Question Entry Level Streamer - What to Choose?

gdickin2

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Having ripped my CDs to Flac and relegating my Arcam Alpha 8 CD player to the gathering dust pile some 18 months ago, I am now using a Sonos Connect into an Arcam FMJ A28 amp via Chord Chameleon interconnects which is powering a pair of Kef LS50 speakers. I stream from AmazonHD and Spotify premium (not HD).

With Sonos now releasing the S2 OS that my Connect will not be able to benefit from, I am thinking that an upgrade is due.

The options I have been considering are:
Bluesound Node 2i
CA CXN V2
Audiolab 6000N
External DAC for the Connect

I don't need a display on the device as it will be inside a cupboard at all times so I won't see it anyway.
I have a very broad ranging taste in music from Heavy Rock to Classical and everything in between.

I can probably stretch to around £1k for the right solution.
I would be grateful for your thoughts on any of the above or any that I've overlooked?
Ultimately I am looking for a notable improvement over the Sonos which can some times sound closed in and lacking in scale.
 
The Bluesound us excellent. Got mine a few weeks ago, really pleased with mine. The Audiolab has good write ups - HiFi Choice rate it as the best for the price.

Alternatively for a grand you could look at a 2nd hand Naim streamer as a step up from those two
 
The Bluesound is excellent. Got mine a few weeks ago, really pleased with mine. The Audiolab has good write ups - HiFi Choice rate it as the best for the price.

Alternatively for a grand you could look at a 2nd hand Naim streamer as a step up from those two
 
Thanks for the info guys. Anybody happy with an external DAC on their Connect?
 
Thanks for the info guys. Anybody happy with an external DAC on their Connect?

Using Roon with a Raspberry Pi endpoint + external DAC now.

But for a long time I was using a Sonos Connect + an external DAC and was more than happy with it.

With an external DAC the Connect is just sending a digital PCM stream to the DAC to do the actual digital to analog decoding, so you wouldn't really expect it to affect SQ unless there was a bug in the software.

The Connect is however limited to passing CD quality (48kHz/16bit). Horses for courses....but to be honest I'm not sure it's worth getting too caught up in the hi-res hype, especially if your main source of music is Spotify. Sample rates aren't everything and there's an awful lot of snake oil and marketing nonsense out there.

No one has mentioned apps/interfaces yet. If you're happy with the Sonos interface make sure you'll be happy with the app/interface on whatever you move to. It's often an overlooked consideration, but a badly designed app, or one you can't get on with, could be more annoying than a possibly imperceivable difference in sound quality over the long term.
 
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