Yamaha R-N2000a vs. Lyngdorf Audio TDAI-3400 vs. NAD M66 + amp

[ijohn]

If all goes to plan, I'll be doing a serious upgrade within the next year and would appreciate some input on my research.

I listen to Apple Music hi-res files almost exclusively. Occassional CD. No vinyl.
Room will be medium to large.
I listen to vocal/acoustic, classic rock, R&B, and almost never go above 90 db.

I've recently realized that I'm cherry-picking music and avoiding so much of the music that I love because of compressed recordings. Consquently, I've revised how I'm looking at speakers to exclude brands and models that aren't forgiving with bad recordings. Current possibilities priced low to high include Harbeth C7ES-3 XD2, Spendor Classic 2/3, Arendal 1528, Volti Audio Lucera, Klipsch La Scala AL6, Marten Parker Duo, and Ø Audio Icon 12.

For an integrated amp/receiver/pre-amp, the must-haves are: display, remote control, room correction, and HDMI. So until we find out what NAD's upgrades to the M33 V2 have wrought, I've narrowed things down to the three models listed in the thread title. I'm aware that the Yamaha isn't at the level of the other two, but I am absolutely smitten with its looks. Saving a good bit of dough wouldn't suck either.

So my question is this: for speakers that are 90 db+ efficient and don't need the balls of the Lyngdorf or NAD paired with something like a Parasound Halo A21+, how close does the Yamaha come to the others. If we're grading on a curve and the better of the Lyngdorf or NAD/amp is a 100, where does the Yamaha grade-out?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Alice of Old Vincennes]

All good. Won’t be able to discern difference.

 

[Overseas]

Keep it separate.
Go for Yamaha 1200-2200 plus Wiim for room correction.

 

[ijohn]

Keep it separate.
Go for Yamaha 1200-2200 plus Wiim for room correction.

I thought about that; even up to the 3200. They are even more beautiful than the 2000a. But no volume display. :-(
I wish manufacturers would take a cue from the Devialet Astra (and I'm sure some others) and put volume displays on their remotes.

 

[Mike_Trueman]

I would go for the WiiM Ultra + the Boxem Arthur 4216/E2 (EU) and save some money.
And if you like to spend more money and prefer DIRAC then buy the NAD M33 V2 and do not look back.

 

[Deleted member 89782]

I would go for the WiiM Ultra + the Boxem Arthur 4216/E2 (EU) and save some money.
And if you like to spend more money and prefer DIRAC then buy the NAD M33 V2 and do not look back.

As you mentioned WiiM and NAD in one thread, I‘d like to chime in.
Coming from Squeezeboxes I went over to Bluesound (the NAD streaming module). Just for the hell of it I bought a WiiM Ultra lately. And this is here to stay. All the Blluesound stuff is currently being sold.

I also had a Lyngdorf TDAI 2170. Sold that one as well. Not because it was bad, but it was kind of an overkill to have a highly speced integrated amp and a full fledged pre-amp (the WiiM) in one chain. The TDAI will be replaced by an Apollon with the Purifi Eigentakt 9040 chip.

@ijohn
I neither want to talk you out of the NAD nor am I familiar with Lyngdorf‘s streaming implementation. But you might consider a WiiM Ultra paired with a potent power amp. The Lyndorf SDA-2400 might be an option.I really like the Lyngdorf sound and this is what I‘d have bought. But I‘m just curious regarding the Apollon 9040.

 

[Timcognito]

A dedicated 10" tablet will much be more satisfying than a small fixed display. Much more can be displayed especially with an internet app like Qobus,and purpose made like Roon or BluOS. You can move around and look up things about the artist or album on the internet or check sports scores, etc.

Also TDAI has a less expensive little brother and SHD line of miniDSP may be of some interest. Both compared here with test data on the SHD.

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

www.soundstagehifi.com

 

[ijohn]

A dedicated 10" tablet will much be more satisfying than a small fixed display. Much more can be displayed especially with an internet app like Qobus,and purpose made like Roon or BluOS. You can move around and look up things about the artist or album on the internet or check sports scores, etc.

Also TDAI has a less expensive little brother and SHD line of miniDSP may be of some interest. Both compared here with test data on the SHD.

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

www.soundstagehifi.com

Thank you. Lots to think about here.
I plan on getting a tablet soon anyway so I don't have to use my phone. Maybe it will provide solutions beyond what I'm already thinking for it.
I don't think the SHD Power is for me. But looking at it had me looking at the SHD, which may be.
Much appreciated.

 

[Timcognito]

Thank you. Lots to think about here.
I plan on getting a tablet soon anyway so I don't have to use my phone. Maybe it will provide solutions beyond what I'm already thinking for it.
I don't think the SHD Power is for me. But looking at it had me looking at the SHD, which may be.
Much appreciated.

I use a tablet to control three rooms with the BluOS and Roon on my main system. I stripped off every app that wasn't associated with music except basic stuff and the internet. I love the features of Roon, especially DSP but find the BluOS much easier and quicker remote control for Qobuz, NAS and internet radio presets.

 

[IngMishael]

I second the SHD(note the SHD, not the Amp) and get a standalone amp from Yamaha, Apollon or boXem but you're on Apple Music so I'd say you'd need to go wired from a tablet(an iPad Air will suffice) to the MiniDSP SHD to keep the lossless nature of the signal.

 

[Timcognito]

I second the SHD(note the SHD, not the Amp) and get a standalone amp from Yamaha, Apollon or boXem but you're on Apple Music so I'd say you'd need to go wired from a tablet to the MiniDSP SHD to keep the lossless nature of the signal.

