Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Stereo Triggered pulled - Active LFR-1100's are on order!

I have the exact same question as Rich. How much better is a DAC/Streamer than a receiver or pre/pro? How do we know?

The Marantz 8805 - which can be found for a LOT less than the $4500 USD retail price - will do everything one needs. No additional streamer needed.

I am trying to decide whether to get one of those or a higher end pre-amp from Rogue, Prima Luna or maybe even Black Ice.

Mojo - you answered your own question: "The Fire Stick sounds better." I would talk to some of the guys at a place like Audio Advisor about streamers. They are totally honest and have years of experience. You will find the lower noise units with robust power supplies sound better.

Rogue, Prima Luna or maybe even Black Ice ...

Why tube?

I have a Marantz 7703 for home theater, and a PS Audio Stellar Gain preamp/DAC now. The tube preamp is just for the fun of it. Probably something in January when cabin fever starts to set in.

Craig, the Firestick sounds better than the Chromecast Audio and Chromecast Video and the PS3. I wish I could get Spotify going natively on the Onk to compare with the Firestick. The Onk can do 192KHz/24-bit whereas the Firestick can only do 96KHz/24-bit. While 96KHz/24-bit is more than anyone really needs, the higher spec of the Onk tells me it may have been designed to perform better.

The Onk is rated at a S/N of 110dBA IHF-A. I really don't know what that means but that number sounds impressive.

S/N is probably measured under the best conditions along the quietest path ... in other word don’t expect that in real use ...

Just to close off my Onkyo Spotify complaint, I have an 8 year-old Onk that has a native Spotify app. This is not the same as Spotify Connect that is found on the Air and more modern gear. Spotify made changes to their software and Onkyo, unlike Denon and others, did not update their native app. Hence why mine does not work.

Another thought of the streaming topic is a lot of reviewers recommend using something like J river/Audervana/Roon and so on to bypass Our P.C.s or App. processing.

With a quality D.A.C. and decent connection wouldn't it make such programs irrelevant? Regardless of such claims that, "Widows/Mac processing are set to make everything sound good"

I've been using Tidal through HDMI/Play fi for a couple years. To an Anthem MRX720. Aside from minor WIFI drops, it's been great. Would one of these programs really take it to the next level?

Craig, how are those LRSs against the actives? <he asks as he chuckles>

You fried your RLSs didn't you, Craig? You turned them into little ribbons, huh? You connected the 1500, cranked it and turned them into large, toasty waffles before they ignited, correct?