Hello,
I am new here, thank you all in advance for sharing advise or redirecting me to another topic if I am at the wrong place! Also, it is been only two years since I’ve entered the audiophile/hifi world, so please forgive me if you see any non-sense thoughts here.
I am looking for a 1-2k $ option to stream, decode and properly drive a pair of new coming Meze Empyrean, but with a few constraints :
About the sound, I like natural yet detailed and warm signatures. I think I am more on the ‘naturalistic’ side than an analytical listener. My home stereo set-up is a Hegel H90, sourced by either vinyl (Rega P3 into Moon audio phono preamp) or ifi zen stream via tidal / Roon into B&W 603 AE. I really enjoy the atmosphere, detailed and natural sounding from this set up and somehow wish to get that type of musicality with my coming Empy.
Here is a list of a few tracks on which I usually judge the hardware sound rendering and which quite well represent my music taste spectrum for now :
I have been looking at A LOT (I lost myself several times) of DAC/amp reviews, and so far here are the options I am considering :
Streamer source + DAC : Matrix audio mini i3 pro. From what I’ve been able to find online, it is quite the only option for my streaming requirements. Any other suggestion? I think the price (around 1k) is a little to high especially since it needs a stacked amp to properly give credit to the Empyrean.
Amplifier : Here is my problem, I feel like I am attracted by tube amp (which btw, I’ve never heard from) warmth, but yet natural and detailed. And tube amplifiers are not meant to drive planars, are they? Does this also apply to the Empyrean? So far, I have considered :
Any perfect fit? Of course, an all-in-one device such would be much appreciated but I doubt it exists in my price range.
Apologies for this long trend introduction and for my rough English.
Cheers
Remi
I am new here, thank you all in advance for sharing advise or redirecting me to another topic if I am at the wrong place! Also, it is been only two years since I’ve entered the audiophile/hifi world, so please forgive me if you see any non-sense thoughts here.
I am looking for a 1-2k $ option to stream, decode and properly drive a pair of new coming Meze Empyrean, but with a few constraints :
- The smaller, the better, I intend to move this setup from a room to another.
- Tidal Connect and/or Roon readiness. My only audio source is streaming. So a Wifi connected device is absolutely mandatory.
- Loss less from the source to headphones, forget about bluetooth. MQA full decoding appreciated.
- I cannot afford a Naim Atom HE.
- Shanling EM5 is (IMO) a total disaster in terms of user interface, built-in android, and is not even impressive in terms of sound, especially in the mid-range. I am bringing it back to my local retailer after a week of testing.
- Shipping to canda.
- I wish not to play with a chromecast nor a Rasp.
About the sound, I like natural yet detailed and warm signatures. I think I am more on the ‘naturalistic’ side than an analytical listener. My home stereo set-up is a Hegel H90, sourced by either vinyl (Rega P3 into Moon audio phono preamp) or ifi zen stream via tidal / Roon into B&W 603 AE. I really enjoy the atmosphere, detailed and natural sounding from this set up and somehow wish to get that type of musicality with my coming Empy.
Here is a list of a few tracks on which I usually judge the hardware sound rendering and which quite well represent my music taste spectrum for now :
- Pink Floyd, Shine on you crazy diamond
- Mike Oldfield, Tubular bells
- Harmonium, Comme un fou
- Rush, La Villa Strangiato
- Emancipator, Time for space
- Chick Corea & Hiromi, Duet/ Spain
I have been looking at A LOT (I lost myself several times) of DAC/amp reviews, and so far here are the options I am considering :
Streamer source + DAC : Matrix audio mini i3 pro. From what I’ve been able to find online, it is quite the only option for my streaming requirements. Any other suggestion? I think the price (around 1k) is a little to high especially since it needs a stacked amp to properly give credit to the Empyrean.
Amplifier : Here is my problem, I feel like I am attracted by tube amp (which btw, I’ve never heard from) warmth, but yet natural and detailed. And tube amplifiers are not meant to drive planars, are they? Does this also apply to the Empyrean? So far, I have considered :
- Cayin HA-1A MK2,
- Monolith Liquid Platinum
- Tor Roger (however, I’ve read it cannot really drive the Meze)
- On the solid-state side of things, Drop THX AAA 789 or any comparable alternative?
Any perfect fit? Of course, an all-in-one device such would be much appreciated but I doubt it exists in my price range.
Apologies for this long trend introduction and for my rough English.
Cheers
Remi