Audiophiles hifi appreciation thread old and new

Might ninja-edit that post where I said I was only gonna spend half a bag.

The big hang up there seems to be it all falls down if your computer isn't turned on. I'd at least be looking at a raspberry pi or something to act as a server. You could install Plex or just something serving over DLNA.

I'd also be tempted to look at raspberry pi with either a DAC or optical out as a cheap endpoint

Ouch. I keep my Facebook and Google accounts well away from things like that just in case.

The other issue is how much of a ballache they all make it to export/import your music library.

I gave soundiiz a try for importing into tidal but it was a bit hit and miss.

Roon operates Airplay2 very well, complete syncing across 6 different rooms (not stereo pairs and singles though!!).

Thank you, I'll check that out at work tomorrow.

Might ninja-edit that post where I said I was only gonna spend half a bag.

Don’t do that man, all my advice was predicated on the fact that you were on a budget!

You’re nuts if you spend £1k to then listen through headphones with their own DAC! As much as I like my Sony 1000XM3s, they’re not a patch on significantly cheaper headphones driven directly from my RME soundcard.

Dunno what I'm gonna do when Play Music shuts down.

I shifted to Deezer.

Sorry should have been clear: I would get new ‘phones to work with the Chord if that’s how I roll.

And much appreciated it was/is.

I guess I hadn’t appreciated how far things have moved on and the scope of the investment i might be making. I was originally imagining just a dongle to stream my CDs to Hifi. Now with stuff like Roon and streaming services, i’m looking at pretty much a new platform, in fact a new relationship with recorded music and especially new music. Very exciting and worth throwing a few quid at if the hat fits.

Good point! I can at least get started without it though. I’ve always wanted to do something with Raspberry Pi.

Interesting, thanks!

Deezer will only output lossless to a HiFi so it's worthless for me.

Deezer will only output lossless to a HiFi so it's worthless for me.

What does this mean?

It won't do lossless from mobile, is that the issue?

Oh yeah, my bad. I’m actually using Spotify though the Sonos app @Airhead

@Olly398 take a look at this https://uk.creative.com/p/amplifiers/sound-blaster-e5

I think it could be a good jumping on point for you

Yes, I'm limited to 320kpbs if I want to listen on my portable, regardless of whether it's WiFi, data or downloaded

Yeah lovely thanks!

Yes, I'm limited to 320kpbs if I want to listen on my portable

True. But not something I really care about as I am going out either through the phone's DAC or through Bluetooth and then the DAC in my headphones. I see those as a greater limiting factor than lossless compression woes.

On your point about the Chord. Don't do it. Horrendously overpriced. Basically everyone who has tested them states that the Topping NX4 measures and sounds the same and/or better than the Chord. I know the Poly isn't an option but you have a phone, right?

I purchased an Onkyo A9150. At a mere $345, only $50 more than an A9110, it seems very nice indeed. Huge improvement over the little Chinese Class D thing I was using. And far more musical than the more expensive NAD stuff I have home demo'd.

Currently have Toslink > TV and an RCA to 3.5 > iPhone/Laptop whatever else.

Are Chromecast Audio's still worth buying even at $50 from eBay? If not, what are my alternatives? AptX Bluetooth dongle? Toslink/Coax output would be nice.

I can use my TV's Roku Spotify app but I don't really want to have the TV on just to listen to music.

Thanks. More I read, less I like about that Chord setup.

It's pretty old tech from a battery perspective too. Doesn't last long. Get's hot as anything. Horrid shape. I have listened to one by the way, and whilst there was a definite all around 'improvement' to the sound from my IEMs, it was no better than a Fiio Q1 Mk2 or the Topping I linked.

I was disappoint at work today :)

I'm just going to chalk that up as a massive win for Roon because even if you couldn't find it in the app it just starts playing the radio automatically after the last track in the queue (which is usually a playlist or album). If you want it not to you just tick a box and same if you don't want it to use streaming services for content. You can also see the tunes it's lining up and give them thumbs up/down and even create a queue that way, if you skip one it will also accept a reason from a short list so it can better tailor the choices.

So far Roon vs the Sonos app I prefer it but it is expensive. I am enjoying listening to stuff over Sonos though.

I think eventually the other apps will develop into something closer to Roon and at that point there will be no need for it but right now it's still a bit ahead.