Gryffles Posted August 29, 2017 Share Posted August 29, 2017 (edited) I'm considering going to a digital front end after spending the last 7 years listening exclusively to vinyl. I tried to do it on the cheap to compliment my analog front end once and gave up as it was rubbish in comparison. Mainly due to my vinyl rig costing over 4 times as much as my digital expenditure. I love the thought of purchasing music from the comfort of my home and downloading it right there and then as well as the convenience of streaming. My intention is not to sell all my records and write vinyl off, more to get a system that is more convenient. I can't afford to have a digital setup that I'd be happy with sound wise and keep my vinyl front end. Maybe it'll help if I list my system as it is now for a point of reference. Cart - Benz Wood SL TT - VPI Scout Phono - NVO SPA II 2A3 SET Amp Speakers - Bastanis Wildhorn I guess my budget would be around $4750. Will only buy second hand to maximise my $$. Oh, you can probably tell from my system I prefer musical over analytical and like valves. From what I can see I need a Music Server and a DAC. What do people who have digital and vinyl or who have made the move think here? What should I consider? Any pit falls to be aware of etc I don't know much about this digital stuff so help me out. Also important that it's user friendly. Edited August 29, 2017 by Gryffles Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeddie Posted August 29, 2017 Share Posted August 29, 2017 Welcome to the dark side. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gryffles Posted August 29, 2017 Author Share Posted August 29, 2017 1 minute ago, Jeddie said: Welcome to the dark side. I thought that's what's said when going the other way? 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Qwertyqaz Posted August 29, 2017 Share Posted August 29, 2017 Get any R2R dac like Holo Spring or Denafrips. Also get a streamer like Auralic Aries and a Synology NAS. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeddie Posted August 29, 2017 Share Posted August 29, 2017 12 minutes ago, Gryffles said: I thought that's what's said when going the other way? Depends which side your on. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
expat Posted August 29, 2017 Share Posted August 29, 2017 Make life easy and buy a streamer/DAC from Lumin, Aurender or NZ's own Antipodes and an external HDD or NAS. Would love to but I'm going the other way after 8 years of enforced digital (rug rats and cartridges ) 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Full Range Posted August 29, 2017 Share Posted August 29, 2017 Look at the range from Bluesound as a fine choice for your new direction I personally use a Node after trying other options and find it fulfilling If you want to make any streaming device to be more analytical - add a better DAC If you want to make It more tubelike - add an iFi ITube 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Odyssey Posted August 29, 2017 Share Posted August 29, 2017 Get a good digital setup to complement your vinyl setup by all means but don't get rid of your vinyl rig because you have a solid vinyl setup. I'm using Yggdrasil and Ragnarok, which in my opinion sounds amazing through my headphones - HD800 and LCD-2f. I had this setup for 3.5 months now and have been extremely happy with it. I can't stop talking about it.... until... Then last Sat, I was fortunate to be able to buy a Rega RP8 with Apheta cartridge here on SNA classifieds for a very good price. I also bought a Avid Pellar phono stage from LWA. This sounds astounding. I did not expect a vinyl rig to sound fast and clear. I hear every minute details through my HD800. I thought Yggdrasil is very resolving but this Rega rig is just as resolving, if not better and even sounds - more vinyl. Welcome to the light and dark side. In reality, you need both sides. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gryffles Posted August 30, 2017 Author Share Posted August 30, 2017 Thank you for your replies so far. After talking to a couple of chaps who are in the know I'm looking at an Antipodes server and DAC options. The Antipodes will take a large chunk of my budget but I guess the crap in - crap out thinking applies to digital just like analog. No point having a great phono stage and poor TT and cart. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PKay Posted August 30, 2017 Share Posted August 30, 2017 (edited) @GryfflesI wouldn't rush on the Antipodes first up. If you have a laptop or PC you could setup Roon and use it with Tidal as a first step. Is it a fair assumption that most of your music starting out is CD Rips? If they are a reclocker like yellowtec puc lite, or Singxer SU1 (which I have for sale). I would look at the Holo dac or Vinshine https://www.vinshineaudio.com/product-page/denafrips-venus-r2r-dac where you can get RJ45 connectors or I2S (HDMI) which is meant to be far superior. The vinshine venus is Singapore $3,850 delivered world wide. Both the Vinshine and Holo will give you heaps of flexibility going forward. Depending on storage of your computer you may need to get a NAS drive. Hold off on the Antipodes I have one and with my Devialet it is now mostly redundant as I stream over the ethernet cables at home using a laptop and a NAS. Edited August 30, 2017 by Nap250 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gryffles Posted August 31, 2017 Author Share Posted August 31, 2017 @Nap250 thanks for your advice. I do have a laptop but it's 4 years old now and a bit crap. The sound doesn't work either. My music wouldn't be CD rips as I don't have a large collection so would use Tidal. I do have a 1TB external hard drive full of music (flac). I'm presuming that I could slowly purchase some downloads too. So with the above info would you say I'd need a new laptop along with a DAC to proceed with your suggested method? