Nait XS with cheap streamer vs unitilite

Huge posted:

Juls posted:

Thanks everyone for the help. I’ll need to check out this alo digione player. Is there a benefit of this in comparison to just using a Mac mini? 

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Yes, at least three things things...

The Allo DigiOne Player uses a separate board to do the S/Pdif output giving a degree of isolation from the (electrically) noisy main computer circuitry.

The Raspberry Pi is a lower powered computer so is likely to generate less electrical noise in the first place!

The Allo DigiOne Player is a very low power device, so you can leave it running and if you get (or have) a NAS drive then you don't have to power up the Mac every time you want to listen to music.

Have a look at the review on Darko...
//darko.audio/2017/08/allos-digione-pulls-five-star-sound-quality-from-the-raspberry-pi/ 

If you already have a Mac Mini, then it is an excellent basis for a low cost system. Best rendering (playing) software for sound quality on it is Audirvana - inexpensive, and available on free trial (though the control app is not free). Set up fully optimised, and with a dedicated usb output not using the electrical S/PDIF or optical you bypass the Mac’s sound card, but you do have to remove the inevitable RF contamination from the output unless the DAC you use has exemplary RF rejection (as with any computer source - they all generate RF through their internal ‘clocks’). For optimum sound quality dedicate the Mac to this when playing music, and use it ‘headless’ with no monitor or keyboard. 

I originally used mine with a Hugo DAC, and used a Gustard U12 isolator because Hugo is very susceptible to RF (at that time Gustard was about £110, and very effective, usb in and S/PDIF out, or optical).

MM/A into Hugo sounded better than ND5XS as renderer into Hugo. (I had previously upgraded my ND5XS by adding Hugo as external DAC - MM was significantly less than the sale price for the ND5XS, while also freeing up my NAS for backup plus other non music purposes.)

An obvious alternative DAC cheaper than Hugo is Mojo - no idea how your DAC compares, but you can always start with it.

Mac Mini is very low power, and virtually silent - it has a small low speed fan, but mine is inaudible more than a foot or two away in a quiet room. I leave my MM on permanently, and it sits with the other hifi gear - you can even turn it off and on just like any other piece of kit by pressing the button.

I don’t know how MM/Audirvana compares in terms of sound quality with an Allo Digi one setup, but when I auditioned Dave DAC I had the opportunity to compare my MM/A briefly with a Melco N1A, when no difference in sound quality was evident (through Bryston 4B amp and PMC Fact 12 speakers).

Another option for store/renderer that seems to be popular is the Innuos Zen, but it may be out of your price range.

A benefit of this sort of approach if you have a music collection is that the music store and rendering software are in the same machine, with no streaming across a network, something that seems to cause some people problems.

Some people rave about Roon as playing software, which can be run on a Mac Mini instead of Audirvana, its popularity based on its ability to seemlessly integrate with Tidal, and its many linkages for other information when playing, though it has been criticised for not being quite up to the mark for sound quality when used as a renderer - however there have recently been suggestions that it has improved. It is also available for free trial. (N.B. Best quality will still be usb rather than using the Mac’s soundcard, and of course RF isolation still needed.)

[@mention:41551091830475636] thanks alot for the advice. Along with everyone else that has put their input. So it seems I'll be keeping the Nait XS and working off this. I actually have a small fanless laptop which I am not using but don't have a mac mini. I am in Australia so probably don't have access some to some things in US or UK. 

I could use my laptop as a music source and also saw a Rega DAC V1 going for only $300 on the 2nd hand market. Another second hand thing I found is a M2Tech HiFace USB to SPDIF for about $170. Is this M2 Tech Hiface item that RF isolator that you are talking about? I have heard it improves the sound coming from USB. 

Lastly, how would the Rega DAC V1 compare with the chord mojo in terms of sound quality? 

Thanks everyone for your input. Just an update, I have made my decision and will stick with the Nait XS and hold onto my current Airdac until I get the funds for a Chord Mojo. I've done a fair bit of research and it seems that the Chord mojo should be a substantial upgrade without the huge pricetag. I have a spare windows laptop which I will use as my source into the Chord Mojo. 

Just have another question - I know that most people use the Mac Mini as a source however to save money I would prefer to use my spare laptop. It is very small and is fanless so hopefully won't introduce too much noise. Is there a difference in sound quality when using the Mac Mini vs a windows laptop. I know that a difference would be that I can't use Audirvana being a windows laptop however I was looking to use Jriver. 

For now I'll enjoy the music and wait for a decently priced mojo to go on sale. Thanks again 

Some laptops have quite noisy PSUs, and you can always test this by running it on the battery. I’m sure it will work fine if you don’t want to spend money on yet another box.