DAC or What?

[Leoniums]

Hello everyone
i am really noob with this kind of things and i am looking for some help.
I have recently bought a new house and together i bought a high end music system.
Unfortunately the seller didnt kept his word and he changed some of the system parts.
My system is as following
Revel Ultima Salon
Mcintosh C1000 Controller
Mcintosh C1000 Pre Amplifier
Mcintosh MC501 (x2 pair)

Unfortunately he didnt left behind the Mcintosh MCD 1000 and Mcinbtosh 1000 D/A Converter....
Trying to get them back but i dont believe that i will have any success
Anyway..

So i have started to check how and what it needs to be done to enjoy this system.
I mostly will stream music through a tablet / pc or w/e is needed.
Unfortunately i dont want to pay a small fortune since ... already paid for it but....
So what do i need?
Tablet / Pc or?
Dac? or Streamer / Dac?

I dont use wifi on our house just ethernet.

I am really lost so any kind of help will be much much appreciated.

Thank you in advance

 

[PierreV]

It depends on what you call cheap and where your music comes from...

If you want ethernet streaming and good sound quality, the cheapest option is probably a raspberry pi running volumeio as the "network server" and a khadas tone board as DAC (total is < $200) to one of the many inputs of the preamp.

I don't really see how you will use tablets without wifi though. It is not totally impossible to hook them to ethernet but it is really complicating the problem for the sake of complicating it.

 

[MZKM]

Give us a ballpark budget to work with.

How would you stream without Wi-Fi? Or do you just mean you prefer the steaming device is wired? Or, do you, God forbid, mean Bluetooth?

What content/sources do you want to stream? We talking CD rips, Spotify, Apple Music, Pandora, YouTube, etc.?

EDIT: Total opposite in asthetics, but if I were in your shoes, I’d sell all that McIntosh gear for $10K-$15K and replace it with a Benchmark DAC3 and ATI AT542NC Hypex amp for less than $5K.

 

[andreasmaaan]

Cheapest way to enjoy a lot of music is to sign up for Tidal ($20 a month) and connect your preamp to a laptop. I believe c1000 has USB inputs. Tidal has its own app so you can use your laptop as a streamer. If you want remote control of music selection, you’ll need WiFi.

You can do the same with Spotify, slightly cheaper and without the need for WiFi (all MP3 though of course).

 

[noobie1]

I deleted by prior post because I was thinking of C1100. I’m not sure C1000 has a USB input or a built in DAC. If it doesn’t you do need a DAC.

 

[gvl]

Yamaha WXC-50 will do, works wired or wireless. We haven't seen it measured here but it should be fine for streaming. Has digital outputs so you can add an external DAC later. On the cheap end if you can open up WiFi a Chromecast Audio thingie is another option, sadly discontinued by Google but you can still get one from eBay.

 

[garbulky]

Well it depends on how you are planning to listen to music and your price range.
If you use a tablet or phone you are going to be needing wifi. To get wifi it's not very expensive - you'll be looking at about $80-300 depending on what you have.

But you can also use a pc connected to a hard drive with music on it and use that to stream to a DAC. The DAC will go to your mac preamplifier. You don't need to buy a super expensive CD player either. You can get any CD or DVD player with digital outputs and connect that to a DAC. Then the high quality DAC you buy will convert the digital signal in to analog to go to your mac preamplifier.

If you go the computer route and no wifi, you'll have to be near enough to the computer screen to be able to see to use it.You can use a wireless USB keyboard and mouse ($40). You would use the HDMI output from the computer direct to a TV screen in your living room to see and control it from your couch. In this way you don't need wifi.

Also where's your music? That's going to be the deciding factor. For instance if you just want to listen to streaming music like pandora, youtube etc then you can use an Amazon Fire TV first generation which has an optical output for a dac. This one does not require wifi and has ethernet input.
If you have music on say an apple phone via itunes or online then you are going to need wifi. If your music is on a computer on a hard drive then the approach is different.

 

[soundwave76]

I would also sell the Mcinthos gear if you are not into audio/hifi and get cheaper quality gear, what for example this forum has reviewed a lot.

 

[Leoniums]

Thanks for your replies.
I am making those questions since i am thinking that i need a high end inputs to feed thise high end pieces... and not sure if i have to ask to previous owner to cancel our deal since there are missing parts and since i dont want to pay an extra fortune.
I will use a tablet with 2 or 3 usb (can make 1 port to be used as lan) or even better a laptop (2+1) with ethernet port.
I will also add a NAS where i will have my music.
All around my home i have ethernet ports so this is an easy task i believe.
So what dac and what kind of port should my tablet or laptop smmust have in order to get the best from those pieces?
I would like to spent the lowest amount of money ... but just before loosing quality.
Forgive me if i make mistakes on my thoughts.
Thanks again

 

[Leoniums]

PS
i will be using spotify and programs like that. And as i said also my nas.

 

[MZKM]

Thanks for your replies.
I am making those questions since i am thinking that i need a high end inputs to feed thise high end pieces... and not sure if i have to ask to previous owner to cancel our deal since there are missing parts and since i dont want to pay an extra fortune.
I will use a tablet with 2 or 3 usb (can make 1 port to be used as lan) or even better a laptop (2+1) with ethernet port.
I will also add a NAS where i will have my music.
All around my home i have ethernet ports so this is an easy task i believe.
So what dac and what kind of port should my tablet or laptop smmust have in order to get the best from those pieces?
I would like to spent the lowest amount of money ... but just before loosing quality.
Forgive me if i make mistakes on my thoughts.
Thanks again

The Yamaha mentioned would be good, but controlled via Wi-Fi with Android/iOS app.

 

[Leoniums]

i will still prefer wired...
Cause my childs are 2 small wife is really against.

 

[Leoniums]

I also hear about that bluesound node 2i, cambridge v2 something, rega dac r.... and so on...

 

[gvl]

i will still prefer wired...
Cause my childs are 2 small wife is really against.

Wired means you will need to physically get to the device to change tracks, albums, etc. Is this what you're after? The Yamaha I mentioned is wired, but you need a mobile device to control your playlist, for which you typically need WiFi.

 

[Leoniums]

Thats right.

 

[gvl]

Thats right.

Then just get a cheap laptop and a separate inexpensive DAC with XLR outputs like the SMSL SU8. Most streamers these days require a remote mobile app to control them, i.e. wifi. Those that have built-in displays usually are limited in what the interface allows you to do and are painful to operate directly.

 

[Leoniums]

What should i check for laptop outputs?

 

[MZKM]

What should i check for laptop outputs?

USB

 

[gvl]

Or maybe you can re-purpose an old PC if space allows for a separate monitor and a keyboard/mouse.

 

[Leoniums]

So even a good tablet with 2 3 usb (one for lan one for digital export can be enough) or i am gonna loose quality due to usb?
Should i absolutely need laptop?
For example i got an ipad air where i can use ethernet but then i got no other usb... so i need a tablet with 2 usb at least and i am pretty sure there are many around.

I got a pc... and really good one but i dont want to have such a master near the hifi... Thats why i am thinking about a tablet. Small sexy and fast