which Streamer fits the best to my system?
 

Happy new year everyone!

I have McIntosh C2700 + 2*611 so far and Wilson Sasha DWA on route.
Other than my turntable (Rega Planar 8) I have nothing.
I'll update signature in a minute..

Any advise appreciated. yes, going out and listening is the real deal but I need some input first.
So far, I like from reading about NAIM. I dont really have a budget yet, just want this to fit to what I have.

Thanks and Best regards
Christoph

You have a great system. Looking forward to your impression when your new speakers arrive.
On one hand, choosing a streamer is fairly easy IMO as they don't have a "personal sound" in the way you find in an amp or speaker. What you get when climbing the price ladder is usually a more refined, liquid presentation. More 3D more "space".
(like buying a better cartridge :-).

Things to consider is ease of use (and this a point I find very important). Will you buy a separate DAC or would you want one in your streamer? Is CD ripping important or will you play from hard drive or Tidal, Spotify etc?

In addition to Naim, you should check out Innous (ripping and storage included). Start with a listen to their Zenith mk3 and compare it with their Statement. Other contenders should be the Auralic Aries G2, dCS Network bridge, and Lumin U1.
Im sure others will soon chime in with more suggestions.

Good luck and keep us uptaded.

Thanks!
I mainly use tidal and was not planning to do CD ripping (yet). However maybe silly question, do I need a DAC? I thought the MCI C2700 has one.

If you use Tidal, check out Lumin T2 (or X1) with Tidal MQA full decoding to analog output. They may also be switched to USB audio output (with MQA Core decoding aka first unfold to 88.2kHz or 96kHz), so you can compare the DAC inside the Lumin vs the C2700.

And that's my dilemma. 5k vs. 12k. I'm not shy spending money but one of the reasons for the C2700 was the DAC.

I would try the DAC in the 2700 first before going off and shopping for a new DAC.

As far as a streamer, get one with a display you can see or make sure it has a phone app so you can see what's playing, control the stream, find your playlists, etc...

If you want to start out using the DAC in the 2700 then look at the Lumin U1 Mini, Aries G1 or the Innuos Zen Mk. III. The Zen comes with the CD ripper and 1 TB storage which you may or may not ever need or use and they all can be found for between $2-2.5 K. There is also the Aurender N-100 but that model has been around for a while and may be due for a model refresh.

I use a SurfacePro 3 for my streamer. Inexpensive and open, you can use Roon or JRiver or other SW of your choice and are not tied down to a specific manufacturer. (Ask Olive owners how that went for them.) It drives my DAC’s via isochronous asynchronous USB and sounds excellent.

I find myself in a similar situation. I am looking to improve the music that I stream from Tidal to Mac Mini to Roon and then to McIntosh C48.

I started at the Verizon Fios Router and upgraded to the fastest speeds available. Then I added PS Audio products to help with cleaning up the power going to those products, followed by installing all Wireworld ethernet cables on all of my devices. So far, my actions have increased the quality of the sound, and I am enjoying the system more.

My next move is to upgrade to a standalone DAC and then upgrade the pre-amplifier. So thank you to everyone's recommendations. I look forward to following this tread.

If you use Roon and you plan to upgrade the DAC, it's best to get a Roon Ready player/DAC with analog output.