Meridian Unplugged - Powered by MrTechGuy.co.uk Forums Discussion Meridian - Streaming New streamer advice sought

For various reasons (growing family, shrinking listening room, disillusion with Meridian strategy / communication, lack of time) I have been downsizing my kit.

Reluctantly I sold the Oppo 203 , much loved Nakamichi Dragon/Pioneer Kuro plasma, various M units (218/210, G95 etc.) and this summer opted to part ways with the 7200SEs.

Wanting to keep the box count as minimal as possible, I auditioned the CH Precision i1 integrated amp / DAC at my home along with Stenheim Alumine 2 standmount speakers (both Swiss made) and was absolutely blown away by the sound quality and ended up ordering the CH Precision i1 but with the full range Stenheim Alumine 3 floorstanders instead of the the 2s - so much for downsizing!

Currently I am retaining the 808v6 for CD replay / Sooloos streaming and the next part of the journey is to upgrade the streaming element.

Ideally I would like access to Spotify connect (kids use it), Tidal (preferably without subscribing to Roon) and combine my Sooloos library (MD600) with my DSD library (8TB portable USB drive). Thus I am considering these options:

1. use the 808v6's ID41 card and purchase a NAS drive (to combine my music libraries) and use with an appropriate software app / player - I don't know whether the ID41 works with anything other than Sooloos or Roon (put off by Roon due to instability issues with the ID41?) and I am unsure whether I can get DSD into the 808v6 other than by USB?

2. purchase a dedicated high quality streamer (either with inbuilt storage or coupled with a NAS drive) which will enable Spotify / Tidal with the 808 decoding MQA etc and allow DSD file replay. I previously owned a 210 but didn't like the sound quality.

3. Purchase the optional CH Precision network card (plus NAS drive) which works with Tidal (but not MQA). My dealer will lend me the card to evaluate against option 1 or 2. This may lead to selling the 808v6 and opting for a simpler CD replay system (possibly a 508.24 or 500 CD transport into the CH Precision DAC).

It seems a Roon Nucleus could work best for option 1 but will require a Roon sub (but I lose Spotify), I would appreciate any thoughts on the suitable contenders for option 2 and also comparison of the 508.24 v 808v6 for CD replay.

Thanks and best regards
Nav

If you don't want to subscribe to Roon, you need a streamer with Tidal/Spotify Connect which will allow you to use the native Tidal/Spotify app AND pass MQA to your DAC (in Tidal's case).

Meridian don't have any Tidal Connect enabled streamers. I have chased and chased to see if they're releasing any firmware updates for 210 but as per usual nothing from them.

In the meantime I have purchased an iFi Zen Stream which has Tidal Connect and is only £400. It gets very favourable reviews and is almost unilaterally considered superior to the Bluesound Node in it's price range (on streaming capability alone). If Meridian then decide to release updated firmware for 218/210, or a new streamer, then I'll whack it on eBay ... being the slave to Meridian that I am.

Alternatively if you want a permanent solution you can check out the Lumin Network Players which I was very tempted to go for but seemed a bit excessive for my (hopefully!!!!) temporary solution

The Meridian 210 has Spotify Connect - but you’ve already sold it.

The ID41, and ID40, cards only support the Sooloos Network streaming protocol so that does limit their use to Sooloos or Roon.

Have you experienced instability issues or just read about them? I'm asking as I use an ID40 card with Roon had have had zero issues ... and I personally know many other that are using ID4x cards just fine with Roon.
Typically instability is local network related not Roon or the ID4x cards.

That said if I was starting over, then these days I would be looking for Roon Ready Device that supports their RAAT protocol.

Regards,
Carl

Meridian 210
Spotify via Spotify Connect.
TIDAL via UPnP ( mConnect / Bubble UPnP apps etc...)

Thanks for all the comments and advice, Very helpful.
My local dealer has lent me the Zen Stream which I will test over the coming weeks with Tidal connect/MQA, Spotify as well as playing my DSD library.
It seems like a bit of a Swiss army knife at very competitive price.

The Bluesound Node used as a streaming transport into my DSPs with a box count of 3 is about as good as it gets. Currently listening to Tidal Connect with first unfold MQA 96/24 to my legacy DSPs. You would have had full MQA rendering from your 7200SE’s. Worth contrasting with the Zen if for nothing more than to try out BluOS. Also a Roon endpoint. 30 day trials direct from company - at least in North America. Not sure about EU.

When I click on Carl's Roon Ready Device link, the Roon page tells me that "Roon Plays With Everything"; a somewhat inflated claim.

That’s marketing for you …