Cambridge or Bluesound
Discussion
Hi all, long time lurker on this part of the forum, but first time poster. Hoping you can help!
I'm in the nice position of having saved some of my hard earned, and been given permission by the wife(!) to enable me to do some upgrading. Its been a long time since I last treated myself to HiFi so its all quite exciting!
No interest whatsoever in AV/Surround sound, looking for a pure stereo setup. My current system is an old (12/13 years I guess) Sony TAFB940 amp, linked to a pair of B&W CM1 S1 speakers, using some QED speaker cable (Silver Anniversary I think it is, and wont change as its under the carpet). My music collection is in ALAC on my Macbook, having ripped all of my CDs a while ago, the mac is connected to the amp via a pretty cheap stoner acoustics UD100 Dac. I've got sky q and apple TV hooked up to the amp too, using a cheap amazon digital/analogue converter.
I've been looking at good quality streaming options, so I can leave my laptop in the study upstairs, and improve the sound. I think I've boiled it down to the following options, in order of cost:
1. My amp, plus a Cambridge CXN
2. Bluesound powernode 2
3. Cambridge CXA60 and CXN
I want to be able to connect the TV/Apple TV & Sky Box to the my HiFi system to get fuller sound on TV and film. Option 3 comes in at come in at £1200ish and I'd not want to go much higher than this. I plan to go to SSAV (bluesound) and Richer (cambridge) with my speakers/amp to to compare options in a couple of weeks.
So what would you do, and why? Also have i missed any better options? Thanks very much.
I'm in the nice position of having saved some of my hard earned, and been given permission by the wife(!) to enable me to do some upgrading. Its been a long time since I last treated myself to HiFi so its all quite exciting!
No interest whatsoever in AV/Surround sound, looking for a pure stereo setup. My current system is an old (12/13 years I guess) Sony TAFB940 amp, linked to a pair of B&W CM1 S1 speakers, using some QED speaker cable (Silver Anniversary I think it is, and wont change as its under the carpet). My music collection is in ALAC on my Macbook, having ripped all of my CDs a while ago, the mac is connected to the amp via a pretty cheap stoner acoustics UD100 Dac. I've got sky q and apple TV hooked up to the amp too, using a cheap amazon digital/analogue converter.
I've been looking at good quality streaming options, so I can leave my laptop in the study upstairs, and improve the sound. I think I've boiled it down to the following options, in order of cost:
1. My amp, plus a Cambridge CXN
2. Bluesound powernode 2
3. Cambridge CXA60 and CXN
I want to be able to connect the TV/Apple TV & Sky Box to the my HiFi system to get fuller sound on TV and film. Option 3 comes in at come in at £1200ish and I'd not want to go much higher than this. I plan to go to SSAV (bluesound) and Richer (cambridge) with my speakers/amp to to compare options in a couple of weeks.
So what would you do, and why? Also have i missed any better options? Thanks very much.
Going for the CA pairing means you'd be doubling up on DACs - perhaps worth looking at a purely analogue amplifier (getting generally better sound without 'wasted' onboard electronics) and use the CXN as a DAC.
I've got the earlier SM6 streamer and it's very decent sounding - I'd try the CXN with your current amp (using analogue connections - let the CXN do the data crunching) and see what it sounds like. If lacking somewhere then look for an amplifier.
With a £500 budget the used market can turn up some truly great two channel integrated amps if that interests you.
I've got the earlier SM6 streamer and it's very decent sounding - I'd try the CXN with your current amp (using analogue connections - let the CXN do the data crunching) and see what it sounds like. If lacking somewhere then look for an amplifier.
With a £500 budget the used market can turn up some truly great two channel integrated amps if that interests you.
I would do the following:
i) Get a NAS - put your music onto it. This removes your reliance on the laptop and has many other uses.
ii) Get a device that can stream from your NAS - perhaps a google chromecast or an amp like the the Yamaha RN301 which has network streaming capabilities and is only GBP199
iii) Spend the rest on the best speakers you can afford (used Harbeths if feasible).
i) Get a NAS - put your music onto it. This removes your reliance on the laptop and has many other uses.
ii) Get a device that can stream from your NAS - perhaps a google chromecast or an amp like the the Yamaha RN301 which has network streaming capabilities and is only GBP199
iii) Spend the rest on the best speakers you can afford (used Harbeths if feasible).
jmorgan said:
Going to be dim here, I am sorting of assuming the MacBook has the combined audio/optical out the same as wth iMac? I was going to use this feature to go optical straight to the cambridge with no extra kit. Not happening now anyway.
