Seems like a lot of money for something that does what you can already do (probably) with the computer gear you have. It also has less than stellar reviews.
Any audiophiles here?
- Thread starter gchappel
- Start date
I'm an audiophile w/ a small budget so I'm not quite where I wish to be, but I'm learning to be content.
https://systems.audiogon.com/systems/9571
https://systems.audiogon.com/systems/9571
I would try EAC - exact audio copy, foobar or Jriver as trials. Download to your PC and adjust settings for WAV or FLAC for lossless.
Never heard of Brennan. The Astell and Kern would be my HW choice over that one. Obviously, lots of options up the money ladder. Some also stream music services.
Doug, you're right about being able to do this on our own. One could easily set up a NAS and then just rip the CDs. I guess I'm looking for an elegant solution with good software that would integrate easily with my current audio system. I currently do not have a network connected receiver.
those are quite nice systems to be content with!
John, you're right. Some of those pricier units range between $2000-$3,000. I've no interest in spending that kind of money for this project. At those prices, I would probably come out ahead with a NAS which I could also use for photo storage. NAS would also allow me to have access to my music from anywhere in the world.
I finally found a way to put a dedicated two channel system in my family room. I have a Basement Theater I get to do anything I want to in but my wife has veto control in the Family Room.
2.2 system: Anthem STR Preamp, Bryston 6BSST amp, QSC PLD4.2 amp, 2 ea. Dynaudio Contour 20 Monitors, 2 ea. Scan-Speak 32W/4878T Revelator 13" Subwoofer’s, VPI Prime Turntable, Ortofon MC Cadenza Bronze Cartridge. I built the subwoofers myself, purchased the Dynaudio speakers, VPI Turntable and QSC amp (to power the subs) used, bought the Anthem STR Preamp and Ortofon new and pulled the rest of the equipment from other rooms.
It's been a lot of fun getting back in to vinyl. I'm pleasantly surprised the 150 or so LP's I had in storage are in decent shape after a good cleaning. I'm unpleasantly surprised how much new records cost.
I use the USB input on the Anthem to connect an iPod/iPhone via the Camera Connector to get a pure digital signal to the Preamps DAC and all the files are burned from my CD's and saved as Apple Lossless. I have a dedicated CD player but not enough room to put it in the cabinet.
The Anthem has Home Theater Bypass so I can use the same amps and speakers for both Home Theater and two channel.
5.1 system/STR HT Bypass: Denon AVR-X6500H, LG 77 CX, 3rd Dynaudio Contour 20 for Center Channel, 2 ea. Infinity Cascade Model Nine surrounds, Apple 4K TV, Panasonic DP-UB820, Xfinity XG1v4.
The TV has been upgraded but this attached picture gives an idea of my space challenge. I do have cooling fans in the cabinet and have built an equipment cabinet in the crawl space below the family room to put the amplifiers in. The featured "Now Playing" Album is a new release from my Brother-In-Laws Son. We are going to listen to him play tonight at Sleight of Hand Cellars in SODO. Good wine and good music should make for a great evening.
2.2 system: Anthem STR Preamp, Bryston 6BSST amp, QSC PLD4.2 amp, 2 ea. Dynaudio Contour 20 Monitors, 2 ea. Scan-Speak 32W/4878T Revelator 13" Subwoofer’s, VPI Prime Turntable, Ortofon MC Cadenza Bronze Cartridge. I built the subwoofers myself, purchased the Dynaudio speakers, VPI Turntable and QSC amp (to power the subs) used, bought the Anthem STR Preamp and Ortofon new and pulled the rest of the equipment from other rooms.
It's been a lot of fun getting back in to vinyl. I'm pleasantly surprised the 150 or so LP's I had in storage are in decent shape after a good cleaning. I'm unpleasantly surprised how much new records cost.
I use the USB input on the Anthem to connect an iPod/iPhone via the Camera Connector to get a pure digital signal to the Preamps DAC and all the files are burned from my CD's and saved as Apple Lossless. I have a dedicated CD player but not enough room to put it in the cabinet.
The Anthem has Home Theater Bypass so I can use the same amps and speakers for both Home Theater and two channel.
5.1 system/STR HT Bypass: Denon AVR-X6500H, LG 77 CX, 3rd Dynaudio Contour 20 for Center Channel, 2 ea. Infinity Cascade Model Nine surrounds, Apple 4K TV, Panasonic DP-UB820, Xfinity XG1v4.
