Which streamer/preamp do I need?

[nastypoker]

Hi all. I have been doing a lot of reading recently as I am preparing to buy my first real audiophile speaker system after years with headphones and IEM's, I will finally have space for a proper listening room.

I am likely jumping in at the deep end with some B&W 803 D4's but I have another demo session coming up with some other speakers to compare.
Amp wise, I am looking at the NORD ONE SE NC1200DM DUAL MONO STEREO POWER AMPLIFIER as it seems to be good value with enough power to comfortable drive 803's.

This is where I am stuck as I need a streamer/preamp of some sort. I was looking at the CXN V2 but a lot of people have said the preamp function is not great, the volume control is digital and it may be overpriced.

I am not a fan of threads on forums just asking what to buy so my first question is, what is the best place to search what is available in the amp market? Is it an endless hobby of following forum posts for months to get a feel as I went through that with IEM's!

Second question, does anyone know of a suitable streamer with preamp out or separate streamer and preamp that would be suitable for use with the NC1200DM?

Features I would like:

• Bluetooth
• Amazon Music streaming
• Play FLAC files from PC/Network
• Remote control
• Analogue volume control
• At least 1 optical input
• Room correction

Budget: £5k although less is better of course.

TIA

 

[SKBubba]

Wiim Pro checks most of your boxes. ~$150.

 

[jae]

Speakers: Please reconsider if you have not bought them yet. Also look into active speaker options which will also preclude the need for an amplifier and generally perform much better. KEF LS60 for example costs only £6,000 for the entire package, already has a majority of what you want built in including much better acoustic performance and fidelity. Dutch & Dutch 8C are also within the price range of the B&W which is also an all-in-one package and the Buchardt Audio A500 is also a nice option. If you absolutely must get big floorstanders look into options like KEF or Revel first.

Ranking table of speaker's measurements

www.spinorama.org

Amp: On the right track, lots of options, if you want the "best" look into anything Purifi or Hypex based that has been reviewed or double checked by users on here

Amplifier SINAD list ASR + 3rd parties

List Name,THD+N (5W, 4 ohms),SINAD (dB) (5W, 4 ohms),Power (W) (1% THD+N, 4 ohms),Price (USD),Source Topping LA90 (stereo, bypass, low gain),0.00009%,121,90,800,<a href="https://www.l7audiolab.com/f/topping-la90/">L7 Audio Lab</a>,Suggestions, corrections and more info here: Topping LA90 Discre...

docs.google.com

Should really not cost much more than £500-£1600, maybe a little more if you want a "nice" chassis with no particular gain in performance. Use a power calculator and your speaker's spec/listening distance and required SPL to find out your power requirements with some headroom. You don't necessarily need all that power.

Streamer: Look for a linkplay device

WiiMPro - Overview

£100
Wiim pro is supposed to be adding PEQ to the software, maybe someone can chime in if they've added it, which you can feasibly use for correction

Measurement: Umik-1

UMIK-1

The UMIK-1 is an omni-directional USB measurement calibrated microphone providing Plug & Play acoustic measurement. From speaker & room acoustic measurement to recording, this microphone provides low noise and accurate results you can rely on.

www.minidsp.com

£65

DSP/room correction: Minidsp device (w/ dirac). Some of these already have streaming functionality and/or decent amplification built right into the device already or DIY with PEQ & free tools like REW/rephase etc..

If you absolutely want to go with passives and want a simple solution:

https://www.audiophonics.fr/en/inte...2x250w-4-ohm-32bit-768khz-dsd256-p-17004.html This for example has everything you want maybe minus the PEQ and it only costs £800. You could even add a raspberry Pi or similar device running camilladsp and have this with PEQ for £900 all-in. And it is possible update to the software allows for PEQ later. If you want more than 250wpc ask them to make you one with the 500wpc modules for a couple hundred euro extra.

If you absolutely want to still spend huge bucks on a nice refined product get NAD M33 (or the upcoming M66) which has EVERYTHING you want including dirac built in and also Purifi Amps in one elegant chassis.

 

[notsodeadlizard]

Hi all. I have been doing a lot of reading recently as I am preparing to buy my first real audiophile speaker system after years with headphones and IEM's, I will finally have space for a proper listening room.

I am likely jumping in at the deep end with some B&W 803 D4's but I have another demo session coming up with some other speakers to compare.
Amp wise, I am looking at the NORD ONE SE NC1200DM DUAL MONO STEREO POWER AMPLIFIER as it seems to be good value with enough power to comfortable drive 803's.

This is where I am stuck as I need a streamer/preamp of some sort. I was looking at the CXN V2 but a lot of people have said the preamp function is not great, the volume control is digital and it may be overpriced.

I am not a fan of threads on forums just asking what to buy so my first question is, what is the best place to search what is available in the amp market? Is it an endless hobby of following forum posts for months to get a feel as I went through that with IEM's!

Second question, does anyone know of a suitable streamer with preamp out or separate streamer and preamp that would be suitable for use with the NC1200DM?

Features I would like:

• Bluetooth
• Amazon Music streaming
• Play FLAC files from PC/Network
• Remote control
• Analogue volume control
• At least 1 optical input
• Room correction

Budget: £5k although less is better of course.

TIA

Arcam ST60 will be OK as a companion for your selection (which is very good BTW)

 

[Timcognito]

Big fan of this one with bass EQ app, Dirac and Roon.

Minidsp SHD Review Updated (DSP, DAC & Streamer)

This is an update to the review of minidsp SHD that I did a couple of years ago. My tests have evolved since then and company has stated that they fixed a few issues I found in that test. The SHD costs US $1,195 and includes a USB DAC, streaming engine (based on Volumio) and of course, DSP...

www.audiosciencereview.com

Pay a little more and get the amp too in one small box 120 w/ch

SoundStage! Hi-Fi | SoundStageHiFi.com - miniDSP SHD Power Integrated Amplifier-DAC

www.soundstagehifi.com

 

[nastypoker]

Thanks for the detailed responses, much appreciated. This forum is going to be regular reading for me for sure.

I am aware of B&W's reputation which is why I am demoing again against some other speakers to be sure they are what I want. I am semi-expecting to not like them as much this time round. I have read lots of good things about those Dutch&dutch 8c's. Unfortunately it seems a demo is impossible and I don't really want to buy and return if I don't like them. I have a couple of months before my room will be ready anyway, so I am in no rush.

Out of all the above suggestions, the miniDSP SHD seems like a great choice, along with maybe a Wiim Pro to get Amazon music and Bluetooth.

 

[jae]

A lot of people swear by it, but I would say be weary of demos as an only deciding factor, especially if they are not in your exact listening space/home. They can be very deceiving and there is a lot of well-documented research to do with sighted biases/expectation with respect to sound that may not necessarily be conductive to getting you the best or consistently enjoyable experience. I would definitely suggest starting with the "Help" section of that spinorama website and following up with the material on there, and also watching the ASR youtube channel https://www.youtube.com/@AudioScienceReview for topics you may be unfamiliar about. There are good videos to do with reading and understanding the speaker measurements if you do not know how. Then you can look for some measurements of those B&Ws, compare them to your listening experience or that other speakers and decide if they are really the ones to get!