Streamer And Speaker Advice?

theevilplankton

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Looking for some newbie advice please!

Used to be s a streamer (basic set-up), but dumped it last year for a return to vinyl. Treated myself to a new turntable, B&W 603's, Rega Brio, and Rel sub.

However, due to a whole number of issues, I'm looking to get back to streaming, hopefully on a better level than before.

I'm looking at the Naim Uniti Atom - paired with some B&W 707 S2's.

My current B&W speakers, are by all accounts, too big to be successfully powered by the Naim alone (40w?). Hopefully all my gear and vinyl will fund any change!

Question is, do these make a good pairing? I have read that the Atom isn't easy to pair a sub to - would I need one with the 707's? I'd like to not bother with one if possible.

Any advice welcome. I only recently discovered that high-end streamers actually existed - and the Atom appears to be amazing all-round? (should be at that price)
 
Budget?
 
Also, I have to ask why you feel the need to dump your current set up? I would have thought that simply adding a decent streamer to what you already have would give you pretty much all you need - unless a compact all-in-one streaming amplifier is a key factor?
 
Budget would be around 3k.

Reason for not just simply adding to the current set-up, is quite simply, I intend to return to a 'stream only' experience....and the sale of my current stuff (+vinyl) should cover the costs.

Streaming unit and speakers would be ideal alone. I have got a REL T5i sub already, but I can't work out how that would connect to the Atom if required - practicality is not my strongest characteristic.....!
 
Just to confuse things, I spoke with a hi fi shop, and they suggested I look at the NAD M10.

According to them, I can plug my REL sub straight in, and its powerful enough to keep my B&W 603's?

Any thoughts?
 
Do you want the streamer to drive the speakers or would you be happy to have separates? I'd be tempted to get a node 2i and spend the balance on a decent set of speaker and a decent amp with integrated DAC then use the digital output of the node. The node is £500 which would leave £2500 for the speakers and amp. You'd get a pretty good setup for that.
 
Cool - many thanks for that, I'll check those out. Streamer would be driving the speakers, but everything is an option!
 
No problem. I currently have a node 2i which I use to stream through an Arcam SA20 using the coax out and the sound to me is excellent. I haven't heard your speakers though so couldn't say if the amp would be a good match if you were to keep them.
 
If you are trying to move to a single unit, there’s a Powernode 2i, which is the Node 2i plus an 80 wpc Hypex amp. I’m listening to one now.
 
If you are only going to stream why not have a look at the Dynaudio xeo 30 or Dali oberon 7c with bluos module or indeed up the dali chain. Active floorstanders with amps and wireless modules built in. In general the amps built into these speakers suit them very well and often the setup is tidier
 
Lyngdorf TDAI-1120 - streamer and 120w (4Ohms) and with budget (£1990) - gives you room correction that will integrate your sub (up to 2) and main speakers perfectly.

Group test of the Naim Uniti Atom, Nad M10, Lyngdorf 1120
 
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I'm very happy with my M10, though I detect a preference on here for the Lyngdorf (it wasn't available when I was auditioning). I don't use the LFE sub output, but the setup looks easy enough. BTW I'm really loving the BluOS interface; I have no experience of the Lyngdorf interface, but it would have to go some way to beat BluOS.
 
Budget would be around 3k.

Reason for not just simply adding to the current set-up, is quite simply, I intend to return to a 'stream only' experience....and the sale of my current stuff (+vinyl) should cover the costs.

Streaming unit and speakers would be ideal alone. I have got a REL T5i sub already, but I can't work out how that would connect to the Atom if required - practicality is not my strongest characteristic.....!
Another Lyngdorf TDAI-1120 recommendation, I bought a pair of Dali Rubicon 2s last year & shortly afterwards the 1120.
The TDAI-1120 is extremely good value at a shade under£2k & is a dream match with the Dalis & my REL sub.
Streaming quality using Qobuz is extremely good, I listen to all types of music & just love how music is reproduced by this set-up.
 
