How to stream high-end music on the cheap

Paul, I added Audirvana.. I'm streaming with my Alienware Dell laptop for now. Very clear but my bass went to heck No sub yet. Will the Dragonfly help? I'm using Your BHK pre & the M120 monos going into Focal Kanta 3s.

This guy is so full of shit

why didn't you show us .

Chord mojo 2 is much better then audioquest dragonfly cobalt.
Regarding sound.
Dragonfly is sinple easy to use but also of less quality then Mojo 2.

get to the point already

foobar2000 is free, bit perfect and sounds good.

Couldn't you just use a decent Audio Interface as your DAC?

can I install Teradak Apple MAC MINI (2018) Module on mac mini m2 pro 2023 then power it with Omegon Pro Powerbank 96k or EASYLONGER Portable Powerstation Battery Cpap-Device 96000 mAh/297.6 Wh ?

To the gentleman who wants hi res streaming on rhe cheap-you get what you pay for. 🎶

USB can be converted to SPDIF and then run into a cd player but it would make more sense to get a USB converter.

I love the Denafrips Ares II 12th with my Arcam AVR5 receiver, sounds the most realistic ever so far like a live performance.
omg, the singers and band sound like they are in the room.
(I've listened to $90k, $200k, and $1m 2-channels systems with Wilson Audio speakers and either Burmester or Dagostino amps, that use delta-sigma dacs which sound powerful because I can feel the energy, and fuller but they don't sound realistic like a live performance...I still heard the equipments between my ears and the artist/instruments.)

Apple Music (lossless) --> iPhone 12 Pro Max --> Apple Lightning to USB camera adapter --> USB into the Denafrips --> RCA into the Arcam AVR5 receiver --> 2 speakers and 2 subwoofers (Definitive Technology Supercube SC6000 by the screen, and a SC4000 by my couch).
NOTE: my system is really a home theater 7.2.4, and now I'm upgrading the music side of it. Thus, I am using the existing speakers in the home theater and have to use RCA in the Arcam AVR5 (it does not have XLR input).
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I want the best sound quality that I can afford for my new Denafrips Ares II 12th so I bought a Parasound 2250 v.2
The Denafrips Ares II 12th sounds even better with my new Parasound 2250 V.2 amplifier than it already does with my Arcam AVR5.
The Parasound made the mids sound fuller and even more 3D live thanks to the Denafrips.

Apple Music (lossless) --> iPhone 12 Pro Max --> Apple Lightning to USB camera adapter --> USB into the Denafrips --> RCA into the Arcam AVR5 receiver --> RCA into the Parasound 2250 V.2 --> 2 speakers and 2 subwoofers (Definitive Technology Supercube SC6000 by the screen, and a SC4000 by my couch).

NOTE: My system is really a home theater setup as 7.2.4. As a positive side of effect of the Parasound upgrade for 2-channels music , movies now sound more impactful from all 3 LCR speakers and the scenes that have music sound way better. (before my LCR were powered by the Arcam AVR5, now the LR are powered by the Parasound and the Arcam AVR5 powers the center channel)
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I DO NOT recommend these:
Denon X3700H and Emotiva BasX-A3, while they sound ok for movies (I rate 3/5), they are terrible for 2-channels music (I rate 2/5).
Spotify is also terrible lossy music.
Many audio enthusiasts forget that dynamics are really that fourth dimension. Power is one thing, but resolution and low-level detail is another thing.

I've upgraded to these products that I recommended:
Arcam AVR5 receiver (I rate 4/5)
Parasound Zonemaster 2 (I rate 4/5)
Parasound 2250 V.2 (I rate 5/5, wide, deep and 3D live soundstage)
Apple Music

I recommend these DACs at each price point:
Topping E50 (I rate 3/5)
Topping E70 (I rate 4/5)
Denafrips Ares II 12th anniversary (I rate 5/5)

How do you feel about foobar2000?

Currently looking through Schiit Audio's DACs to go with the headphone amp I'm getting from them :P

I use an LG V60 phone with its quad DAC built in. I run out headphone Jack to schiit audio headphone amp. Works great for me.

love that desk!!! And your easy to digest audio info, thanks Paul.

The answer is WiiM min streamer /dac. I paid $84 brand new on Amazon.

Raspberry pi with Volumio will stream NativeDSD and FLAC up to DXD (32bit float + 384khz). Nifty phone app too...
Just pick your decent DAC + Preamp + Amp combo and plug in....

Wiim mini!

Thank you for this overview. I am a simple guy and kind of slow with all things electronics. Here's my simple question:

I have a pair of Sonos Ones and a Sonos Sub Mini, and I use AirPlay 2 (not the Sonos app) to stream music and podcasts. All I want to do is add my home stereo setup to AirPlay so that I can have synced whole-house audio. Will a Wiim Mini (or the Pro) get me there? Thanks.

My pc has a great built-in dac but I built it myself so...

I used to spend so much time testing different equipment and collecting tons of mostly uncompressed music that by the time I had everything set up, I didn't listen to my music anymore. Now I just spend my free time "listening" to my music in the most simple way and it's more enjoyable.

Audirvana only works with a few streaming services, not Amazon HD Music just in case some was wondering. Tidal, Quobiz, and HD something or other. Anyone know what will work with Amazon HD Music on a Mac?

