[Closed] Hi-fi upgrade

Why do HiFi shops always recommend Cyrus...

Probably because they are reliable & upgradable for those who like continuity. Haven't listened to one yet-I get the impression you either love or hate the Cyrus sound.

You could have a look at the Naim Uniti. My dad has one and it is very good for the money.

Having sold Cyrus in the past i can confirm the margin is very healthy. It is good kit though as well so it's not always about the money - it does sound good.
Had a full PSX-R'd 7 system a few years back. Lovely.

Another NAIM recommendation here. Although I'm still a fan of CD's, NAIM haven't put a foot wrong with their developments since they were founded. It's AT LEAST definitely worth auditioning a Uniti against the Cyrus equivalent before you part with your hard-earned.

I really wish the Naim Uniti hadn't been mentioned as, after a bit of googling, I may now need to get one!

Re the streaming, I'm a bit behind on this and maybe the technology has become more user friendly but my experience from a few years ago is make sure everything will work together before you buy. That is the NAS, any software you need running on the NAS & the player. If it were me I would want all of this to run without a PC being turned on, music off the NAS & internet radio, but perhaps you are OK about leaving a PC on at all times.

Soundstage & ATRAC make me wince a little, I have unhappy memories of Soundstage that will stay with me forever 🙁

I currently have my cd's ripped as uncompressed wav files and stream them from itunes via airport express to my hifi amp. As far as sound quality goes I can't differentiate between streamed music and cds and the convenience of being able to control the whole lot from my phone/iPad makes it all very straightforward.

What would the benefits be of a dedicated audio hardware? Is it just that it sits with the hifi and feels more integrated/approachable or are there real audible benefits to be had that I am missing out on?

If you do decide to go down the PC route (which I have and it works a treat) then spend some money on a decent DAC:

[img] [/img]

Hundreds to choose from and some of them will make your hi fi sing like nothing else.

Deidcated streamers usually have a built in DAC and a variety of different sources, the Uniti will play from CD but also stream from DLNA, Internet radio, DAB etc. It also contains a fully integrated Amp, DAC and weighs a ton!

I have a home built silent HTPC running a custom foobar2000, output via USB to a wavelength brick DAC, into a classic meridian amp and final puking its guts into my living room via some B&W floorstanders. It sounds compellingly awesome. Even non hi fi people sit open mouthed in awe.

The advantage of having a full computer is that I can stream via DLNA to the playstation or to a squeezebox, can use it for encoding, downloading and watching movies on the hdtv, all hangs together really nicely. the only problem I have at the moment is that when the computer is on it messes with the rf signal for the TV. 🙁

A computer is now a very credible and usable bit of hi fi.

epicsteve - Member
I really wish the Naim Uniti hadn't been mentioned as, after a bit of googling, I may now need to get one!

I went into Hi-Fi Corner in Edinburgh the other day as I had some time to kill and the chap in there showed me the Naim Uniti unit and it was very impressive!

Well out of my league price-wise at the moment though, so I shall just keep dreaming.

Torminalis-completely lost me there with the nomenclature but get the general idea!does your Meridian have a digital input or is the DAC to Meridian connection via phono?.My Audiolab only has phono Looked at the uniti now and wondered if the cut-down version is as good but just minus the CD?

Sadly the Meridian is so 'classic' (1978) that I have a custom phono to 5 pin din! If the meridian had a digital input I would not require an external DAC.

Re Sonic Stage and ATRAC's, I had this software bundeld with my old MP3 player (about 2005) I used to like it as it was simple and reliable. Playback on the MP3 player was fine, however I started to connect my laptop to my HI-FI (then a Sherwood Amp and Eltax speakers small budget at the time) the ATRACs sounded flat and dull next to the CD versions. I then converted a few tracks for comparison to MP3 and streamed them in media player, it sounded much better. I have since upgraded my HI-FI and tried ATRAC and still found it flat and dull.

I'm currently using a Audiolab 8000 amp and speakers of my own construction (+ a compact sub) along with an Apple airport express to stream from my computer.

It all works rather nicely. The music is ripped to apple lossless and played from itunes. It's all controlled via the apple remote app on my iPad or our phones (so it works rather like the squeezebox duet, but the iPad provides some nice real estate to browse albums etc). 🙂

I'm listening to loads of stuff I haven't listened to for ages now that I can easily browse my collection and I don't have to search out cds.

Oh, and I can stream spotify too, if I don't have the cd.

I'm currently using a Audiolab 8000 amp and speakers of my own construction (+ a compact sub) along with an Apple airport express to stream from my computer.

