To set the scene briefly:-
At present I am Naimless and in the hi-fi wilderness having previously owned Naim equipment for around 25 years. I have a little Denon all-in-one system with a pair of Eclipse TD307II single driver speakers. A very enjoyable little set-up actually but certainly not up to the standards of replay that most (all) of the good people here are enjoying. The plan is to eventually get back to Naim with a one-box system, either a UQ or UnitiLite probably. However, our financial circumstances and the need to prioritise with our spending mean that this is unlikely to happen any time within at least the next 5 years.
Now I have a netbook on which a have a fair amount of music from various sources, mostly as MP3's. I am able to put these on a USB drive to plug into the Denon for listening to and the results are very pleasing. However I really would like to stream music direct from the netbook to the Denon. I need a wireless DAC, and it needs to be very cheap! For logistical reasons I cannot have the netbook hard-wired to the hi-fi, so it definitely needs to be a wireless solution.
Arcam do one that retails at just over £300. This is out of the question on cost grounds, and also I feel it would simply be OTT for the set-up I have. I have seen one on Amazon made by Lindy for just over £40. It is sold as a "USB wireless audio extender" and it would certainly achieve what I want, but I am concerned about the quality. I am realistic and I know I'm not going to get an audiophile product for that price, and neither is it intended as such. But I don't want to end up with something that sounds so far below the performance of the USB drive/input that I won't ever bother using it.
My question is does anyone here have any experience of this or similar products, and if so what is your opinion of them? Are they a viable cheap option, albeit not "audiophile" quality, or are they simply a load of rubbish to be avoided?
Many thanks.
Peter
Posted on: 01 October 2012 by DomTomLondon
Peter, if you're happy with the sound quality you're getting from the USB drive. Perhaps you could look at that option. I've just picked up a 32GB pen drive on amazon.co.uk for £11+Postage. You could pick up 4 pen drive well within your budget and have 128GB of storage to play with. That should be enough for quite a few MP3 or Lossless albums.
Posted on: 01 October 2012 by pjl2
DomTomLondon,
The sound from the USB input is very enjoyable, and in practice I tend to use it more than playing CD's because it is so convenient and easy to select tracks from different albums. The Denon will only recognise MP3 or WMA files via the USB input unfortunately, there is no support for lossless files, which is a little irritating. However there doesn't seem to be a huge difference between the sound of CD's and MP3's on the Denon - CD's are better but both are enjoyable and musical. No doubt the difference would be more pronounced on a UnitiLite for example, but one has to keep things in perspective.
The Denon is a very budget all-in-one system. Excellent as it is for the money (and it is surprisingly good), with the best will in the world it can never even begin to compete with something in the Naim range - that would simply be asking for the impossible. But on its own terms it is a very musical little set (especially with the Eclipse single-driver spreakers I have) and more than good enough to serve me until a Naim one-box system arrives here. That day will definitely come, but it may well be some way off yet. The Denon will then take up permanent residence in the bedroom.
Peter
Posted on: 01 October 2012 by DomTomLondon
Hi Peter, Sounds like you're enjoying your Denon system, and if you're happy with the sound from MP3 or WMA files, then use a few USB sticks for everyday listening, and burn a CD from WAV or lossless file when you want to listen to higher quality.
I recently purchased an ex-demo UnitiQute and I have to say that most of the time I listen to internet radio stations anyway, (streaming 320k AAC) sounds great, and almost as good as CD.
Obviously it won't have the same sound-stage and realism as 24/96 albums I feed the Qute via NAS. However, only have a few hi-res file for now anyway.
I'd say enjoy the Denon now, and save for a Naim all-in-one streamer in the future. I'm sure some second hand units will start to appear.
Posted on: 01 October 2012 by PinkHamster
Originally Posted by DomTomLondon:
.....
I'd say enjoy the Denon now, and save for a Naim all-in-one streamer in the future. I'm sure some second hand units will start to appear.
Haaa!!! I hope this is also true for the SuperUniti. Mind you, Peter isn't the only one with a yearning ....
Posted on: 01 October 2012 by pjl2
DomTomLondon & PinkHamster,
Many thanks. The whole computer audio technology seems to me to be changing and evolving ever more rapidly - far more quickly than analogue replay ever did. I would guess that over the coming years we will see many second hand units appear for sale, as those eager to "keep up" sell-on their dated (3+ year old?) units in favour of the inevitable all-new all-singing and dancing models. It is rather like computers themselves. If you are not bothered about having machines with up-to-the-minute specs then there are some real bargains to be had.
Peter
