photonman

Does your Rega and PC have optical input and output, respectively. I have found optical out of a PC to a DAC beats USB out of a PC. It was pretty obvious and I never would have believed it so give that a try first.

I guess it is all relative, compared to Pandora this is much higher res and definition. And for all intent purposes, uncompressed CD quality is about all you need for good sound on Sonos equipment. If I could play Sonos Radio on my main system, I would but I can still stream via my TV's Playbar.

I agree with R120 CL and second the sentiment of "why" add more cost, cables, equipment and complexity if your wireless is working and you have a caching music streamer. Keep it simple.

That has been my experience with using a Macbook as my streamer. I have tried the USB output a few times and I always end up back with the Toslink out. I would be curious how the USB output of a purpose built streamer such as the Zenith compares.

After years of no pre, I was frustrated with software volume controls and not being able to easily make fine adjustments. The software volume slider scales are typically small and with a slip of the mouse, BOOM 100% volume. I recently added a pre and life is much easier now and no SQ issue. With my particular pre, the SQ at low volumes is greatly improved.

The site has them on sale for 3,700 Euro's which is about $4,400 USD now!

Sorry, got off topic a little. I did try SQ+ with the Amazon Mac app. It would start out fine but after about 15 minutes of continuous play I would get pops and clicks. Amarra support looked into it and responded that the Amazon app was CPU intensive from what they saw.

What about if I am using Amarra SQ+ with the Spotify app streaming to my Benchmark stack using the volume control on the LA4 preamp?

If only Amazon HD had Spotify's apps and algorithms! For now I will stream lossy proudly. I let my Amazon HD expire in favor of staying with the green and black.

So everything seems to work, more or less but just a couple of things to note: Boot up seems to take longer now. It stalls for about 5 or so seconds halfway through the sequence Amarra SQ+ seems to function properly but the equalizer chart graphics are messed up. Maybe an update is needed by Amarra but it is set to check for updates on start up Other than that, just the usual UX changes.

My interest was piqued and switching to a LA4 from my DAC3 direct to the amp has been a definite improvement due to the better volume control, especially at low to moderate levels. I now have a full Benchmark stack so system synergy is a real consideration.

I saw the update this morning too and will jump on it in a little bit. I am expecting my Amarra player to break but we shall see. My Macbook Pro is mid-2014. Good to hear you are not having issues so far.

When I go to my parents, I hook up my iPhone straight to his year 1995 Adcom pre (with no external DAC widget) which feeds his 1995 Adcom amp out to his 1995 Snell speakers and I sometimes almost think his setup sounds better than my modern stuff. It really makes me pause and go "hmmm..." to myself. So yes, I think an IOS device can sound good.

With that budget, a Macbook should be considered. Mac OS allows you to experiment and use different software players which an IOS device does not. Plus you get the rock solid performance, reliability and longevity of Mac hardware. If you want to bypass Mac core audio, there is software that can accomplish that goal. I use Amarra SQ+ and stream Spotify via their client software to an external dac. Anyways, my two cents.

View Classified Nord One SE NC500DM MKII Dual Mono Mint condition Ncore 500 based amplifier with upgraded WBT 0703Cu speaker binding posts and RCA-XLR switchable inputs, Sparkos Labs SS2590 op amps and Neotech solid core speaker wiring. Shipping (mainland USA) and Paypal fees included at asking price. Synergistic Orange fuse available for additional $50. Original owner for one year. Seller photonman Date 11/08/20 Price