Streaming Confusion

[Formerly YB-2]

Originally Posted by torxx

1. I’m still thinking a nice pre amp in the chain is important , thinking C2300, C2500, C2600, or comparable SS.

2. Assuming I had one of the McIntosh preamps listed above and intended to use the internal dac...............

Do be careful that the you don't go with the C2300 thinking it has an internal DAC. Only later iterations of McIntosh pre's have that capability.

[For The Love of Music]

Originally Posted by torxx

After further review the MB50 looks iffy due to the Ply-Fi being less than ideal and it not being Roon Ready. I kinda jumped to the wrong conclusion that it would be roon ready or compatible. Bummer.



I have a couple of general question I could use help on:



1. I’m still thinking a nice pre amp in the chain is important , thinking C2300, C2500, C2600, or comparable SS. Would the Schitt / Innous combo or maybe a Brookland Bridge, etc. make the pre amp not really necessary? (don’t care about phono or anything but digital right now) . My research tells me the pre IS probably necessary to get the house sound I like and that it is an important part of the system. Please share your knowledge.



2. Assuming I had one of the McIntosh preamps listed above and intended to use the internal dac, would the addition of the Innous MK3 (or similar) add it’s own color to the sound or do they get out of the way, so to speak? Demoing gear is not a realistic option, unfortunately. I guess the obvious answer is that it probably will add, or take something away. Comes down to a personal preference question? Right?



Thanks so much for all your feedback. The scarcity of brick and mortar Audio dealers can make this hobby that much more challenging. The addition of the MC452 has awakened my B&W 805 speakers. I am anxious to get the the Parasond P5 and airport express out of the system. Not to knock the P5, but I did get to do an A/B demo with it next to a Mcintosh MB50 or whatever Mcintosh had that was similar about 3-5 years ago. The Mcintosh won that comparison by a nice margin.

IMO - Grab the McIntosh PreAmp, C2500 or C2600 to compliment the 452, you get the sound and options for other components later.

Innuos makes a nice piece and will add positive attributes to the Mac Pre

[jayvis]

Originally Posted by torxx

After further review the MB50 looks iffy due to the Ply-Fi being less than ideal and it not being Roon Ready. I kinda jumped to the wrong conclusion that it would be roon ready or compatible. Bummer.

I have a couple of general question I could use help on:

1. I’m still thinking a nice pre amp in the chain is important , thinking C2300, C2500, C2600, or comparable SS. Would the Schitt / Innous combo or maybe a Brookland Bridge, etc. make the pre amp not really necessary? (don’t care about phono or anything but digital right now) . My research tells me the pre IS probably necessary to get the house sound I like and that it is an important part of the system. Please share your knowledge.

2. Assuming I had one of the McIntosh preamps listed above and intended to use the internal dac, would the addition of the Innous MK3 (or similar) add it’s own color to the sound or do they get out of the way, so to speak? Demoing gear is not a realistic option, unfortunately. I guess the obvious answer is that it probably will add, or take something away. Comes down to a personal preference question? Right?

Thanks so much for all your feedback. The scarcity of brick and mortar Audio dealers can make this hobby that much more challenging. The addition of the MC452 has awakened my B&W 805 speakers. I am anxious to get the the Parasond P5 and airport express out of the system. Not to knock the P5, but I did get to do an A/B demo with it next to a Mcintosh MB50 or whatever Mcintosh had that was similar about 3-5 years ago. The Mcintosh won that comparison by a nice margin.

If you plan on generally using a streamer for Tidal or Spotify, you can't go wrong with the MB50. After trying a slew of other streamers, I found its sound quality to be superior in my all McIntosh system. Its Cirrus Logic DAC is stellar, so you won't necessarily need a preamp with an internal DAC. Keep it all McIntosh and feel content.

[Puma Cat]

Originally Posted by For The Love of Music

IMO - Grab the McIntosh PreAmp, C2500 or C2600 to compliment the 452, you get the sound and options for other components later.

Innuos makes a nice piece and will add positive attributes to the Mac Pre

Agreed; the Innuos stuff is way cool; I wish I had a spare $1200; I would buy their litle half-chassis Innuos Zen Mk3.

[torxx]

Got the C2500 and testing a bluesound node2i as a streamer which is working very well using the c2500 dac. I have nothing better to compare to ever in my system as airport express and toslink cable was in use prior. I am on a waiting list for a Innous Zen MK3 (thanks Stephen). I certainly hope that there will be a noticeable and appreciable step up in sound Q from the bluesound. Of course the Innous has built-in storage and a ripper drive (which is nice but a low priority for me). What say you Puma Cat? from a sound perspective?

[torxx]

Jayvis, yes I like the sound of your reasoning. It would be nice to hear for myself with a listening comparison to the MB50 and the Innous Zen Mk3, not going to happen. In the end it's all about the sound. The Innous looks very nice on features and reviews. apperantly demand is pretty high on the innous as the dealer didn't even ask for payment until it arrives. Options are still open on this. I do like the added features of the innous over the mb50 if on par sound wise.

[Puma Cat]

Originally Posted by torxx

Got the C2500 and testing a bluesound node2i as a streamer which is working very well using the c2500 dac. I have nothing better to compare to ever in my system as airport express and toslink cable was in use prior. I am on a waiting list for a Innous Zen MK3 (thanks Stephen). I certainly hope that there will be a noticeable and appreciable step up in sound Q from the bluesound. Of course the Innous has built-in storage and a ripper drive (which is nice but a low priority for me). What say you Puma Cat? from a sound perspective?

I haven't heard the Innuos yet, but I am planning to, soon. Maybe next week. I have to go over to Audio Visions in SF to do that, and I have to schedule an appointment with them to do that, also.

But, I watched John Darko's review of the full-width version, and he preferred it to the Auralic Aries G1.

I think you are going to be very happy with it, is my guess, and would wager it will rather notably out-perform the Bluesound. Even the little Allo DigiOne Signature out-performs the Bluesound, acc. to Darko.

Here is the link to the review:https://youtu.be/RlCG2fK-abo

[torxx]

Please report back on you listing experience. I read that the mb50 does not support gapless playback. I just started using tidal and the gapless playback thing is a real issue that I didn’t experience with Spotify. It can be really annoying.

[wklie]

If you want gapless Tidal playback, Lumin product line (e.g. D2, T2) and Esoteric N-01 / N-05 support gapless Tidal and MQA full decoding.

[jayvis]

Originally Posted by torxx

Please report back on you listing experience. I read that the mb50 does not support gapless playback. I just started using tidal and the gapless playback thing is a real issue that I didn’t experience with Spotify. It can be really annoying.

Since I rarely listen to streamed live recordings, I can't answer your question on gapless playback. To me, overall sound quality and synergy within my system trumped all other features when I decided on the MB50. It's performed flawlessly.