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candyflip Posted August 31, 2017 Share Posted August 31, 2017 This is COMPLETELY against my own interests, 'cause I'd much rather buy back all that vinyl you have (!), but please try and keep both setups at least in the short term. I've been down this road before, and if you should change your mind, god help you having to re-buy all that vinyl again some point in the future. Find somewhere (or someone) you can trust to store it in/with, and go charging on, I say. bon voyage mate Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gryffles Posted August 31, 2017 Author Share Posted August 31, 2017 @candyflip 100% keeping all my vinyl and will keep buying some too! I've had a couple of wise folk tell me to hang on to it. I sold around 60 LP's 18 months ago and miss them now. Bummer. Cheers for your thoughts jon 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PKay Posted August 31, 2017 Share Posted August 31, 2017 17 minutes ago, Gryffles said: @Nap250 thanks for your advice. I do have a laptop but it's 4 years old now and a bit crap. The sound doesn't work either. My music wouldn't be CD rips as I don't have a large collection so would use Tidal. I do have a 1TB external hard drive full of music (flac). I'm presuming that I could slowly purchase some downloads too. So with the above info would you say I'd need a new laptop along with a DAC to proceed with your suggested method? Hi, don't use the computer sound card or it will sound dreadful. You will need a Dac first. My laptop is 5 years old and I am running Roon with Tidal and a NAS drive. You can get a few weeks free trial on both. See if you can borrow a Dac. A second hand computer will be a lot cheaper than an Antipodes. Once you work out whether digital is what you really want you can upgrade. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jventer Posted August 31, 2017 Share Posted August 31, 2017 @Gryffles If I were you I would look at the following options: Use the current laptop if you can Borrow a dac if you can or Buy a used dac - Teac/Klein/Oppo 105 and a few others come to mind - very good value for money if necessary buy a used usb/spdif converter - that is if the dac do not have a good usb input Look at the alternative get a used SMS200 /microrendu/Aries as streamers. Maybe start with the Raspberry pi stuff - easy to sell and upgrade Or maybe an excellent starting point is the Aries mini that has an internal dac - about $450 used/demo and then you can build from there If you would like to jump in and buy new the PS Audio Jnr can do all of the things you want new in your budget. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gryffles Posted August 31, 2017 Author Share Posted August 31, 2017 @Nap250 & @Jventer really appreciate your advice with this guys. I think I will do what you both suggest. Just try things out on the cheap and see how I like it and go from there. I would be pretty disappointed if I spent all that money and didn't get what I was expecting. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simo8989 Posted August 31, 2017 Share Posted August 31, 2017 Hi, You should contact Brian Gurr in Auckland b.d.gurr@gmail.com regarding a fully moded JLTi Oppo 105D this will be in your price range and it will fit in with your setup to, it's a good one box solution plus it will do everything digital in a vinyl way. See this site on the JLTi Oppo 105D http://www.customanalogue.com/index.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PKay Posted August 31, 2017 Share Posted August 31, 2017 Until you are sure about digital I would recommend second hand so you don't lose as much on resale. Unfortunately those modded DVD players are hard to get your money back. The other thing is you are paying for a DVD player with drives you don't need and which may break down. The beauty of a stand alone dac is it has no moving parts. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PKay Posted August 31, 2017 Share Posted August 31, 2017 12 hours ago, Gryffles said: @Nap250 & @Jventer really appreciate your advice with this guys. I think I will do what you both suggest. Just try things out on the cheap and see how I like it and go from there. I would be pretty disappointed if I spent all that money and didn't get what I was expecting. I have both a reasonably high end Dac and mid price vinyl and vinyl is the thing I enjoy the most. Even though it is such a pain to get right. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Citroen Posted September 1, 2017 Share Posted September 1, 2017 13 hours ago, Gryffles said: @Nap250 & @Jventer really appreciate your advice with this guys. I think I will do what you both suggest. Just try things out on the cheap and see how I like it and go from there. I would be pretty disappointed if I spent all that money and didn't get what I was expecting. You've probably seen the Bluesound Vault2 on Trade Me Ben https://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=1407453417 Nice and convenient one box solution, decent sound 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rossb Posted September 8, 2017 Share Posted September 8, 2017 I would suggest get a quiet PC running JRiver or Roon, a decent USB interface (eg Audiophilleo, Singxer), and a Border Patrol SE DAC. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
betty boop Posted September 8, 2017 Share Posted September 8, 2017 On 29/08/2017 at 7:51 PM, Gryffles said: guess my budget would be around $4750. Will only buy second hand to maximise my $$. Oh, you can probably tell from my system I prefer musical over analytical and like valves. From what I can see I need a Music Server and a DAC. hi gryffles, am not spent anything of that order, i just run a blue sound node and SSD, I think $1k ? likely do it. I also run a dac into a dac. and if want to run a dac there take your pick. really just comes down how much need to spend I agree wiht the other guys, give a go.... I personally dumped the whole nas approach after a nas drive died and look even upto it was a bit finicky and high maintenance. so dont know if want to go through all that trouble. better start small start simple see if kind of thing that is a goer for you. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gryffles Posted September 8, 2017 Author Share Posted September 8, 2017 Hi @:) al, since I started this thread I've got a bit more of an idea after looking around and reading responses here. If I had enough I would probably have got an Antipodes DX but they are outta my price range when other things are factored in. Then I thought Bluesound Vault2 but I don't need a ripper and it's cheaper to get a Node2 and SSD drive as you suggested. I'm going to change speaker too as my room is to small for my current ones since I moved house. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martykt Posted September 8, 2017 Share Posted September 8, 2017 5 minutes ago, Gryffles said: Hi @:) al, since I started this thread I've got a bit more of an idea after looking around and reading responses here. If I had enough I would probably have got an Antipodes DX but they are outta my price range when other things are factored in. Or is it...... ?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Citroen Posted September 8, 2017 Share Posted September 8, 2017 Factor in exchange rate, duty and taxes and the TradeMe DX version 2 is probably cheaper. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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