NWR: Stereo Disorder Question

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Ian Fitzsimmons

Ian Fitzsimmons
This is obviously a departure from the board's signature theme, but there are non-sequitur threads on other subjects. I'm hopeful that a community like this one will include one or two members knowledgeable about stereo gear and willing to chime in.

Without any prior knowledge, I'm trying to put together a modest stereo rig for my (small) ***********. I bought pair of Elac Unifi 52 speakers over the holidays and have settled on an Emotiva BsXA2 power amp. These components seem about right.

I expect to stream music exclusively for now, using independent DAC and wifi (not blue tooth) streamer units, rather than a multi-input preamp. I'd be appreciative for any thoughts on these two pieces of the system, in particular - though any pertinent observations are welcome.

My DAC candidates are the Schiit Modius ($200) and the Geshelli J2 ($250). Are there better alternatives in the same price range? Is one of these two better than the other, with respect to sound quality?

For the streamer, I'm thinking of trying something very simple like the Aurora Songbird or Wiim mini; but I can't work out if going low on this component will undermine the quality of the other system elements. (I'm not a fan of Blue Node, FWIW). Thoughts?

Thanks for any suggestions.
 
can't beat schiit DACs for the money as far as I know.

have heard them in modest as well as very high-end systems, and they are never a weak link
 
I've had great experiences w/ both ELAC and Emotiva so sounds like you're putting together a nice system (and thank god we haven't lost another one to the pathetic vinyl fad). Wish I could help with DACs but it's a component I don't care to deal with, I just get amps with digital inputs and their own DACs.

I am using BlueSound to feed the music and while I hate the interface, I haven't found anything better. Well, I do have one better option in my home theatre room - PC digital out to TV, TV digital out to amp, wireless keyboard in the recliner armrest, so it isn't streaming anything so much as turning the entire room into a giant laptop with a 65" screen and 5.1 sound.
 
Why don't you keep the subject on wine here..... hmmm? You really don't get how the economy is affecting us usual gifted fairies who resist the onslaught! Please get OFF the HiFi stuff and take it elsewhere.
 
originally posted by Karen Goetz:
keep it on wine if you can handle it...

Why don't you keep the subject on wine here..... hmmm? You really don't get how the economy is affecting us usual gifted fairies who resist the onslaught! Please get OFF the HiFi stuff and take it elsewhere.
Click to expand...
Ummm . . . you saw the title, yet you clicked on the link anyway. For Keith, et al. I wonder if you have used Roon. I have a Roon Nucleus with a few hundred CDs on the internal hard drive (connected to an old Oppo DAC) and then use Qobuz and Tidal which integrates with it to fill in the blanks or stuff I want to check out.
 
originally posted by mark e:
originally posted by Karen Goetz:
keep it on wine if you can handle it...

Why don't you keep the subject on wine here..... hmmm? You really don't get how the economy is affecting us usual gifted fairies who resist the onslaught! Please get OFF the HiFi stuff and take it elsewhere.
Click to expand...
Ummm . . . you saw the title, yet you clicked on the link anyway. For Keith, et al. I wonder if you have used Roon. I have a Roon Nucleus with a few hundred CDs on the internal hard drive (connected to an old Oppo DAC) and then use Qobuz and Tidal which integrates with it to fill in the blanks or stuff I want to check out.
Click to expand...

The sensibilities are what's great about this place, to the extent that it's great, so to see that same sensibility trained on other subjects is, for me, one of its pleasures.
 
originally posted by Karen Goetz:
keep it on wine if you can handle it...

Why don't you keep the subject on wine here..... hmmm? You really don't get how the economy is affecting us usual gifted fairies who resist the onslaught! Please get OFF the HiFi stuff and take it elsewhere.
Click to expand...

First, I’ve read and enjoyed many of your notes and comments thanks for your participation.

Two points:

1. I respect the other members here as a group that self-selects for brightness, sensitivity, and qualitative discernment; it’s these qualities that make discussion generally engaging and often useful. In addition, I’ve come to know many of the community personalities over periods of years to decades. For these reasons, I’d value a handful of responses here more than I would several pages of avatar-masked commentary on a theme-specific chat room - especially on a geeky topic like this one.

2. Granting the primary focus on wine, extraneous topics are floated here from time to time on diverse subjects, including - to name a few - summer reading, current TV shows, and individual professional achievement. Talmudic debates on arcane topics, with at best a tortured relationship to wine appreciation, are a (one might say charming) hallmark of WD. In this context, I’d hoped to be indulged in a one-time, off-topic inquiry, supposing it would be glossed over and ignored by most participants.

I hope these considerations get me off the hook, though I acknowledge your preference as a valid one.

