Moots system

Hi everyone,

I’ve been reading a lot of intro posts and it’s great to see a lot of DIY as well as eclectic mixes of stuff both new and old.

I’m in the Toronto area, and my system consists of...

Luxman 550 integrated amp
Meadowlark Heron hotrod
Avid diva 2 SP turntable
Origin live illustrious arm
Transfiguration axia cartridge
Manley chinook tube phono pre (NOS Siemens tubes)
Older Cambridge cd4 (mostly a vinyl guy)
Cables are Duelund tinned/cotton cable (16 and 20 gauge)

Other then wanting a little more depth (room issue - would love to compare notes with those that have overcome 8 foot ceiling constraints), the system is very musical and generally I tend to think less about the equipment and just listen.

Next step is probably to invest in an intro streaming device mainly to make the audio more family friendly. Please feel free to suggest if you’ve found something great.

Look forward to reading more here.
 
Welcome aboard Moots, you have a very nice system!

I'm not surprised you are able to think less about the system itself, and more about the listening. Thats the name of the game, congrats.
 
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Welcome Moots! There are a few of us here from the Toronto area.

Nice system, I bet that's a great sounding mix of components. The streaming thing has been tackled by a few here on several different levels and I too have had to deal with a low-ish ceiling height, although I doubt you want to start tearing down drywall to deal with it. :) We'll have to compare notes.
 
Next step is probably to invest in an intro streaming device mainly to make the audio more family friendly. Please feel free to suggest if you’ve found something great.

Did you intend to use an existing system, perhaps even your main system, and just add a streaming element to it? Or do you want to add another seperate listening "zone" or endpoint elsewhere?

If you intend to use an existing system, does that system have an available DAC input such as Toslink or USB?
 
Welcome Moots! Sounds like a well rounded system. Luxman is one brand I’d love to dip my toe in. It’s nice to see new and/or unique pieces as well, that’s how we all get to learn about different things and widen our audio horizons. Please feel free to post some system pics too!
 
Painted the Herons last weekend with a metallic sheened paint - the rosewood veneer was nice but i thought I would change it up a little
 
Thanks PM and all, yes it’s very satisfying with lots of different types of music. Although the Duelund cable isn’t for everyone I’ve had great success with it and credit it to tying things together nicely.

As to the earlier reply, just simple streamer/dac to the existing system that has no digital aspect to it other than the older CD player. Probably looking to get an all-in-1 unit so that I can repurpose the CD player to send to an external dac and maybe get a bit of an upgrade there. Would love to hear any suggestions.
 
Although the Duelund cable isn’t for everyone I’ve had great success with it and credit it to tying things together nicely.

I use the Duelund 12ga in my SE/HE systems and feel the same way.

Very versatile cable that seems to work in a wide variety of systems.
 
As to the earlier reply, just simple streamer/dac to the existing system that has no digital aspect to it other than the older CD player. Probably looking to get an all-in-1 unit so that I can repurpose the CD player to send to an external dac and maybe get a bit of an upgrade there. Would love to hear any suggestions.

Do you have a music library stored on a computer currently, i.e. an iTunes library of CD rips, or similar?
 
Do you have a music library stored on a computer currently, i.e. an iTunes library of CD rips, or similar?

I did on my NAS but it just died so I’m scrounging to find all of it distributed on old laptops and hard drives. The ones I am most worried about are the 24 bit hi-res peter Gabriel downloads that came with the vinyl reissues and compilations. I also took the trouble to do flac a2d files of some of my favorite records a few years ago. Learned my lesson, need a backup to the backup :).
 
Yes, back-up(s) plural are crucial to peace of mind, and avoiding disaster.

Once you've gathered those files, are you going to just get another NAS and use that as the actual server?

I'm just trying to get a sense of the front-end library aspect, in order to offer some suggestions on the streamer/endpoint side of things.

If you wanted to get started without deciding on the ultimate NAS/server configuration, then something with it's own integral local storage capability such as a Bluesound, or an Auralic Aries mini might be the way to go.

What about the network, will you stream over WiFi, or is the home wired for Ethernet?

Are you averse to a little DIY on this? The Raspberry Pi micro computer is a great little platform that can be used both as the server, and separate of that one or more streamer endpoints, in surprisingly good sound quality for a shockingly low cost of admission.

Lastly, my original streamer set-up that lasted for almost 10 years is still a very viable option to this day. The Apple Airport Express will link to any computer or iOS device running via their AirPlay protocol (over WiFi), and offers good sound and ease of use for any family member, though it will downsample your hi-rez files with it's 16-bit/48kHz limitation.
 
