Compact dac/streamer

[Feda]

I am looking to upgrade my hifi and would appreciate a few advices.
I am using Genelec G3 and wants to connect them to a dac/streamer, TV (hdmi) and with a headphone & phono amp. Ideally with different inputs in order to connect a mixer when needed.
I tend more to look at compact separate devices with good quality instead of a all in one Solution.
Any suggestions regarding schiit, Cambridge audio, mini i 4, or other?
Thanks!

 

[staticV3]

Hi @Feda! Welcome to ASR.

TV (hdmi)

Do you want volume control via the TV remote (HDMI-CEC)?

 

[Feda]

Ideally yes

 

[staticV3]

Ideally yes

In that case, I would wait for the upcoming WiiM Ultra.

I know you said that you prefer separates, but with WiiM, I think their All-in-One solutions make a ton of sense. You get so much bang for your buck.

 

[Feda]

Thanks! I read good stuff about wiim streaming but less on the DAC quality. Would you consider an external DAC to wiim?

 

[JeremyFife]

Hi, that HDMI requirement (which is perfectly reasonable) makes options a bit more complicated and potentially expensive. Do you have a budget in mind?

 

[somebodyelse]

See the Wiim pro plus review - its DAC stage is up there with the better external ones, so no need for an external one. The DACs in the mini and Pro weren't as good, so an external one might be audibly better. I'd guess the Ultra would be like the Pro Plus, but we don't know for sure yet.

 

[Feda]

Hi, that HDMI requirement (which is perfectly reasonable) makes options a bit more complicated and potentially expensive. Do you have a budget in mind?

around 1k, max
I was looking at Compact, separate devices in order to be able to upgrade part of it instead of charging the whole set up (one device). But as mentioned above maybe worth waiting for the wiim ultra seeing the prices
Btw, Is volume control possible with coaxial?

 

[staticV3]

Btw, Is volume control possible with coaxial?

HDMI, USB, and Bluetooth support sending audio commands from your source device (TV/PC/Phone) to the DAC, which then does the actual volume control.

In contrast, Toslink and Coax do not support anything similar.

With them, you have to control volume either at the source device (CD transport/TV) or at the DAC using its own buttons/control.

It's very rare for devices like TVs and CD transports to support volume control with Coax/Toslink out. Though there are exceptions.

 

[Miguelón]

Thanks! I read good stuff about wiim streaming but less on the DAC quality. Would you consider an external DAC to wiim?

I confirm, the inbuilt DAC is poor quality.
I returned and bought an Ifi Zen Stream for 200€ (second hand, but the owner sent it with the blister intact, never opened).

Connected to my Focusrite Scarlett (audio interface with a nice clean DAC section) sound improved a lot

Probably there’s a lot of streamers-DAC on the market, but honestly think that is better to buy only a pure digital unit and connect it to your preferred DAC

 

[Miguelón]

See the Wiim pro plus review - its DAC stage is up there with the better external ones, so no need for an external one. The DACs in the mini and Pro weren't as good, so an external one might be audibly better. I'd guess the Ultra would be like the Pro Plus, but we don't know for sure yet.

I don’t agree, had at home the Pro Plus and DAC is really bad, tried all the onboard filters but nothing…
Only unbalanced outputs also :-(
The app is quite good, and very easy setup