Suggestions / help

When you say streaming, do you mean online streaming, streaming from your own music store (e.g downloaded music), or both? How big is the room you want to play it in, or is some degree of portability needed?

if I was choosing a system from scratch with thst kind of budget, I’d consider getting most if not all secondhand or ex-dem.

If playing a readonable size room (a bit more challenging in a tiny room), with portability not of relevance, I’d consider some old but good floor-standing speakers with well extended bass not requiring a sub (my son has my ancient IMF TLS 50s, which you can pick up today for around £300 yet still sounds very good, it taking a lot more to find a new speaker sounding as good. (I did have repalace the surrounds of the original midrange drivers some time ago because they perished and disintegrated, but that wasn’t difficult, and it seemed that only some driver versions were affected.) Those particular speakers I chose after a mammoth listening session when I discovered how different speakers can sound: out of a group of 12 or 13 in the £2-3k price bracket in today’s money those were the only ones that satisfied me, excelling with both classical and rock. The moral of this is that more than with any other component you must choose your speakers by ear unless you’re happy to take a significant gamble.

For source I might go for what I presently use, Mac Mini (late 2012 version - later ones OK but less DIY upgradeable), dedicated (headless) running Audirvana playing/rendering software, an RF isolator such as Gustard U12, into Chord Hugo DAC, both of which I used when I first got the Mac Mini, just leaving a choice of power amp (no preamp needed as Hugo can drive a power amp directly).

Plenty of amps to choose from - For many years I happily used a Musical Fidelity P170 (on the TLS50’s big brother), which can be picked up for maybe about the same price as the speakers. Something with low output impedance and a decent amount of power is generally needed for speakers like the IMFs: Bryston ideal, but expensive in UK.

of course, on your side of the Atlantic there may be other secondhand choices, with things cheap here sometimes being expensive there - and sometimes vice versa.

Maybe the above gives food for thought, to balance whatever others may suggest.

Streaming music from the Atom to the mu-so would sound the same as playing it directly on the mu-so. 

I’d question the need for a sub. It’s tight and deep bass you want, with no boom or overhang, not loads of bass. Quality not quantity. 

How big is your room?

One thing - and welcome to the Forum by the way - try to give your posts a more specific title, then you will get more responses. Streaming system on a budget, for example. 

Wayne McGinnis posted:

I am willing to spend around $2k - 3k US now and then maybe another 1 k or so over time but then that’s it. I just simply can’t afford to go chasing a perfect system from now on. 

Hi Wayne and welcome to the forum,

Assuming that you are looking at Naim gear, if you can stretch your budget slightly, I would suggest going for the Bluesound Node 2i (about $600) as a streaming source (Naim does not offer a DAC-less streamer), a used Naim DAC (about $1500) and a Naim integrated - let's say the Nait 5i - (about $1000). Speakers are highly room dependent and personal. Only your ears can decide. See IB's comments above.

If you cannot stretch your budget, then the KEF LS50 wireless speakers are an easy recommendation (about $2000). I had these for a month under review, in lieu of a $20K system (Naim DAC, Supernait2, Graham Audio LS5/9). How do they sound ? Balanced, detailed, dynamic and very easy to listen to.

Jan

Innocent Bystander- I will be doing almost exclusively online streaming as I really love the ease of use and the fact that I can listen to almost anything at any time and with decent quality via my iPhone and Apple Music, Spotify, Deezer and Tidal all upgraded to high tier. Airplay 2 has been working great with the Mu-so. I’m still a bit unclear on whether streaming from a Mac desktop or Mac Mini (?) would be an upgrade from my iPhone or not. 

My living room that the system will primarily be in is way less than ideal as it’s really three rooms which are loosely connected. 

Your other suggestions will require me to do some more research as I understood very little of what you were saying. Ha 

I’m ( perhaps somewhat irrationally ) really drawn to Naim because I’ve seen how good their “cheap” and Chinese-made all-in-one unit is and therefore I’m REALLY interested to see just how good their other nicer completely British-made units are. 

Does anyone have any experience with Audio Pro’s , Devialet Phantoms or similar sound Quality versus Mu-so? How would the Kef LS50 Wireless stack up (other than the obvious difference in soundstage) ?  

Finally, part of my personality is that I really like things that different and not common and so therefore my focus on British/Euro equipment rather than American or even Canadian even though I am American myself. This is also probably irrational as well. What North American brands would be somewhat equivalent?

Thanks so much guys for all of the ideas  and posting tips. Please keep them coming! 