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Yes, back-up(s) plural are crucial to peace of mind, and avoiding disaster.

Once you've gathered those files, are you going to just get another NAS and use that as the actual server?

I'm just trying to get a sense of the front-end library aspect, in order to offer some suggestions on the streamer/endpoint side of things.

If you wanted to get started without deciding on the ultimate NAS/server configuration, then something with it's own integral local storage capability such as a Bluesound, or an Auralic Aries mini might be the way to go.

What about the network, will you stream over WiFi, or is the home wired for Ethernet?

Are you averse to a little DIY on this? The Raspberry Pi micro computer is a great little platform that can be used both as the server, and separate of that one or more streamer endpoints, in surprisingly good sound quality for a shockingly low cost of admission.

Lastly, my original streamer set-up that lasted for almost 10 years is still a very viable option to this day. The Apple Airport Express will link to any computer or iOS device running via their AirPlay protocol (over WiFi), and offers good sound and ease of use for any family member, though it will downsample your hi-rez files with it's 16-bit/48kHz limitation.

Great info and questions MikeyFresh.
I plan on getting tidal so the airport express wouldn’t be as ideal a solution as the auralic (did some reading). We have google home which then covers the more casual listening audience in the rest of the house - mainly my boy and wife that listen to pop music. But in my music room they could still stream from the phone or tidal when they want to.

Either way I won’t use any internal storage based devices as it’s probably prone to the single point of failure architecture as my setup that just failed. I’ll set up a dual OR quad nas setup with redendency. I also plan on ripping the cds I care about to something lossless if I have the drive space anyway.

I saw the auralic mini was discontinued and everything else is way more expensive that they offer. I don’t mind messing with a raspberry pi but want to make the access as easy as possible for the other family members and saw that the auralic mini lightening interface was pretty good from a UX. Will stream over wired as running network cable is straight forward from where the router and switch are located. Wireless just for airplay for a phone connection.

I have read about the sonore, etc but as great as all of that sounds like I think initially simple is better out of the gate. I think I’m mostly lost about getting hi res music and a reliable vendor that doesn’t sell u a cd ripped to hi res file format without the goods. Kind of like the rubber soul Beatles reissue that turns out is just cd quality pressed on vinyl - bought it, cried a little over the poor sound.

I’ve only done a myopic quick look at auralic based on you mentioning it and hearing the buzz already in the past but I think it’s products of that profile that I’m skewing to, any suggestions are welcomed!
 
I use the Duelund 12ga in my SE/HE systems and feel the same way.

Very versatile cable that seems to work in a wide variety of systems.

I'm still tempted to try the Dueland. My current arrangement limits me to using a physically thinner cable, so those still fit the bill pretty well.
 
Very nice Moots, if sounds half as good as it looks, I'm sure that your ears are living large!
 
Wow, very impressive system and space Moots. You're making the rest of us look like rank amateurs. ;)
 
Yes, back-up(s) plural are crucial to peace of mind, and avoiding disaster.

Once you've gathered those files, are you going to just get another NAS and use that as the actual server?

I'm just trying to get a sense of the front-end library aspect, in order to offer some suggestions on the streamer/endpoint side of things.

If you wanted to get started without deciding on the ultimate NAS/server configuration, then something with it's own integral local storage capability such as a Bluesound, or an Auralic Aries mini might be the way to go.

What about the network, will you stream over WiFi, or is the home wired for Ethernet?

Are you averse to a little DIY on this? The Raspberry Pi micro computer is a great little platform that can be used both as the server, and separate of that one or more streamer endpoints, in surprisingly good sound quality for a shockingly low cost of admission.

Lastly, my original streamer set-up that lasted for almost 10 years is still a very viable option to this day. The Apple Airport Express will link to any computer or iOS device running via their AirPlay protocol (over WiFi), and offers good sound and ease of use for any family member, though it will downsample your hi-rez files with it's 16-bit/48kHz limitation.
I searched through the digital forum area and I’m sure this has been asked already but I think understanding the value of MQA vs DSD etc is where things get blurry. For example something like an Oppo sonica has a great dac and handles higher DSD values but doesn’t do MQA. There is less MQA content at this point as well from what I seemed to have read. I don’t want to get something that will be obsolete quickly but seems as if waiting for the ideal unit may result in opportunity passing me by... as you’ve just had a setup for 10 years (digital) I think I’m asking for a little advice on how to navigate the ever changing digital landscape.
 
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