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Thinking of changing

You can stream from either a dedicated streamer (ie no DAC) or a computer of course.

Regardless of this choice it is worth considering a separate DAC. Not only is it more of a driver of sound quality than the streamer but the modularisation gives you more flexibility and avoids lock-in.

Also avoid getting fleeced on the streaming functionality whatever provides it. If I put a network card, a small amount of memory and a simple processor in a bag its approx value would be....not a lot.
 
merlin said:
Careful Bub.

You just might be in danger of throwing the baby out with the bathwater.

I would add a computer audio solution to my existing one. That's what I did. I have a Mac Mini and separate studio dac. All can be controlled from my laptop, iPhone, iPad or iPod.

My core system however remains, and it's taught me a few home truths.

One issue that always worries me is that we really don't just listen with our ears. Whatever the community might say, the part of the brain that deals with emotion is entirely separate from that handling sound waves and is influenced by many different factors.

For me, this goes a long way to explaining the subjective differences we hear (which I might add disappear under controlled conditions). Expectation and perception, mood and other factors all have IMHO an influence on real world buyers - to a greater or lesser degree depending on the person's psychology and past "life experiences".

All maybe a bit deep I guess, but what I am saying is that for me, there is a certain level of attention to detail and quality that results in an improved (and more emotionally rewarding) listening experience. Of course this does not just apply to audio.

I get the impression that Bub is of a similar ilk and with that in mind, I would expect a lot of products mentioned to disappoint regardless of what their objective measurements suggest. It would be sad for him to end up in the "tried steaming and it was awful" camp. In the long term, something with satisfying build quality backed up by professional credibility is likely to result in a greater degree of acceptance and happiness.
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Yes, I have a pretty good setup, and the only two reasons to change are a reduction in box count, and convenience.

The Benchmark DAC 2 is exactly what I'm looking for in terms of functionality, but how good is the preamp section? Is it going to be worse than a NAC 52?

I heard fox's BM DAC 1 a while ago, and it sounded fine, but I wasn't really concentrating very hard on the sound.
 
Steven Toy said:
Bub, you will need a decent preamp. There is no way round that.
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The DAC2-HGC is a proper active preamp, i cannot thing of a better spec'd product, and it fits bubs brief exactly; HGC standing for 'High Gain Control.' It’s a very promising bit of kit, and will be better than the old DAC1's floating about. Benchmark don’t change things under market pressure. In my experience of the company they only do changes that yield genuine improvement.

Mark/ItemAudio have them for home dem and retail at £1695 IIRC.
 
OK, so talk me through this, as if I know nothing, which is not far from the truth. Say I get a DAC 2, what other items do I need as well? What cables, software, etc?
 
Blzebub said:
OK, so talk me through this, as if I know nothing, which is not far from the truth. Say I get a DAC 2, what other items do I need as well? What cables, software, etc?
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You'll need a device such as a McMini or something alike. Connection is done via a USB A-B cable which will most defo come with the DAC2. other than that, just some RCA's to connect your tunna and TT and you're done. Do you have an iPad or tablet etc? If you have a spare laptop, start with that.

Take a look at the slideshow in my sig you'll see the computer which normally sits on the floor behind the unit the DAC's in. I then use the tablet to select music. The computers 100% solid state, no moving parts at all. The last image is the remote desktop software i use called RealVNC, this allows me to view/maintain the deskop of the machine behind the cabinet wirelessly from a laptop.

If you're ever over this way, pop by and I'll go through it, tis real simple!
 
Right. I have a Tosh laptop which I use for general web browsing, games, etc.

I have no Mac products, and no tablet. Not even a smartphone. How does tablet communicate w/ Mac Mini? I know wirelessly, but how?

So shopping list is:

BM DAC2
Mac Mini
Some sort of Tablet (Mac iPad?)
RCA cables
RealVNC software

Can you get MAC Minis / iPads 2nd hand?
 
Yes, plenty of McMinis and iPads for sale on PFM.

Personally, I'd go with a PC.. Apples tie in becomes tiresome, unless all you devices are Apple its a pain to integrate. If you like I could build it for’ya. Just buy the bits.
I recently did the same for another PFMer who loves the setup; he was an Akurate DS user.... The parts cost approx £450, an android tablet can be bought for around £150, or upgrade your mobile phone contract and get one free like i did :) I have all the licences needed for softwares too.
 
Thanks very very much for the build offer, I might well take you up on it.

I haven't got time to do much this side of Xmas, but will get back to you. First, I have to sort out my room mode(s), that should happen in about three weeks. Then I have to sort out a new phono stage, so it will prob be in the New Year. Weather permitting, might well pop over to yours at some point. How far from the Weege?
 
OP, suggest that whilst doing a demo of products you also listen to a Naim DAC into your 52.

I haven't heard a BM DAC2 HGC yet and nor have most. However, it is not impossible but it would be surprising if the 'pre-amp function' were better than a 52 or the DAC better than a Naim DAC.
 
No probs, whenever you're ready. I'm 30 miles south of the border. head for Keilder Forest which is about 15-20 mins north of me. Fox came over a few weeks back, think it took him about 2 hours through the hills.
 
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