Unrelated, I’ve been told that writing in all caps is equivalent to shouting online. I’d appreciate it if you wouldn’t shout at me publicly, except in an emergency. Biting sarcasm, on the other hand, and acerbic wit at my expense, are well within community norms. As I’m sure you know, you also have the option to PM me directly if you feel my behavior or speech merit special comment.
 
The title in this case could be interpreted various ways, including in such a way that might seem somehow to be on-topic.

What we did decades ago on another board (Prodigy) was agree to lead off extraneous postings with a title beginning with "XP:" so there is no misunderstanding.

Not choosing sides in this case...just a (perhaps?) constructive suggestion moving forward.

. . . . . . . Pete
 
Keith - thanks; as one still groping around in the dark, it's encouraging to hear about your experience with the speaker and amp brands.

Pavel - Schiit has a very good reputation for all its equipment, as far as I can tell, and the entry-level DACs are priced like loss-leaders, so ... tempting. The Geshelli J2 also comes well-recommended, albeit at a few dollars more. So ... [insert shrug emoticon] ... maybe I'll flip a bitcoin.

Mark - I've read a bit about Roon, but I think it's more than my small brain can handle at this point. I just want to listen to some of the music I like for now; what Roon offers may be just the thing farther down the road.
 
Ian, you probably already know this. Having SiriusXM piped into your room(s) provides most all types of music from all eras.

I had the fanciest stereo equipment available for years until fairly recently when I sold it off and we are now thoroughly enjoying having such a wide variety of music available "on-call".

. . . . . Pete
 
Hey, Pete; thank you. I have an antipathy towards SiriusXM. As far as I can tell, several streaming services offer comparable access to virtual music libraries. At the moment, I'm have a trial subscription with Apple Music, which is fairly comprehensive of the things I've sought out so far.

Cheers.
 
originally posted by Pavel Tchichikov:
can't beat schiit DACs for the money as far as I know.

have heard them in modest as well as very high-end systems, and they are never a weak link
Click to expand...

Honestly, that is funny Pavel.
 
originally posted by Keith Levenberg:
I've had great experiences w/ both ELAC and Emotiva so sounds like you're putting together a nice system (and thank god we haven't lost another one to the pathetic vinyl fad). Wish I could help with DACs but it's a component I don't care to deal with, I just get amps with digital inputs and their own DACs.

I am using BlueSound to feed the music and while I hate the interface, I haven't found anything better. Well, I do have one better option in my home theatre room - PC digital out to TV, TV digital out to amp, wireless keyboard in the recliner armrest, so it isn't streaming anything so much as turning the entire room into a giant laptop with a 65" screen and 5.1 sound.
Click to expand...

You make me laugh too. Vinyl pathetic?
 
originally posted by Karen Goetz:
keep it on wine if you can handle it...

Why don't you keep the subject on wine here..... hmmm? You really don't get how the economy is affecting us usual gifted fairies who resist the onslaught! Please get OFF the HiFi stuff and take it elsewhere.
Click to expand...

Seriously? What site do you think you're on?
 
originally posted by Peter Creasey:

Ian, you probably already know this. Having SiriusXM piped into your room(s) provides most all types of music from all eras.

I had the fanciest stereo equipment available for years until fairly recently when I sold it off and we are now thoroughly enjoying having such a wide variety of music available "on-call".

. . . . . Pete
Click to expand...

Sounds great Pete! SiriusXM sounds perfect for you!
 
Ian,

I can't tell if you've already bought the amp - but in that price range, I would definitely recommend a Rega amp. A second hand Brio could be great, and I LOVE the Rega io - it is such a cool little amp, fast, detailed, classic Brit sound. You could also opt for something like a 2nd hand Onix but that's more akin to something like CRB.

For the DAC, I have been so impressed by the portable Chord Mojo. The Mojo 2 was just released, but you can buy 2nd hand v1s for cheap. I love mine, which I use on the road and at the office. I have used it on our full-on system and it sounded great (mind you, it was the weak link --). The only thing that is bad about it is cable interface, it's definitely last gen, but Audioquest sells good converter cables.

I'm clueless about those streamers. I know the cool kids like Raspberry pi when it comes to cheap streaming, but I'm not a computer guy.

I use Tidal mainly because I like to pay musicians. I think the UI sucks.

How big is your room? Details please. Type of music, etc. I am trying to understand why you need that much power.

In general, 2nd hand is your friend when it comes to hifi. You can do more with less.
 
Ian, a couple of other thoughts:

The NAD C328 looks pretty good, and has an onboard DAC that sounds decent. It sounds like it works pretty well with Elacs.

A 2nd hand Benchmark DAC could be cool and would give you a whiff of higher end stuff (right now in short supply on ebay but I've seen D1s for around $500).

I am not a big fan of the old Rega DAC, but others disagree.
 
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