Tidal + iPhone/MBP + Apple TV

[krzysgro]

Hello!

 

I've been digging on this topic for a last few days and it seems that I have to ask experts to get things clear I hope that some of you would like to answer my questions or direct me to the answers posted elsewhere...

 

I have a pair of BWs 685s2 connected to the Marantz PM6005. So far so good Next in chain is an Apple TV2 connected to the amp via toslink, and this device is used just as a AirPlay receiver.

I'm almost exclusively streaming from Tidal in HiFi-quality and I started to wonder if my current setup is choking the SQ at some/few points and if there's a way to bypass this points in order to keep the quality difference (and motivate more expensive subscription) between Tidal and say Spotify?

 

Scenario 1.

Macbook pro with Tidal, toslink via headphone jack directly to the Marantz, best SQ as far as I've read. Am I losing some SQ here?

Unfortunately the Wife is using MBP often so this scenario is less common...

 

Scenario 2. The most common one.

Tidal on the Iphone while I'm listening at the couch on the other side of the room, airplay to the ATV2, toslink to the Marantz.

 

a) First chokepoint - internal DAC in the mobile? Second - airplay protocol scaling all (up or down) to 16/44 (?) and third - the internals of the ATV2.

 

b) How much audible loss in SQ am I getting in comparison to the source (Tidal HiFi)?

 

c) Is buying an amp with build-in airplay going to change anything, by removing ATV2 from the chain?

 

d) Is there a way to bypassing the mobile's internal loosy DAC and still stream sound to the amp?

 

e) In case I'd like to get things simple and draw a toslink cable to the couch and hook my phone to it via some external DAC - which one should I consider and how would the "music chain" look like in that case?

 

Thanks!

Kristoffer

[Rexp]

Hello!

 

I've been digging on this topic for a last few days and it seems that I have to ask experts to get things clear I hope that some of you would like to answer my questions or direct me to the answers posted elsewhere...

 

I have a pair of BWs 685s2 connected to the Marantz PM6005. So far so good Next in chain is an Apple TV2 connected to the amp via toslink, and this device is used just as a AirPlay receiver.

I'm almost exclusively streaming from Tidal in HiFi-quality and I started to wonder if my current setup is choking the SQ at some/few points and if there's a way to bypass this points in order to keep the quality difference (and motivate more expensive subscription) between Tidal and say Spotify?

 

Scenario 1.

Macbook pro with Tidal, toslink via headphone jack directly to the Marantz, best SQ as far as I've read. Am I losing some SQ here?

Unfortunately the Wife is using MBP often so this scenario is less common...

 

Scenario 2. The most common one.

Tidal on the Iphone while I'm listening at the couch on the other side of the room, airplay to the ATV2, toslink to the Marantz.

 

a) First chokepoint - internal DAC in the mobile? Second - airplay protocol scaling all (up or down) to 16/44 (?) and third - the internals of the ATV2.

 

b) How much audible loss in SQ am I getting in comparison to the source (Tidal HiFi)?

 

c) Is buying an amp with build-in airplay going to change anything, by removing ATV2 from the chain?

 

d) Is there a way to bypassing the mobile's internal loosy DAC and still stream sound to the amp?

 

e) In case I'd like to get things simple and draw a toslink cable to the couch and hook my phone to it via some external DAC - which one should I consider and how would the "music chain" look like in that case?

 

Thanks!

Kristoffer

I would get a Google Chromecast Audio ($35) which is like a better sounding ATV. You can connect it to your amp's Toslink or Analog input (see which one sounds better) and use your iphone with Tidal HiFi. To upgrade further you can add a DAC between GCA and amp. Have fun!

[maelob]

Just curious what are you wondering about sq? Are you not happy with the way it sounds? I am also an apple tv user and use it like you for casual listening. If I were you i would get the wyred4sound reclocker- it would clean the apple tv digital signal a lot. It has good reviews. You can also use it with the chromecast - and if you dont like it - just return it.