotify, etc).

* I use linear power supplies and have never used the internal DAC. If you are using the onboard DAC I have heard that some of the Bluesound units may best the Auralic. No first hand experience though. I have used both the coaxial digital output and the USB output and prefer the USB all things considered. I am currently using a Brooklyn+ in one system and a Liberty in the other. They play very well Aries Mini, but I’ve also used and enjoyed DAC’s from Rega, Schiit, and briefly with my Denon AVR-7200WA.
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Thanks! I will likely use the onboard DAC and then upgrade later. Looking forward to testing it out! I think I should get it by Friday.
 
Set my up Aries mini. It sounds awesome!! Anybody have any recommendations for some specific digital recordings to test drive it with? I have quite a few FLAC files but I know that just like with vinyl, the remasters + specific mixes lead some sounding incredible and some sounding just okay...Thanks in advance!
 
Ed Selley said:
Do you have Tidal or Qobuz integrated with it yet? If so, the new Rodrigo y Gabriella album (Mettavolution or something) is a bit of a 'bloody hell!' moment.
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I might do a Tidal trial for now and test it out. Forgot I was going to look into Qobuz too! Thanks for the reminder!
 
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