Meridian Unplugged - Powered by MrTechGuy.co.uk Forums Discussion HiFi & HT Chat Moving to a Streaming Setup (A Bit of a Ramble, Sorry)

I think Ronnie's offering sound advice (no pun intended).

It's all too easy to get carried away with X sounds better than Y but not as good as Z. Then you find this dogma is based on very little substance with respect to carefully performed and repeated listening tests.

You can also use a 2.5" USB HDD, cheaper and more capacity. When not in use, the SB will put the drive to sleep, this will limit the amount of wear on the drive.

IIRC there were a few issues connecting large HHD directly to the SBTouch due to the limited memory of the onboard SBServer.
However, I think if this is the first time using a streaming device then the route Ronnie suggests is a good one.

If the setup works and pleases then the user can make some more informed decisions.

What will happen is that the user is likely to be very surprised by the high level of SQ and user-friendliness.

I think it depends on how obsessed you are with absolute best SQ. In my opinion Sooloos into ID40 is pretty much equivalent to spinning discs in the 808 and is a little better than SB Touch into the 808 via coax and upsampled there. But the difference is not like night and day - if I listened to both options on different days blind I doubt I could tell the difference reliably. So for me it was a peace of mind thing - I wanted the convenience of streaming and I didn't want to be fretting about what I was missing with the SB. In this case, obsession = big bucks (which I do not regret for a moment, because I have stopped listening to my streaming solution and I'm listening to my music).

I agree with Ronnie - try streaming with a low cost solution first and see how you get on. If you rip to FLAC then you can import those files to Sooloos if you do decide to go that way at some time in the future.

In my experience streaming solutions are unlike other kinds of audio in that the SQ differences between modest cost and cost-no-object high-end systems are smaller than, say, between CD spinners or analogue sources; and hugely less than the differences between good and excellent amplifiers and speakers.

BTW, the ID40 comes built into the 808.3 as standard.

Technically speaking, using a memory card or HDD with a SBTouch is no streaming ...

Hi Seeker,

I also absolutely agree with Ronnie. Get started as economically as possible. Enjoy the benefits of streaming, make your own analysis of how much SQ you have given up and then join the fray making your own decisions how important it is to upgrade and how and how far.

I have been contributing here to share that I was as confused as you, but when I started the process along the lines that Ronnie recommended, with a lot of HH help the pieces slowly fell into place. Hopefully that gives you some confidence.

I wish you the best of luck in what I am sure you will find an interesting and rewarding journey.

Hi Hecd2,

My experience was very different than your last point, but fortunately we agree on Ronnie's recommendation.

Aloha,

If I may be a bit flippant, I think the beauty of Sooloos as a solution is that you don't particularly have to worry about a myriad of hardware and software configurations - you just buy it, plug it in, feed your CDs into it, and use (and enjoy) it.

OK - so it's perhaps not quite as simple as all that but as one who doesn't consider himself a total luddite when it comes to computers, networking, and the like, I still knew that I only wanted Sooloos as soon as I'd had a demonstration of, and listen to, it. Adding to the simplicity of the system that you also know you're getting excellent sound quality out of it (even when streaming off Rhapsody) made the decision even easier.

Ian

Dolf, my last point was based on extensive comparison between M sources and SB where I heard a modest but not enormous difference: �200 plays �10K. I hear bigger differences between say a �200 CD spinner and an 808; or a modest amp-speaker set up and 8Ks. Actually I heard a bigger difference between 7200s and 8Ks than between SB and M sources played through the same speakers. But, of course others might have different experience, and it might be down to my ageing cloth ears.

Hi Ian,

I actually found my Sonos with NAS easier to set up than my C15, never mind the 2 weeks that it took me to get my C15 working with my 861v6. AND the Sonos factory support was FABULOUS. But conceptually I understand and agree with you.

Aloha,

Ah ha. I have read others on the forum give high marks to the SB Touch whereas my comparison was to the Sonos. So if the SB is indeed a step above the Sonos then it gets that much closer to an M spinner. So Ronnie's advice becomes even more appropriate.

Yes Dolf, the SB Touch (i.e. not the SB Duet, Classic or SB3) does indeed sound a step better than the Sonos ZP90.........most likely due to lower jitter levels at the output

The fact that the SB Touch can also Play and Output 24/96 High Res files is a distinct advantage

I will say though that the Sonos devices still work best in a Multi-Zone environment and that remains their greatest strength.......that, and they sound pretty good, just not at the level of Meridian spinners IMHO

I really appreciate the responses so far.

There's been a few mentions of the SB Touch and, at the price, I would be daft not to consider trying one.

In my original post, I also mentioned Blu-Ray as a streaming receiver or the Boxee Box. Does anyone here have any experience of using either?