Help and advice to resurrect some old hifi for my son
Posted by: Arnsider on 02 November 2017
I hope I have posted this in the correct forum... and at the risk of missing any obvious answers, here goes..
Whilst spending a really nice afternoon with my 19yr old son ( who doesn't live with me) he has discovered my 172/250.2 system and spent ages going through loads of my music library...even surprising me with his choices of songs! He called it a 'magic box' and this got me thinking.
I have an old NAD 3020 amp and some JPW bookshelf speakers in the attic doing nothing. My question is this.... Is there an inexpensive 'box' which I can connect to one of the NAD inputs from which he can control and play music from a usb stick? I would like to set this up simply and inexpensively to begin with (hence usb) and see if he enjoys it. I would prefer to avoid control via laptop/tv as he will be less likely to use. App control on his phone may work though. If he does get 'into the system' then I can work towards a more dedicated NAS setup with a 'proper' streamer for him but would like to try something simple and inexpensive first.
Any thoughts or ideas are really appreciated...
Regards
Posted on: 02 November 2017 by Motel Blues
If he has music stored on or streamed via his phone he could plug that straight into the NAD, presuming the phone has a headphone output.
Posted on: 02 November 2017 by ChrisSU
Last year I resurrected an old system from the loft (A&R A60 and Royd Apex) and set it up for my daughter. I added a Yamaha WXC-50 which has a similar range of functions to your 172, but without the Naim price tag. I also considered a Sonos Connect, but it has no USB input and doesn’t support Hi-res formats. The Yamaha has been a great solution for her, and sounds pretty good for the price.
Posted on: 02 November 2017 by Arnsider
Thanks for the suggestions, from memory it does motel, but will dig it out to check. Chris, that Yamaha sounds more the ticket although still a few hundred quid to get up and running. Will look into it though.
Posted on: 02 November 2017 by Robert Burgess
Posted on: 02 November 2017 by kevin J Carden
One more vote for the Yamaha. Truly impressive sound quality and the MusicCast app is best in class - blows Sonos app into the weeds. It will take USB drives, but I'd warn that you may find yourself on the hook for one of the many streaming services supported (Spotify, Deezer, Tidal, Juke, Napster, Qobuz etc) once your son discovers the delights of the MusicCast interface.
Posted on: 02 November 2017 by Arnsider
Can feel I have started something here....and you may well be right as we talked about Spotify too....hmm.
Posted on: 02 November 2017 by Dave***t
If your son happens to be a student, it's worth knowing that Spotify offer a student discount which takes the price down to £5 per month.
Posted on: 04 November 2017 by john s
You might also try connecting an old dvd player that has a usb input, as long as it can play the file formats you want to use - I did this in my garage system with an old cambridge audio amp.
Posted on: 04 November 2017 by G. Warminger
An Audioquest Dragonfly Black or Red will allow connection to an iPhone or iPad with the USB adaptor and a mini-jack to phonos for streaming Spotify etc.
Posted on: 05 November 2017 by DC71
Chromecast Audio is a super cheap and cheerful option for this, but my vote goes to the Bluesound Node2. Very similar in function/price to the Yamaha, also with a very good app and to my ears slightly better sound. Designed/made by NAD. It's also been a big seller for a while so I'd venture to guess that they come up regularly on the secondhand market.
Posted on: 05 November 2017 by French Rooster
bluesound node 2 too. usb connection and streaming from nas, pc, or direct streaming from deezer, qobuz, and spotify. nice little system with nad integrated.
Posted on: 05 November 2017 by Arnsider
Loads of great ideas here and many thanks to you all for your help and input. I had looked at the Chromecast audio, will also have a look into the Audioquest and the Bluesound too now. Hopefully I'll get him enjoying his music .....and the student Spotify discount could be good too
Posted on: 05 November 2017 by Gazza
My daughter has the Spotify £5 service for premium, but it means as it is also on my iPad I get to benefit as well. Great for a quick listen before buying.
Posted on: 06 November 2017 by Huge
There's one thing I'd do first and that's to power up the NAD for a couple of days before connecting any speakers to it. This will help the reservoir capacitors recover from long term storage and give some time for all the electronics to stabilise without risking damage to the speakers from transitory imbalances whilst it gets itself sorted out again.
If you can, measure the DC voltage at the speaker terminals to make sure it's not gone completely out of kilter (it's very likely to be fine, but checking before exposing the speakers is always a good idea).
For a source I'd agree with the recommendations for the Chromecast Audio (if he has an android phone - it doesn't work so well from Apple devices), or the Bluesound Node 2.