Looking for some newbie advice please!

Used to be s a streamer (basic set-up), but dumped it last year for a return to vinyl. Treated myself to a new turntable, B&W 603's, Rega Brio, and Rel sub.

However, due to a whole number of issues, I'm looking to get back to streaming, hopefully on a better level than before.

I'm looking at the Naim Uniti Atom - paired with some B&W 707 S2's.

My current B&W speakers, are by all accounts, too big to be successfully powered by the Naim alone (40w?). Hopefully all my gear and vinyl will fund any change!

Question is, do these make a good pairing? I have read that the Atom isn't easy to pair a sub to - would I need one with the 707's? I'd like to not bother with one if possible.

Any advice welcome. I only recently discovered that high-end streamers actually existed - and the Atom appears to be amazing all-round? (should be at that price)
Are you 100% committed to a “high end” streamer?
The reason for asking is that from a zero knowledge base, I opted to go down the route of a Raspberry Pi based streamer. Might you have the (basic) skill set to be able to get a Pi up and running and/or the interest in doing so? if no, then please ignore the rest of this thread.
If yes, then for about £60 for a Pi4 plus case and say a similar figure for a a DAC HAT (I had an ALLO BOSS which cost me £60 or so, but there are cheaper options) then you are up and running for under £150. However, there are many “flavours” to this - I.e. no need to have a DAC HAT and instead output the digital signal via USB to an external DAC (in the past I’ve used two Dragonfly’s, a Schiit Modi 3 & a Schiit Modius). A Topping D30 is also a popular choice.
What persuaded me that I didn’t need to spend many hundred £s on a streamer for my needs, was watching a couple of videos from John Darko and Hans B.
I appreciate the Pi isn’t for everyone and do have to accept that it probably isn’t the prettiest thing you could have in the hifi cabinet.
And I am a fellow Rega Brio user, so my setup at the moment is Pi4>SPDIF HAT>Schiit Modius DAC>Rega Brio>Castle Severn 2s.
At least it’s another option, even if discarded at the first hurdle.
Good luck.
 
Do you need a physical volume knob?

If not what about a Node 2i straight into a pair of active monitors? Genelec, Neumann, Hedd etc.

The Node 2i has a subwoofer output so you could connect both your active speakers and the REL up to it directly without needing a separate amp or pre-amp.

Not sure how much configuration the Node 2i gives over the subwoofer crossover points/filters/slopes etc. But given the NAD10 also runs BluOS I imagine it's pretty much the same in both units.

If you went with studio monitors that had a digital S/PDIF input (optical, coax or AES/EBU) you could connect them to a digital output on the Node 2i and use the DAC and amps inside the speaker itself which will be perfectly matched to the drivers. Something like the 8331 in the Genelec One series (the Digi-Coax output on the Node 2i can be connected directly/digitally to the AES/EBU input on the speakers). Genelec have their own Room EQ platform if you wanted to add that later on.

AES/EBU would also only require a single cable from the Node 2i to the L speaker and then a single cable from the L to the R speaker (or visa versa) as one AES/EBU cable can carry both channels. Which might make the cabling a bit neater.

As mentioned above you can even get active speakers with a network streamer built in. Although I would be slightly wary of going that route (if buying expensive speakers) as you'll likely to want to upgrade the network streamer part long before the speakers. Network streamers come and go, I'd focus your budget on your speakers which is where you're likely to notice the biggest increases in performance for your money.

Also, as no one has asked yet, where are you intending to stream from? Are you looking to use a particular online streaming service or your own local music library of FLAC files? That might have some bearing on what network streamer/media server platform is best for you. You also mention you were previously using a streamer based setup, what was is and what didn't you like about it?
 
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That's all really fab advice - many thanks.

I've ended up with a NAD M10 - and I'm keeping my 603 speakers and REL sub.

Easy to set up (even for me!) and so far sounding good.
 

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