Gerbi Posted February 15 Posted February 15 Hi All. At the moment I'm running a Wiim Pro feeding into a Marantz 40n amp. Ideally I would like to upgrade the Wiim with a streamer that would have a better DAC than the Marantz (AKM AK4490EQ). I could consider an "all in one" and trade in or sell the Marantz if there's something on the market worth considering. The budget would be about $2k. As speakers I'm using a pair of Chario Aviator Nobile. Thank you in advance for the suggestions. Cheers, Alex.
MattyW Posted February 15 Posted February 15 The best I've heard under $2500 is the Hifiman Serenade Jr streamer/NOS discrete R2R DAC/balanced+unbalanced headphone amp. It's an absolute steal given they can be has new for $1100. Next in line is the better known Gustard R26 which really needs no introduction. 2
Piddi Posted February 15 Posted February 15 Get something like the Lindemann Musicbook COMBO Integrated Amplifier. Decently made in Germany, 2x130 watts, perfect for your little 4 ohm desktop speakers. Onboard streaming Dac. Uncle Hans gave it a great review! Half price at Sights & Sounds Otherwise get a Hegel 390 for double the price at $6k… 1
Guest Posted February 15 Posted February 15 1 hour ago, Gerbi said: ... would have a better DAC than the Marantz (AKM AK4490EQ). What is wrong with that DAC chip? Note the SQ of a DAC is the combination of the power supply, analog circuitry and the DAC chip. There is far too much marketing hype focused on a DAC chip....
Gerbi Posted February 15 Author Posted February 15 46 minutes ago, Snoopy8 said: What is wrong with that DAC chip? Note the SQ of a DAC is the combination of the power supply, analog circuitry and the DAC chip. There is far too much marketing hype focused on a DAC chip.... I didn't say there is anything wrong with that. Just looking for suggestions if there could be something sounding better used in a streamer, that's all.
chaddy Posted February 15 Posted February 15 If they bring out a Gen 2 version of the Eversolo DMP-A8 (?) you may get lucky and pick up a discounted Gen 1. 1
crisis Posted February 15 Posted February 15 2 hours ago, Gerbi said: Hi All. At the moment I'm running a Wiim Pro feeding into a Marantz 40n amp. Ideally I would like to upgrade the Wiim with a streamer that would have a better DAC than the Marantz (AKM AK4490EQ). I could consider an "all in one" and trade in or sell the Marantz if there's something on the market worth considering. The budget would be about $2k. As speakers I'm using a pair of Chario Aviator Nobile. Thank you in advance for the suggestions. Cheers, Alex. I found the WIIM Pro to be fairly average, even run into a Chord Qutest. Ive seen gushing reviews of the Bluesound NODE ICON, and WIIM ultra but then I heard pretty good reports for the WIIM Pro.
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