How do flac files sound over that setup? 😉

Exactly the same as apple lossless in theory!

The airport express is a decent audio streaming device when used with an external DAC:

http://stereophile.com/digitalprocessors/505apple/

Sorry for the mild ribbing, will the apple airport allow you to stream flac then?

The airport express will I think, but iTunes doesn't support flac,.
If you were to use a separate flac player and airfoil ( http://www.rogueamoeba.com/airfoil/), it should work I guess.

Ive got an 80s 8000a + Beresford DAC + Monitor Audio Bronze speakers

http://www.homehifi.co.uk/main/main.html

Beresford DAC is pretty good value.. you can sink ridiculous amounts of money on DACs for only slight improvements

Catflees-interesting-looks like I need to set aside some time to convert files-anyone know if ATRAC can be converted to FLAC.
It's a whole new world out there isn't it!-am I the only person who doesn't own an ipod?-still love my old Sony HD5 walkman for personal listening. I thought about using my current amp with a DAC but would like to remove some hi-fi clutter.

[img] [/img]

I really enjoyed this DAC and you could probably grab a second hand one fairly reasonably (if you can find one)

If you're considering streaming check out the Sonos stuff. It's a piece of cake to set up, can even get an iphone app to be the remote control. There's an active version and a version that'll just feed into either amp or DAC.

reluctantwrinkly - Member

Catflees-interesting-looks like I need to set aside some time to convert files-anyone know if ATRAC can be converted to FLAC.

If as you say your files are indeed ATRAC Lossless, don't bother to convert them (unless you need compatibility with other software or something).

I assume that catflees was talking about ATRAC lossy, which was indeed pretty ropey.

Yunki-Wow-that takes me back a bit-used to be a real hi-fi nut albeit a fairly low budget one until I discovered I could spend even more cash on bikes but it's all coming back now!
Unitiqute looks very interesting-ticks a lot of boxes without having to have a squeezebox-could spend the cash on a modern ipod instead----hmmmm-don't tell the wife!

I honestly don't know if they were ATRAC lossy or otherwise, it was an HD5 I had/have too. I still use it for Mountain Biking and running as the metal casing is sturdy. I transfered songs from my CDs using the bundeled Sonic Stage at the highest quality the software offered, I think it was 64(something) it sounds fine on portable devices including my old Sony phone, was just crappy on the HIFI. Now I use media player to rip my CDs to MP3, I am sure it is not the best system but I do like actually physically putting a CD on. I'm sad like that.

The uniti and qute can both be controlled with an ipod app. Also, there's a new product called NDX which is a streaming source component with digital inputs. I don't think we support ATRAC though, you want me to check?

I am a huge fan of the Naim stuff, but a friend of mine has a Linn network system (i forget which model) and it is also immense.

Checked on my way past r+d, definitely no ATRAC, sorry dude.

RichPenny-yes please that would be great-are you with Naim then?-edit-you just beat me in posting-should haver known sony would produce an unsupported format shouldn't I?

If the upgrade is prompted by a new TV, why not skip the hifi and buy a decent surround system? We've got a KEF eggs / sub combo with a Yamaha surround amp that would see off many a separates system. Plenty of connectivity through the Amp and BluRay player for discs or iPod.

Just got rid of a load of speakers & replaced with a Yamaha sound projector to reduce clutter.

I'm just waiting for the 'digital is digital', 'cables don't make a difference' crowd to jump in.

+1 for Cyrus - demo'ed a CD and Amp combo, was great, but decided to buy a home cinema/av amp in the end.

catflees46 - Member
Now I use media player to rip my CDs to MP3, I am sure it is not the best system but I do like actually physically putting a CD on. I'm sad like that.

Yeah, it's interesting that the "convenience" argument is back. I wonder h ow much of the focus on whaqt the equipment [i]sounds like[/i], is being lost?

Perhaps it's just age and familiarity - my CD player has a manual drawer and using the disc feels a little like the old vinyl-based system but without the careful placing of the stylus.

I've got a system that sounds beautiful and is uncomplicated to use, although it DOES mean that when I want to watch the telly, for instance, I have to walk across the room and turn it on...

Anything less than a dCS is a toy 😉

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Good point mr woppit-there is something organic about putting a cd or record on and sound quality is still my driving force-I'm happy to embrace new technology however.

Good luck - I hope it hugs you back. Let us know how you get on. 8)

So slight thread hijack.

I've currently got a full Audiolab set up 8000CDM/DAX pared with 8000S and 8000P amps. The CD player is on its last legs and I want to go down the MP3 media player route. The Naim and the Cyrus above have integrated amplifiers which I don't need or want. Can anyone recommend a standalone media player

[url= http://www.olive.us/products.html ]Olive[/url]
what about them olive thinghys that are being imported. Anyone any experience of them?

