Newbie needs advice on streaming to my DAC

[theswissgator]

Hello all,

 

After many years of mass consumer grade audio, I've finally pulled the trigger and bought a nice starter integrated DAC, Pre-amp, Amp. For reference, it is the Perreaux 150i with optional DAC installed.

 

My music collection is almost exclusively either on my computer or streamed via Spotify. I do have some FLAC hi-res files from HDTracks. While the ideal setup would be to have either a laptop or macmini hooked up via USB, the reality is that my computer (iMac) is in my office and all music is streaming from it via ethernet cable and I'm using Audirvanna 2+ for playback.

 

Now here is where my "newbieness" comes into play (no pun intended). When streaming from my iMac, is the signal "pure"? That is, is the signal the same quality as if I were running a USB cable from the iMac directly into the DAC?

 

I have a 3rd Generation AppleTV with optical output. Therefore, would this be the best way to get the signal from the iMac into the DAC (from a networking point of view)? I read that an airport exress wouldn't support full resolution of some of the higher resolution of the HDTracks I have.

 

Is there another solution that would work better? I'm kind of tied to the Airplay thing at the moment as all my devices are Apple.

 

Thanks for the patience as this is a basic question for the vets out there, but I've been reading around trying to educate myself a bit!

 

Cheers

[markebrauer]

Why not try a Chromecast Audio. It's only $35 so not much to lose. I've had mine for a couple weeks and it performs very well as a streamer using the optical output to feed my DAC. It compares favorably with my regular streamer, a Squeezebox Touch with the 192/24 mod. To stream files on my local network I run a DLNA server on my PC and a UPnP phone app that supports casting, both of which were easy to set up. The Spotify phone app has casting built in. Streaming Spotify or 44/16 FLAC files I notice no difference between the Chromcast Audio and the Squeezebox. With higher bitrate files there might be a difference but it is very slight (some say Chromecast is limited to 48/24, I have no way to check).

 

The audio output of the Chromecast (using it's internal dac) is really quite good also but not up to the quality of my DAC. That's to be expected. What wasn't expected it that it also works great as a headphone amp. It drives my 300 Ohm Sennheiser HD 650 phones way better than my phone, laptop, or desktop computer. Plenty of volume and plays with authority.

 

But the biggest reason to get the Chromecast is the price. At $35! it truly is an amazing little device.

[theswissgator]

That's a great idea that I didn't think of! Thanks I'll check into it as well. Cheers.

[master]

Why not try a Chromecast Audio.

 

+1, been using it and loving it. It makes any device both wireless and streaming capable.

 

Sonically, it's no different to any other connection (both wired and wireless), and the huge advantages it offers make it a no-brainer solution/purchase.

[master]

Double post...