Mac Mini running Audirvana would have a particular benefit as a music store, with high quality player in the same box. You can also use Audirvana for Tidal, and could run other software like Spotify on the Mac though at lower quality. But if you’re not really interested in storing downloaded music it is probably an unecessarily expensive solution.

If you get a decent amp and speakers, the primary thing to improve the sound from an iPhone would be a good DAC. A Low cost one with a reputation for remarkable value for money is the Audioquest Dragonfly. Next up is the Chord Mojo, which was designed for mobile phone connection (as was their Hugo, the next one up), again remarkable sound quality for money. These could feed Naim amplification. The cheapest Naim DAC is the V1 (around £1500 new in UK), which can feed a Naim power amp direct.

I’ll leave others with more in-depth knowledge of Naim products to suggest suitable amplification - and there are some Naim amps with in-built DACs.

Wayne McGinnis posted:

I’m really salivating over a Naim Uniti Atom but it’s a lot of money to spend (for me) and I would still need to add speakers and probably a sub. Would streaming to my Mu-so (s) from an Atom give me an appreciable sound quality upgrade? 
If not, then I would have to save up for the speakers and sub as well. 

There's no point in buying an Atom unless you get a pair of speakers for it. In the UK we are lucky to have plenty of Naim dealers in a small country, and finding one who can guide you through the minefield is invaluable. If you can find a dealer near enough to visit, give them a call. I am quite sure that my dealer would be just as happy to spend time helping someone choose an Atom as they would a very expensive separates system, so don't let this put you off.

As for adding a sub, it's not always easy to integrate one into the system so that it works really well, so it can be better to put the money into a better pair of speakers instead. The trick with speakers is to find a pair that match your room acoustics well. Good luck! 

Wayne McGinnis posted:

 Does anyone have any experience with Audio Pro’s , Devialet Phantoms or similar sound Quality versus Mu-so? How would the Kef LS50 Wireless stack up (other than the obvious difference in soundstage) ?  

Regarding the KEF LS50 Wireless speakers, as you state, soundstaging is the obvious difference. Others include (but are not limited to): The KEF's soundstage remains stable in a wide range of off-axis listening positions (thanks to the Uni-Q driver and cabinet shape). Sound is dispersed more evenly around the cabinet and into the room, so that tonal balance also remains quite stable off-axis. 

The KEF LS50 W speakers provide far better definition than the muso and have a high-frequency response that resembles a normal speaker. The mu-so's frequency response drops quickly from 8KHz up. See here (fifth post down).

The mu-so has the edge though when it comes to sheer grunt.

Jan

Wow!

You guys have so many great and varied suggestions and I am so thankful for them all! It it will take me a little while to go through all of them - which may just be the best thing to happen to me (slows that trigger finger). 

Please, please keep the advice and suggestions coming! 

Thanks so much! 

If the latest functionality of the Muso is attractive, I’d supplement it with an Atom and speakers. A lower cost option is to keep the Muso as the main system and add a Qb to the bedroom.

Everyone,

In your opinions, would a combo of NAC 152xs plus NAP 155xs for $2250 new be a good deal and foundation for a system versus a Uniti Atom? I would still need to add some sort of streaming capability correct?

thanks!

The NAC172XS is stupid good for the money it's going for now and has streaming capability. Really quite good with a NAP200. If the 200 is out of budget a 155,150 or 100 would work good as well.

I'd be more inclined to find your nearest Naim dealer who also deals in second hand stuff and let them guide you and demo stuff.

You can build a fantastic system on that budget from a dozen different Naim combinations and even more others. So many I'd hesitate to even mention any on this thread.

Buy the Atom and some good speakers. You'll be enjoying the sound quality long after the cost has been forgotten ;-)

Wayne McGinnis posted:

Everyone,

 

In your opinions, would a combo of NAC 152xs plus NAP 155xs for $2250 new be a good deal and foundation for a system versus a Uniti Atom? I would still need to add some sort of streaming capability correct?

 

thanks!

If you want to build a separates system the 152/155 is a good place to start, and with a decent source you will get much better sound quality that you will from an all in one box. The Atom sounds great for what it is, so if you want the convenience of a small single box, go for it. But if your priority is sound quality and you don’t mind setting up a rack with several boxes, go for the pre/power amps. 

Someone above mentioned checking with dealers for used equipment which is a great idea. A local dealer here in Seattle has eight NAIM used pre/power amp combinations running between $839 to $3489. There should be plenty of used (pre-loved) equipment out there in your price range. Check out the NAIM Audio website here for a listing of the 80 USA dealers. Check out the websites.......

Good luck with your journey.