Yamaha A4A reciever... which streamer?

[Mobstur]

I guess this is a multi part part question...
I am getting a bluesound node from my Dad who has recently passed and music is one area we really bonded. Will his music Playlist or library be in the node or will it be somewhere on his network? If I have access to his library would another streamer be better? What would be the best way to connect it to my Yamaha A4A to get best quality sound, I have read that an external dac in between could be beneficial how accurate is this? Any specific cables which you would use? Is Roon worth the fee? My speakers are kef Iq9s and a kef cube sub. Thank you in advance.

 

[linuxfan]

Will his music Playlist or library be in the node

If your father used the BluOS app (most likely) then yes, any playlists he saved are in the Node, but the music files, themselves, are not.
The music files will either be on a network drive (SMB protocol) or a USB drive connected directly to the Node.

If I have access to his library would another streamer be better?

No, the Node is well regarded, and arguably the best streamer at its price-point.

What would be the best way to connect it to my Yamaha A4A to get best quality sound, I have read that an external DAC in-between could be beneficial

Well the internal DAC of the (pre-N130 model) Node measures average-to-poorly, so possibly, yes -
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/bluesound-node-review-streamer.25578/
But before you spend any money on an external DAC, I see that your Yamaha RX-A3A has a DAC, so I suggest you try that first. Use the coaxial S/PDIF connection at AUDIO INPUT 3.

 

[Mobstur]

Thank you very much for your thoughtful reply, I will be picking it up right after Christmas so I will check for external hard drives at that time. And coax is better than hdmi if using the yamaha dac?

 

[linuxfan]

And coax is better than hdmi if using the yamaha dac?

Definitely. Most, if not all, HDMI controller chips operate only at 48kHz, whereas most audio files are 44.1kHz, and the sample rate conversion which is performed by the chip is of poor quality.

I will check for external hard drives at that time.

If there is no hard drive unit connected via USB to the Node, then your father almost certainly accessed his music files via network file sharing. If there is a NAS unit, that will probably be where the music files reside, but if there is no NAS, then he probably shared the files from his personal computer. In this case you should eventually copy over his files to your own preferred form of storage - and if you don't have one already, you should consider a NAS. It's more expensive than an external USB drive, but it's more useful IMO, because you don't need to be constantly unplugging/re-plugging the USB drive into different computers as you acquire new music - the NAS is accessible to all computers (and streamers) connected to the same network.

 

[Mobstur]

Thank you so much, I appreciate you taking the time to explain this to me. I love music, all this machinery is very difficult for me to grasp I'm just a chef... I respect the time you have taken to help me as time is precious. I will wait until I get over there to see what I'm working with before taking anymore of your time. Happy Holidays!