The TV has been upgraded but this attached picture gives an idea of my space challenge. I do have cooling fans in the cabinet and have built an equipment cabinet in the crawl space below the family room to put the amplifiers in. The featured "Now Playing" Album is a new release from my Brother-In-Laws Son. We are going to listen to him play tonight at Sleight of Hand Cellars in SODO. Good wine and good music should make for a great evening.
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I ripped a BUNCH of cd's over the years- used EAC- exact audio copy. Worked great- ripped to flac.
I used accurateRip to confirm each track. Present library has over 45,000 tracks- most flac or various dsd formats.
It is a great time to listen to music.
gary
I used accurateRip to confirm each track. Present library has over 45,000 tracks- most flac or various dsd formats.
It is a great time to listen to music.
gary
The Brennan looks really good, but will not handle my dsd files- or I would have one.
For a player look at Roon. I used JRiver for 10years. At least for me and my ears- Roon is better.
Sound better, tools easier to access. Integration with Qobuz and Tidal are seamless.
gary
For a player look at Roon. I used JRiver for 10years. At least for me and my ears- Roon is better.
Sound better, tools easier to access. Integration with Qobuz and Tidal are seamless.
gary
Roon looks interesting! I just don't care for the monthly $10 fee. Not sure that's worth it to me.
Mitch, I agree it was a stretch. I sure was not going to pay the $600+ for a lifetime license.
Especially hard as I have a license for Jriver- which is about $70 lifetime- but there are $20 upgrades every year or so.
Roon honestly sounded better. Makes no sense, but it did.
It also seamlessly integrates with qobuz which is the high res streaming service I chose. I have roughly 8000 cd's burned to flac. But qobuz often has higher resolution versions available.
So when I search for music on roon, it is setup to play the highest res version available- which is often streamed even though I have a flac version on my pc.
Roon also does a really excellent job in suggesting playlists every day.
I would try it for a month a see. I am in for a year- I'll see how much I really use it after the new software and new headphone shine wears off.
gary
Especially hard as I have a license for Jriver- which is about $70 lifetime- but there are $20 upgrades every year or so.
Roon honestly sounded better. Makes no sense, but it did.
It also seamlessly integrates with qobuz which is the high res streaming service I chose. I have roughly 8000 cd's burned to flac. But qobuz often has higher resolution versions available.
So when I search for music on roon, it is setup to play the highest res version available- which is often streamed even though I have a flac version on my pc.
Roon also does a really excellent job in suggesting playlists every day.
I would try it for a month a see. I am in for a year- I'll see how much I really use it after the new software and new headphone shine wears off.
gary
Vintage system here. Martin-Logan Vantage ESLs driven by fully restored Krell KSP-7B pre and KSA-50 class A electronics, Infinity Modulus subwoofer & cross-over (the M-Ls have built in subs, the Infinity takes over below 40 Hz), CD/SACDs ripped as FLAC/Apple Lossless to a Sony HAP1-ES server (very pleasing sound from this DAC), vinyl playback on vintage Denon DP-57L TT w/DL-103R & Grado Siggie (orig. version). For kicks and memories from my college days, I sometimes swap in a fully restored vintage pair of JBL L100 Century speakers (orange grills, of course!).
I have a large collection of 60s, 70s, 80s, & 90s pop music, music that I grew up hearing, all of which are very enjoyable on this setup.
I have a large collection of 60s, 70s, 80s, & 90s pop music, music that I grew up hearing, all of which are very enjoyable on this setup.
I'm a recovering audiophile. You never say 'recovered'...
I chased the dragon for many years before coming to a couple of conclusions. 1 – If you’re not serious about room treatments you’re not really hearing what you’re paying for. 2 – If you often listen to specific music just to hear how good, or bad, your system sounds instead of music you enjoy you’re kind of an idiot. One day, seven or eight years ago, it suddenly dawned on me that I was an idiot, listening way too much to Mahler’s 2nd or Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring, trying to appreciate the extra bit of dynamic range or quicker attack and decay, as I switched out an endless array of amps, DACs and speakers [and even cables sometimes]. I appreciate classical music, but I just don’t like it very much.