Are you sure about that, from my link
"Although lacking analog inputs, Chromecast Built-in, Apple AirPlay, and a headphone output, the SHD Power includes features not normally found in a budget integrated amplifier-DAC: Roon Ready network streaming capability, parametric equalization, Dirac Live room correction, and adjustable high-pass/low-pass crossover filters. The SHD Power also runs the open-source Volumio music player, which is accessed through a web-based interface and supports Tidal, Qobuz, HighResAudio, Spotify (via a plugin), and internet radio. Considering its reasonable price, the SHD Power is remarkably fully featured."

 

[IngMishael]

Are you sure about that, from my link
"Although lacking analog inputs, Chromecast Built-in, Apple AirPlay, and a headphone output, the SHD Power includes features not normally found in a budget integrated amplifier-DAC: Roon Ready network streaming capability, parametric equalization, Dirac Live room correction, and adjustable high-pass/low-pass crossover filters. The SHD Power also runs the open-source Volumio music player, which is accessed through a web-based interface and supports Tidal, Qobuz, HighResAudio, Spotify (via a plugin), and internet radio. Considering its reasonable price, the SHD Power is remarkably fully featured."

Yes though the SHD has Airplay1. It is limited to 16bit, 44.1kHz and though that is plenty I'm sure people want peace of mind so best is to go wired from an iOS device through USB into the SHD.

So unless they're ready to switch to any of the Connect having music streamers, for Apple Music, I'd recommend directly wired via USB

 

[Deleted member 89782]

I use a tablet to control three rooms with the BluOS and Roon on my main system. I stripped off every app that wasn't associated with music except basic stuff and the internet. I love the features of Roon, especially DSP but find the BluOS much easier and quicker remote control for Qobuz, NAS and internet radio presets.

BluOS quick and easy?
I suppose you‘ve never tried LMS with either Material skin or iPeng on iOS.
Now that I’ve found out WiiM equipment supports LMS I‘m kicking out all my Bluesound equipment for the inferior user interface/ GUI. Plus it only has a black skin. I ain‘t getting any younger and reading white on black is just a PITA.

 

[Timcognito]

BluOS quick and easy?
I suppose you‘ve never tried LMS with either Material skin or iPeng on iOS.
Now that I’ve found out WiiM equipment supports LMS I‘m kicking out all my Bluesound equipment for the inferior user interface/ GUI. Plus it only has a black skin. I ain‘t getting any younger and reading white on black is just a PITA.

Yeah but when you had Roon lifetime since 2015 and Bluesound since 2017 your options are limited. They made the market for WiiM. Would not touch iOS with all my FLAC. Try Roon and see what you think. For music discovery and links to every aspect from artists, production, liner notes and every review on the internet it can not be beat. IMO BluOS does have issues that seem to linger, but moving around from streaming to NAS to internet radio or anything in hi res are not among them.

 

[Deleted member 89782]

Yeah but when you had Roon lifetime since 2015 and Bluesound since 2017 your options are limited. They made the market for WiiM. Would not touch iOS with all my FLAC. Try Roon and see what you think. For music discovery and links to every aspect from artists, production, liner notes and every review on the internet it can not be beat. IMO BluOS does have issues that seem to linger, but moving around from streaming to NAS to internet radio or anything in hi res are not among them.

You‘re quite right about iOS and your own personal music library. Apple will make a mess of it if you let it touch it.
But I don‘t. I use my iPhone or iPad as controllers only. Otherwise my library resides on an NAS which also runs LMS and serves all my players as a central hub. This is another advantage compared to BluOS where each player has its own SMB index. Yes, they share it if they are on the same network, but if you power one of them down, it is out of the game. I find this quite a hassle.
As for Roon, I will definitely not pay such money just to organize my music library. I am perfectly capable of doing this myself. And LMS is the tool to make full use of it.

 

[Timcognito]

You‘re quite right about iOS and your own personal music library. Apple will make a mess of it if you let it touch it.
But I don‘t. I use my iPhone or iPad as controllers only. Otherwise my library resides on an NAS which also runs LMS and serves all my players as a central hub. This is another advantage compared to BluOS where each player has its own SMB index. Yes, they share it if they are on the same network, but if you power one of them down, it is out of the game. I find this quite a hassle.
As for Roon, I will definitely not pay such money just to organize my music library. I am perfectly capable of doing this myself. And LMS is the tool to make full use of it.

Yes and in 2017 you would not have many choices with lifetime Roon and still updates for 8yrs. Bluesound was the only single dashboard that supported Qobuz and Roon. And my point was it is a one touch screen, single dashboard, multi-format, multi-platform, turnkey, single vendor remote control for streaming, NAS, and internet radio easier to use than Roon, nothing more. It more than meets my needs for music playback and paid for Roon these days is mostly DSP. Despite the many idiosyncrasies the BluOS accesses and mixes those platforms of my music very quickly and easily from one screen in three rooms. The OP wanted a small fixed display and I cautioned against that.
My focus is on my music, but as an engineer, technology is a study I can not resist.

 

[ijohn]

I would go for the WiiM Ultra + the Boxem Arthur 4216/E2 (EU) and save some money.
And if you like to spend more money and prefer DIRAC then buy the NAD M33 V2 and do not look back.

I'm REALLY looking forward to the M33 V2 reviews! To the point that I'm googling "NAD M33 V2 reviews" every couple of days. LOL.
The only knock on the V1 was that perhaps it was a little too pure; to the point of losing some "life". I'm hoping the new Purifi chips can improve on that. Though perhaps that's best left to my choice of speakers.