No it doesn't only an analogue out on my model. You can use USB to by pass the internal soundcard though - and would be the way I did it. legzr1 said:
Going for the CA pairing means you'd be doubling up on DACs - perhaps worth looking at a purely analogue amplifier (getting generally better sound without 'wasted' onboard electronics) and use the CXN as a DAC.
I've got the earlier SM6 streamer and it's very decent sounding - I'd try the CXN with your current amp (using analogue connections - let the CXN do the data crunching) and see what it sounds like. If lacking somewhere then look for an amplifier.
With a £500 budget the used market can turn up some truly great two channel integrated amps if that interests you.
Yeah, that defo is an option, I like my current amp, so will be giving that set up a listen before buying. The anal/ocd side of me does like the fact if I went all cambridge I could bin anothe remote, but it's probably not worth £500! I've got the earlier SM6 streamer and it's very decent sounding - I'd try the CXN with your current amp (using analogue connections - let the CXN do the data crunching) and see what it sounds like. If lacking somewhere then look for an amplifier.
With a £500 budget the used market can turn up some truly great two channel integrated amps if that interests you.
benz0 said:
I would do the following:
i) Get a NAS - put your music onto it. This removes your reliance on the laptop and has many other uses.
ii) Get a device that can stream from your NAS - perhaps a google chromecast or an amp like the the Yamaha RN301 which has network streaming capabilities and is only GBP199
iii) Spend the rest on the best speakers you can afford (used Harbeths if feasible).
I'll be getting a NAS at some point, and using it as part of the back up solution for my family, as well as for music streaming. On the speakers front, I'm really happy with my B&W TBH. i) Get a NAS - put your music onto it. This removes your reliance on the laptop and has many other uses.
ii) Get a device that can stream from your NAS - perhaps a google chromecast or an amp like the the Yamaha RN301 which has network streaming capabilities and is only GBP199
iii) Spend the rest on the best speakers you can afford (used Harbeths if feasible).
I think AppleTV could be the streaming device you mention. Cheers for sharing some further options, Clearly I need to go and have a listen
MiloD said:
I'll be getting a NAS at some point, and using it as part of the back up solution for my family, as well as for music streaming. On the speakers front, I'm really happy with my B&W TBH.
I think AppleTV could be the streaming device you mention. Cheers for sharing some further options, Clearly I need to go and have a listen
I think the most important factors are ease of use and control, and convenience. Make sure to have a play with various user interfaces and see if you think they work nicely. I think AppleTV could be the streaming device you mention. Cheers for sharing some further options, Clearly I need to go and have a listen
If you're using android on tablet or phone then £3 spent on Bubbleupnp will be the best purchase you ever make - a quick, responsive and brilliant upnp controlling app.
It's so good I invested £50 on a generic android tablet to control my music selection.
For a NAS solution Synology come highly recommended.
A CXN, Synology twin bay NAS and controlling software will be well inside your budget even adding a USB HDD for backup and would make most people happy.
Have fun.
It's so good I invested £50 on a generic android tablet to control my music selection.
For a NAS solution Synology come highly recommended.
A CXN, Synology twin bay NAS and controlling software will be well inside your budget even adding a USB HDD for backup and would make most people happy.
Have fun.
Contrary to what I said about an 'analogue' amp, this looks an absolute bargain from a manufacturer with an excellent reputation for sound quality. £1500+ rrp
https://www.avforums.com/threads/leema-pulse-iii-i...
https://www.avforums.com/threads/leema-pulse-iii-i...
legzr1 said:
Contrary to what I said about an 'analogue' amp, this looks an absolute bargain from a manufacturer with an excellent reputation for sound quality. £1500+ rrp
https://www.avforums.com/threads/leema-pulse-iii-i...
Cheers,, it might just be my taste but it looks like something you'd buy from Maplin, it probably sounds out of this world though. Will have a look into this companyhttps://www.avforums.com/threads/leema-pulse-iii-i...
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