These days I happily listen to rock and punk and blues, with the occasional reggae or jazz recording mixed in. Mostly from Apple Music. A very cheap Topping amp powers Ascend Acoustics speakers, which make me smile every time I turn up the power with Rancid or Buddy Guy playing. I still enjoy my lower-end Grado and Sennheiser cans and my $300 DarkVoice tube amp, but I listen through AirPod Pros way more often.
That transformation really informed my photography decisions as well, leaving me with a ‘good enough’ high value Nikon kit. I no longer test lenses by shooting brick walls and obsessing over corner sharpness. I just take photos.
I find myself way happier and more satisfied with music and photography than ever. I’ve also found way more satisfaction from spending my disposable income in other ways. I don’t say this to tell others that they should behave differently. To each their own, for sure. And I do acknowledge that part of me will always long for a dedicated room with a no-expenses-spared system, chock full of McIntosh electronics and four or five pairs of speakers I can switch back forth from. Cue the Mahler…. ?
I chased the dragon for many years before coming to a couple of conclusions. 1 – If you’re not serious about room treatments you’re not really hearing what you’re paying for. 2 – If you often listen to specific music just to hear how good, or bad, your system sounds instead of music you enjoy you’re kind of an idiot. One day, seven or eight years ago, it suddenly dawned on me that I was an idiot, listening way too much to Mahler’s 2nd or Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring, trying to appreciate the extra bit of dynamic range or quicker attack and decay, as I switched out an endless array of amps, DACs and speakers [and even cables sometimes]. I appreciate classical music, but I just don’t like it very much.
These days I happily listen to rock and punk and blues, with the occasional reggae or jazz recording mixed in. Mostly from Apple Music. A very cheap Topping amp powers Ascend Acoustics speakers, which make me smile every time I turn up the power with Rancid or Buddy Guy playing. I still enjoy my lower-end Grado and Sennheiser cans and my $300 DarkVoice tube amp, but I listen through AirPod Pros way more often.
That transformation really informed my photography decisions as well, leaving me with a ‘good enough’ high value Nikon kit. I no longer test lenses by shooting brick walls and obsessing over corner sharpness. I just take photos.
I find myself way happier and more satisfied with music and photography than ever. I’ve also found way more satisfaction from spending my disposable income in other ways. I don’t say this to tell others that they should behave differently. To each their own, for sure. And I do acknowledge that part of me will always long for a dedicated room with a no-expenses-spared system, chock full of McIntosh electronics and four or five pairs of speakers I can switch back forth from. Cue the Mahler…. ?
Such a spot-on post, demiro!
I'm still in love with the B&W 802's I bought in the early '80s. They were fed by an inexpensive Hafler until one of it's channels went out and is now powered by an inexpensive Adcom. Preamps have gone from Sony ES to - currently - Integra. LPs are long gone, CD through Marantz or Tascam (I can adjust the pitch for old blues so I can play along). Speaker cables are Mark Levinson that cost more than the Adcom by about 2X (they were the "discount" when I bought the speakers).
I've always wanted to upgrade the electronics, but have never quite felt a big enough need. The new version of the 802s cost more than my used BMW would sell for so I'm glad I bought mine when I did and the car isn't for sale.
I've always wanted to upgrade the electronics, but have never quite felt a big enough need. The new version of the 802s cost more than my used BMW would sell for so I'm glad I bought mine when I did and the car isn't for sale.
When you have a hearing loss like me nothing sounds great. Still I have a nice Marantz amp, Klipsch reference center speakers, a decent woofer, Bosh on the side and rear and it isn't too bad. All my TV watching is with a decent set of earphones and bluetooth. Fidelity isn't as important as clarity.
Gary, how do you stream your roon files to your amplifier? Do you have a dedicated media server connected by hardwire or optical cable?
Gordon, that's so true. I hear this from my hearing loss patients all day long. If only they could hear dialogue more clearly. Bluetooth connected hearing aids have been a game changer for many.
You can use a NAS or other storage device as a Roon endpoint. They have a pretty good trial period to see how you like the app. I‘ve been a 3 year user so far with 5 endpoints in my house - main system, family room, workout room, office, and outdoor space. You can group similar end points to play the same music, or you can have each one playing a different tune.
I started with WD hard drive connected to my iMac then went to a dedicated streamer and storage device - Innuous Zen. The Roon support site is pretty helpful with support and advice.
https://roonlabs.com/
I really have only one listening space. What would be the best way to connect my storage device to my older but nice Onkyo TX-NR901 receiver?
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