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I have my turntables, and my CD players, even at work (no turntable there) - but my wife has recently become enamored with a streaming site, and I would like to hook her I Phone up to my main stereo I want to feed it into my (Herron) pre-amp. Good sound quality is essential What s the best solution for under about 1K
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I purchased a Node 2 earlier this summer. One or two setup issues, but after that great reliability. App interface is just ok, but functional. You can use 3rd party apps, but I have not investigated them....maybe in the fall. Sound is outstanding for the price. Rich, palpable, liquid. Clean treble and tight deep bass. The Node 2 is a bargain.
Current source is a 128gb usb stick loaded with FLAC files for listening in our summer house. In a few weeks I will move the Node to my primary system and connect it to my network via ethernet.
I have a Marantz SR7009 HT receiver in my den. It includes full streaming capability via ethernet, wifi and bluetooth. From what I have read, the DAC and streaming hardware are essentially the same as the NA6005. App interface is mediocre, and you can not use 3rd party apps. Sound is quite good, and one can easily distinguish between redbook and hirez. However, the Node does sound better than the Marantz receiver.
Best, Ross
I will likely go with either the NA-6005 or the Blue Sound Node 2 - Interestingly they seem to have the same strengths (sound quality) and the same weaknesses (Firmware that may not be quite ready for prime time - Ivan I would love to hear your reliability experience) If I had to buy today I would probably go witht the Blue Sound Node by a very thin margin.
This conclusion is based on reading other reviews on the web as well as the helpful inmate comments.
I have to say this exercise has also made me rethink the possibility of buying a unit with a big hard disk and ripping a lot of my CDs.
Edits: 08/19/16 08/19/16 08/19/16
John N,
The NA-6005 and the Node 2 are excellent choices. Both have been well reviewed and both seem to be well thought out giving people the features they need for a great streamer.
I went with the Node 2. I've had it for a week now. As others have said it works beautifully and sounds great. They have excellent customer support. Being "green" when it comes to file sharing I was having trouble getting my iTunes library to the Node 2. A couple emails and I had a tech on the phone and with remote access he had me up and running in minutes.
I need to live with it for a few more weeks but I'm very, very close to declaring that the Node 2 has ended my source search for my set-up. I, and just as importantly, the rest of the family love it. Good luck with your decision.
Cheers,
Scott
I don't think I'll be recommending the Sonos Connect anymore as this has a lot more features. I'll have to look at their control app however.
Cut-Throat
hooked to the Roku TV via optical cable. Never had a problem and even have had a firmware upgrade or two after it was replaced in the line.
One of the pluses is a really decent headphone output so my wife can watch her TV programs or listen to music without it going all over the house at all hours. Also used it a lot to stream from my iPad to the front USB jack until I got a computer in my main system.
Mine is ethernet only but is seems the NA-6005 appears to be both Bluetooth and WiFi.
HOWEVER the NA-6005 does NOT support either S/PDIF coax or USB digital input only TOSLINK.
Hi.How about using a quality bluetooth interface with APT-X ?
I have this in mind:
Sure Electronics Bluetooth v4.0 Board
http://www.parts-express.com/sure-electronics-aa-ab41136-bluetooth-40-audio-receiver-board-aptx--edr-12-vdc--320-351The board connects right into your preamp.
The web streaming would be done via iPhone or any other phone/tablet.
That'd be very convenient.Such a solution keeps you extremely flexible at lowest effort and doesn't need updates/upgrades and complex setups.
The board is of rather good quality. You'll face a pretty low risk
at $30.You might add a quality power supply (e.g. 12V iFi iPower ) to the bill.
You could even use the device in the car.
The downsides:
1. You'd need a stable WLAN for audio streaming to your phone
2. Limited to 48kHz - which IMO isn't a problem
3. A little DIY effort. You'd have to put it yourself
on a piece of wood or into a plastic box
At $30 (and optional $50 for the iPower), the whole thing is IMO a steal.
Good luck.
Edits: 08/19/16
Do you have a laptop you're not using? Can your wife's streaming service be downloaded to it? If so, all you need is a decent USB DAC and cable. I'm doing just that with my wife's Mac Book Pro which she's not using right now. For $ 207.00 I picked up an Audio Engine D-1 DAC and an Audioquest Forest USB cable and I'm getting pretty good sound out of the Spotify Premium account my stepson gifted me. I also tried it with my Toshiba Laptop and got pretty good sound as well.No, it doesn't sound as good as my LPs and CDs do, even my wife noticed that quickly. After all, it's not HD or even lossless, but it sounds good to me, especially with good recordings, and it's a great way to check out new music in my stereo. And it will be very handy during the about to begin football season. I love watching football with the sound off and the music on. I don't have to get up and change the CD.
Football and tunes. Mmmmm, good!
Best regards, Ralph
Edits: 08/18/16
My Sunday afternoon favorite was football as you say, tunes, and the Sunday NYT
At $500 the Blue Sound node 2 is a very good choice-so good I will be buying a second unit.
Have you ever compared the Node 2 to a Squeezebox touch?
Cut-Throat
I've had my Node 2 for about a week now. I really like it. Sounds great, pretty easy to use and their support is excellent.
At about $600 street it's a bargain for sound and flexibility.
Plug your phone into the USB jack on the front and you will enjoy the 'Marantz House Sound' if that is to your likening.
Lots more options for the future, if that suits you and you have Ethernet in you listening room.
I have or have had both the SONOS Connect (have) and the OPPO HA-1 (had) and neither have the SQ of the MArantz NA-7004 (discontinued) which is now used mostly for decoding TOSLINK from the TV or stream music from my iPad as I have a computer (Mac Mini) in the main system and a rather expensive USB DAC ($2000) that is better sounding (but not THAT much) than the Marantz at $399 new/clearance.
I'm too cheap or broke for something in the $1K range, but I do have a device that should do what you want. It is the Oppo HA-2 Portable Headphone Amp/DAC/Swiss Army Knife :) . If the iPhone has a lightning connector (newer models), you can connect the HA-2 to the iPhone via the supplied cable and use the mini-RCA plug-in on the other end as a line out. $299 plus your personal mini-RCA to stereo RCA pair cable. I use one as a DAC for both my iPod Touch and my Samsung Galaxy Tab A connected to a pair of Sennheiser HD-600s for streaming listening. The HA-2 connects to these devices to get the digital stream bypassing the analog outputs which are not really high quality. I also use it as a headphone amp only using the line out on my older Oppo BDP-95 to headphones when I want to listen to CDs/SACDs via headphones. There are a lot of reviews on their site for this product on their site (link below). The only downside is that you would have to charge the device every once in a while, or possibly leave a charger connected continuously. The unit is small, about the size of an iPod Touch only a little thicker.
I was just looking at this month's STEREOPHILE and came across the ad for this device and it puzzled me at first, as they don't describe what it is too well...at least not upon first glance.
Looks pretty cool. I didn't know the price, but $300 seems reasonable?
Thanks for your post!
Chris
while using it. It's really a well thought out device.
The Sonos Connect is about $350 and is easy to set up. I usually recommend this for those that don't want to spend a Lot of time putzing.
Otherwise a Squeezebox Touch on E-Bay has more features, but you should have some Tech Skills and be willing to spend some time to fully use them.
Cut-Throat
Thanks for specifying so clearly - my life at present doesn't allow much time for messing with things in a way that uses much time
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