Wiim mini

Why can't someone use the DAC in their AV receiver, integrated amp etc. ? Why make people think they have to go out and by a DAC?

iPhone/iPad with Camera Adapter with extra Power Connection to a RME ADi-2 DAC FS (with ESS) / via PC to the RME DAC , Perfect Soundstage on Stereo (2.0 / 2.1) and on Headphone ; no or so small jidder and Disortation more as 120dB

I forgot to add it's best to use an Ethernet cable and not a wireless modem for your computer's signal. Especially now with the Cat 6,7, and 8 Ethernet cables which really help you get the most out of your internet signal. You will find better sound quality using cables than any kind of wireless or "bluetooth" system connections.

I just researched everything about streaming for last couple of days... and am glad you just said the same things what I am planning :)

My sound system is built around my gaming PC. ( NAD 208 thx balanced power amp/Emotiva xda-2 balanced preamp-DAC/aDs 910 full-range standmounts ). I finally quit buying every album ( in hi-res formats ) I wanted to listen to and now use Amazon HD for streaming. Works great!

That's pretty expensive for a program that just operates as a diverter. Sorry but if the DAC is supposed to convert Digi to Analogue, then why do you need to spend another £100 just for a program to facilitate that. What exactly do the OS' do that is so bad as to make the DAC seemingly only partially effective? Thanks.

The Meridian 808 have a digital input. It doesn’t have a USB input. All you need is audiovarna and a usb to spiff converter!

That's exactly the question I'm asking to myself since 24 hours.... ^^
Roon is SO EXPENSIVE for the job I need...

Wow, time flies.. minimum Mac version is now $120

An iPad into a Topping D30 pro into powered studio monitors. Done ✅

I have Harman/Kardon HD990 CD player that has a DAC you can use with an outside source, I play some of my files or streaming via the HK.

I installed a Creative Sound Blaster AE 5 Plus internal sound card dac on a high-end computer I built myself and use Amazon Music Plus and get excelent quality sound with no noise. I run it into a Yamaha CX-2 preamp Tape 2 selector connected to Yamaha MX 1 amp.

Hi Paul. Thanks a lot for your great videos. I just aquired a DENON PMA1600NE with a build in DAC and I wonder if I need Audirvana if I use the Exclusive Mode in Tidal? Does the Exclusive mode not bypass all the badness of Windows handling the sound that you talk about in this video? For me I can't hear the difference on casual comparison between using Audirvana and Tidal Exclusive mode if I compare them. If I turn OFF the Tidal Exclusive when listening to Tidal it sounds AWFULL as you also mention in your video but if I turn Exclusive Mode on in Tidal I think it sounds like using Audirvana. Also, with the Tidal Exclusive mode I can see that my DAC responds and Changes Sample rate as per the Tidal resolution so it seems that Tidal is taking full control on the DAC when I put it in Exclusive mode. Care to elaborate a bit between Audirvana and Tidal Exclusive mode? Do I end up with a bit-perfect sound using Tidal Exclusive Mode or is there still a point using Audirvana that I miss if only using Tidal Exclusive Mode? Thanks a lot

Thanks for sharing 🙏

I had no problems with the internal dacs on a laptop or desktop UNLESS the internal was somehow defective.

I've used JRiver Media Center for years, and yes it has many features and functions, that's the appeal and what makes it such great value-for-money, but it's not really difficult to use.

The Black Ice Audio Fusion DAC Transport has stand-alone DAC, coax, and Toslink inputs, and analogue and digital outputs.

Hi paul, where did you go to high school, mountain view? los altos? You look familiar.

The Question is, how to do You Stream my High End Music to my Stereo, there's allot of DVD Audio you can Purchase and Download to your Computer, I have Allot of High End Music on my Computer, that I purchased. For a Couple Years I burned this Music to a Dvd Audio Disc, this worked out really Well, until most Audio App Companies stopped Supporting their App program, even the PC world Companies Stopped supporting this. I've always Wanted Apple to Support High End Music Streaming, let's say their Apple Tv supporting High End music, Nope, all this High End Music gets Down Converted on the Fly to my Stereo. Whats the Best Way to Hold my High End music thats on my Computer to my Stereo.

There are many CD and SACD players that have a DAC separately accessible via digital inputs. Usually they also have digital output in case you want to use the transport only into a different DAC.

Sadly Audirvana has gone subscription and by no means a cheap on for what is essentially a one-trick pony.

My desktop computer has an optical output option and my integrated amplifier (Yamaha A-S301) has an optical input option, so I connect them via TOSLINK cable and it sounds pretty good to me. Does doing that bypass the computer's internal sound processing and send a "pure" unprocessed digital signal to the amplifier? And if so, is it still desirable to use an external DAC under this scenario?

A WiiM streamer ($99) optical out to the inexpensive DAC of your choice might be the ticket, “on the cheap”.

Would like to know any alternatives to Audirvarna for Mac now that they have a subscription service. I have heard HQ Player is recommended, but it might be too high-spec for me (power wise). Any other recommendations for non-subscription audio software/programs to bypass the Mac's signal into my DAC?

Hello, I like your videos so much teaching in a sincere way about different subjects. Thanks!