Can anyone recommend a standalone media player

You could do what I do and use an old iMac running Spotify on high bit rate. And add a decent DAC if you wanted.

This is what I've done and its great having access to your music via a proper interface. Probably not the most 'hi-fi' but works well.

I looked at Slingboxes and media servers etc but they all such a balls ache to set up and network - cant beat having it all stored on a hdd right by the amp - or streaming through a cable connection etc.

On the subject of ATRAC, I was given a Sony demo Minidisc (Classical music compilation) at a pro audio show soon after the system was launched.
I found it not long ago and played it on my full sized MD unit, through my HiFi, the results were surprising, it sounded really good.
ATRAC is not that bad.
This is, though, a Sony MD and the recordings are Sony digital ones from their label so I would expect the mastering and encoding to be as good as they could get at the time (1993/4).
Apart from convenience though, why rip everything to mp3/iPod? If I sync up a CD and iPod with the same track and switch between them its easy to tell the difference.

I don't know Whoppit, I produce art for albums and as such have always loved sleeves. I like shopping (in shops) for CD's and just find although it's more convienient to plug in the laptop/download/stream I like opening a CD case and putting a disc on. When my Uncle passed on this year he left me his prized CD and Amp, I have some B&W and speakers from a work contact. I'm very lucky and will keep it and look after my Hi-Fi.

+1 for Cyrus, been running a fully pxsr'd setup for a while. Blows me away. Bear in mind that Cyrus aftersales is excellent, the stuff really is futureproof well built and you can get spares/repairs and service done really quickly and reasonably. One of the best outfits i've dealt with...

If you're not desperate to get a single brand system at the same time, it may be worth looking into the upgrades that Arcam offers? CD player technology has moved on since you got your unit, the 'tone' of most mainstream speakers has also changed to reflect changing fashions for more 'detail' in music. Amp technology hasn't really changed to the same extent and the old Audiolabs were fairly well thought of. That said, having sold these brands and more for a few years I ended up with a Naim/AE setup

After twenty years of buying hifi I've come to the conclusion that it's all about the speakers and the source. I've downgraded from a 4k amp to a 300 pound one and the difference is not 3700 quids worth. I'd keep the audio lab, upgrade the speakers to something juicy and get a squeezebox.

If you live near me you're welcome to listen to my Cyrus kit. Email in profile.

joolsburger - Member

After twenty years of buying hifi I've come to the conclusion that it's all about the speakers and the source. I've downgraded from a 4k amp to a 300 pound one and the difference is not 3700 quids worth. I'd keep the audio lab, upgrade the speakers to something juicy and get a squeezebox.

It's important that the bits in between, transfer the information from one end to the other efficiently though, jools.

+1000 for the Naim Uniti

I've had mine a while now and its fantastic. I stream from an iMac using Allegro Media Server and it just works. Although i have now cabled the Uniti to the switch I have as it was spanking my wireless network a bit hard. My Uniti is connected to a lovely new pair of Rega RS5's and its quite simply brilliant. The iPhone app to control it is pretty cool as well. I'm about to borrow a UnitiServe as well (the joy of having an office attached to a Naim dealer !)

I'd agree with the Squeezebox Duet as one part of the setup - the firmware is somewhat shonky (I think I have to take the battery out and reset the controller every other day or so), but the functionality is great.
FWIW, I run that through an Arcam Solo, which has the innards from an Alpha CD73(?) CD player, DAB and FM radio and some decent amp parts. But then if you're not after a one-box solution there are probably better bets out there.

I wouldn't waste my money on a hi-fi branded sever/streamer. If I was in your position I'd sell everything and get a 1TB Mac mini, a good firewire DAC, tiny power amp and some large, high sensitivity speakers.

That is the future of hi-fi IMO.

Woppit my previous amp was a Lavardin IT i sold it for a naim and then sold that in order to go valve. I bought a Marantz 6003 from Richers as a stop gap and frankly I'm likely to just keep it. Speakers are Audio Physics and the front end is Clearaudio/AT/NVA so not too shabby.

A month back I'd have agreed with you but I'd say PC decent sound card or squeezebox, simple little amp, big f off speakers is the way forward too.

Raindog-Ta for the offer but unfortunately I live in Cambridge so a bit of a trek! I like the idea of a one-box solution so I thinly my first step is to have a listen to the Naim & Cyrus units. The Naim support for Apple Lossless looks interesting but the UnitiQute may be a bit underpowered