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Inexpensive route into digital

Wiim Mini > budget DAC would be my advice. Wireless control is the way to go imo.

It has not been my experience that digital is better than vinyl. I hardly ever spin a cd though.
 
Just gone passed my first anniversary of using a Raspberry Pi and Qobuz. I’m really happy with the sound quality for the relatively small sum it cost. It’s usually on all day, when I’m working from home. I prefer the sound of my vinyl set up but I could live with streaming as my only source if I had to.

I’d probably go for the Wiim Pro if I was starting again, just for ease of set up.

Cheers BB
 
MVV said:
Thanks everyone. Looks like the Wiim Pro is the easiest thing.
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It’s really easy to use,couldn’t actually be any simpler ,i have it going into a Rme dac,I had Amazon HD to start with but when comparing same cd to stream cd was quieter,and less “mono”
Recently took advantage of a 3 month free trial of qobuz,so far off some limited comparison it sounds the same volume and quality as cd,maybe qobuz’s 1s are actually more one-ey and the zeros are more zeroey?!?
 
Cheapest way will be headphone out via a 3.5mm jack to stereo RCA lead £0.67 from Rapid.

I use this for the bathroom system from my tablet and it's surprisingly good.

Main system is based around a gaming oriented PC with all the sq options giving optical out into my pre amp which has a DAC.

Your Fiio Dac will do well if you can connect to the Ipad, ours had the headphone out from the top or TV via an adaptor at the bottom.
 
The barrier to decent digital is very low. You can easily get to the level where the source recording is the limit more than the format. I disagree that cheap digital will be trounced by modest vinyl. Much as I love my P8, in many ways it trails my DAC and probably even inexpensive DACs. Sure, there can be something very attractive about vinyl, and its strengths are often easy to hear, but even the best vinyl rigs can't get around the myriad issues with vinyl pressings, surface noise, bad mastering, dynamic compression (these last two being in the source so also applicable to even great digital systems).

If you go streaming, just be aware that it can and will change your listening habits - not necessarily for the better. I don't stream, except for Radio Paradise or my own ripped content, since the choice is paralysing and in any case I find it encourages a flighty, superficial approach to music appreciation. I've a new found appreciation of CD and I still do find a lot to like about vinyl, even if it still frustrates me when the disc isn't perfect (and few are)...
 
JTC said:
If you go streaming, just be aware that it can and will change your listening habits - not necessarily for the better. I don't stream, except for Radio Paradise or my own ripped content, since the choice is paralysing and in any case I find it encourages a flighty, superficial approach to music appreciation...
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I really don’t agree with this. Using Qobuz I’ve broadened my knowledge and appreciation of classical music - composers, conductors, genres, soloists, singers that I couldn’t have possibly done (or afforded) otherwise.
 
A fair point. I just found that I didn't do that. For me - and we're all different of course - I discover music better if I don't have to look for it; it finds me rather than me looking for (and finding) it. If that makes sense.
 
Having all this music at your fingertips is simply incredible. Pair this with, for example Roon and you can quite literally make it sound whichever way you want, for better or worse whilst having supreme information and suggestions to widen horizons.

I honestly can't understand anyone loving music not also stream unless it's a cost issue.
 
RoA said:
Having all this music at your fingertips is simply incredible. Pair this with, for example Roon and you can quite literally make it sound whichever way you want, for better or worse whilst having supreme information and suggestions to widen horizons.

I honestly can't understand anyone loving music not also stream unless it's a cost issue.
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I would have agreed with you wholeheartedly except for my own experience, which is all I can offer by way of explanation.

Maybe I'm outing myself as an edge case here, but what I found was that I didn't want all the world's music there: it paralysed me with indecision. In my (perhaps unusual) case I prefer to take choice out of the equation to a certain extent and have a curated playlist that hits enough of my likes but not so much that it doesn't expose me to new things, giving me a starting point to explore those new-to-me artists or tracks specifically.

But you and everyone else are not me. Be thankful.
 
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Each to their own of course. One thing I have noticed is that of all my vinyl and CD I really only listen to about a hundred of each and the others get looked at but rarely played. With streaming I give far more a go. With any format I listen the whole way through but that’s possibly a generational thing.
 
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yes - I also like to listen to albums through... Really annoys me when Apple Music decides to play the album out of order. I'm new to streaming, and very much enjoying finding all sorts of new stuff.. even if I often sit there like a lemon deciding what on earth to play next for 10 mins.... Also with my current eyesight, its tough to pick out a CD on the bookshelf - much easier to find it on the laptop or iPhone.
 
Also with classical I sometimes clearly bought the wrong version. With rock/pop/jazz etc it’s usually quite easy: UK 1st press, job done. With Mahler 4 it’s more tricky.

I research my classical hard copies more thoroughly now and Qobuz really helps with that. Conversely, with other music genres it’s more difficult to know exactly which master you’re listening to, and then there’s the MQA thing.
 
RoA said:
I honestly can't understand anyone loving music not also stream unless it's a cost issue.
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Because for very, very, very many people that represents the total antithesis of what the listening experience is about.

Music is to be enjoyed and savoured, not provide background noise. If I want random music selections, I use the radio and usually a channel that plays genere that I seldom pick from a shelf at home. Most of the time I listen to speech radio - that is on as long as I am awake, at home.

I just cannot abide not getting involved in music that I know well, and that means actually listening to it, not just hearing it. There is far more than enough muzak in this world, without adding to it.
 
I enjoy and savour my streamed music. I choose it, no random selections. It is not background noise, and before you ask, I post between albums.
 
MVV said:
I'm a vinyl only person having gone through the CD era without buying one. Now I want to try a digital source but really don't have a clue. How do I do this inexpensively? Any help most appreciated.
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Contrary to what has been suggested in this thread the truth actually is that even very inexpensive digital absolutely wipes the floor with anything vinyl has to offer - when it comes to reproducing the source signal as flawlessly and faithfully to the original as possible. Is this what you want? If so, my advice is to get a second hand Chromecast Audio - inexpensive and quite easy to set up.
 
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