Chord Mojo(1) DAC-amp ☆★►FAQ in 3rd post!◄★☆
May 9, 2020 at 2:10 PM Post #40,201 of 42,759
Agreed. Prepackaged network streamers have their place, don't get me wrong. You also get a much easier "out of the box" experience with these options. If you're not scared of setting up some software yourself, though, RPi based streamers are an excellent choice.

Allo's products are quite affordable, even when you add their LPS to the setup (which I would absolutely due as it makes a very noticeable difference IMO).

I was looking at the

1. NODE 2i, to use just a control box to drive a plugged in HDD of music. (The Node 2I does have a DAC and streamer built in though, so there is some price for that.) To me it would be £500 just to run a HDD via wifi.
2. The other option I keep coming back to is a fanless laptop. However that is not without issues, because being fanless means a less powerful processor. Meaning Microsoft might make remove support for the CPU at any time. For example, two years ago I upgraded from an Intel 4790K system running DDR3 RAM. All because Win 10 did not support the processor - a DDR3 system not supported by the almost the only Windows OS. It's just greed by MS forcing us to buy more machines to sell more software.
3. Someone did point me towards the Stack Audio Link. While it's expensive, the HiFi+ review of it says outstanding stuff. Like if you are using a DAC which does not clock incoming signals, it is a good server. It clocks the outgoing signals very accurately. The review said something like it one of the Dragonflies sound like a 'in the thousands of pounds' DAC. All being down to the clean and accurately times music samples from it I guess.

https://www.hifiplus.com/articles/exclusive-stack-audio-link-usb-streaming-bridge/


Anyway yeah, I just need a file source, with no streamer. I want to run my DACs as a hifi, without needing my PC on as a file source. … My three choices so far, are all pricey choices though.
 
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May 9, 2020 at 2:19 PM Post #40,203 of 42,759
I was looking at the

1. NODE 2i, to use just a control box to drive a plugged in HDD of music. (The Node 2I does have a DAC and streamer built in though, so there is some price for that.) To me it would be £500 just to run a HDD via wifi.
2. The other option I keep coming back to is a fanless laptop. However that is not without issues, because being fanless means a less powerful processor. Meaning Microsoft might make remove support for the CPU at any time. For example, two years ago I upgraded from an Intel 4790K system running DDR3 RAM. All because Win 10 did not support the processor - a DDR3 system not supported by the almost the only Windows OS. It's just greed by MS forcing us to buy more machines to sell more software.
3. Someone did point me towards the Stack Audio Link. While it's expensive, the HiFi+ review of it says outstanding stuff. Like if you are using a DAC which does not clock incoming signals, it is a good server. It clocks the outgoing signals very accurately. The review said something like it one of the Dragonflies sound like a 'in the thousands of pounds' DAC. All being down to the clean and accurately times music samples from it I guess.

https://www.hifiplus.com/articles/exclusive-stack-audio-link-usb-streaming-bridge/


Anyway yeah, I just need a file source, with no streamer. I want to run my DACs as a hifi, without needing my PC on as a file source. … My three choices so far, are all pricey choices though.

The Stack Audio Link looks like a fancier version of the USBridge Sig, with a nice, polished interface. One thing I will say is I'd be much less inclined to use the USBridge if I weren't using it as a Roon endpoint. If you're using something other than Roon there are good options for playback/control software, they just aren't as polished as Roon.
 
May 9, 2020 at 2:25 PM Post #40,204 of 42,759
The Stack Audio Link looks like a fancier version of the USBridge Sig, with a nice, polished interface. One thing I will say is I'd be much less inclined to use the USBridge if I weren't using it as a Roon endpoint. If you're using something other than Roon there are good options for playback/control software, they just aren't as polished as Roon.

I did look up Roon once, and decided I did not need it. Neither would I use a streamer.

Literally only need a file player controlled by phone. Something like the Allo; I mean, it looks controllable by phone. .. I keep meaning to try to find out if a (fanless) laptop could be controlled by an Android phone. If not, some of them come with media player remotes. Like I have one which drives both Acers which I have owned. Plus it controls my (Asus motherboard) PC when I plug a dongle into my PC. It only controls the media player though; it doesn't select albums to play.
 
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May 9, 2020 at 2:32 PM Post #40,205 of 42,759
I did look up Roon once, and decided I did not need it. Neither would I use a streamer.

Literally only need a file player controlled by phone. Something like the Allo; I mean, it looks controllable by phone. .. I keep meaning to try to find out if a (fanless) laptop could be controlled by an Android phone. If not, some of them come with media player remotes. Like I have one which drives both Acers which I have owned. Plus it controls my (Asus motherboard) PC when I plug a dongle into my PC. It only controls the media player though; it doesn't select albums to play.

Yep, the Allo should be controllable by phone, just depends on what software you load onto it. IMO you'll get a better listening experience with the Allo (or any RPi based unit) over the laptop option, as it's much quieter electrically and is preforming much less work (they also tend to have higher quality clocks).
 
May 9, 2020 at 2:56 PM Post #40,207 of 42,759
Sorry, I mean something like the NODE 2i or would the I phone streaming something like tidal or amazon music hd do the same job.

With I I node you get the dac and I don’t need that.

Is the I phone going to do the same job as any other streamer in regards to the quality of the transfer from the I phone to the mojo or another dac?
 
May 9, 2020 at 3:47 PM Post #40,208 of 42,759
Sorry, I mean something like the NODE 2i or would the I phone streaming something like tidal or amazon music hd do the same job.

With I I node you get the dac and I don’t need that.

Is the I phone going to do the same job as any other streamer in regards to the quality of the transfer from the I phone to the mojo or another dac?

Some streaming platforms put DSP and different effects on their songs so there could be a difference across streaming services.

What are you using to connect wirelessly to the Mojo? Poly would be my recommendation.
 
May 9, 2020 at 4:33 PM Post #40,209 of 42,759
"Poly would be my recommendation"

Is there an alternative to connect wirelessly to the Mojo?
 
May 9, 2020 at 4:39 PM Post #40,211 of 42,759
Sorry, I mean something like the NODE 2i or would the I phone streaming something like tidal or amazon music hd do the same job.

With I I node you get the dac and I don’t need that.

Is the I phone going to do the same job as any other streamer in regards to the quality of the transfer from the I phone to the mojo or another dac?
Search this thread and you will find that iPhones have a reputation for generating a lot of RFI and electrical noise, plus the usb link can often be broken every time there is an iOS beta software update.
The RFI is often related to 2G signals, so this is a reducing problem as many countries migrate to 4G.
Nevertheless the iPhone still has many fans because of the user experience, and available streaming apps.
Adding a clip on ferrite to the usb cable can reduce RFI greatly, leaving just a touch of brightness caused by the internal electrical noise generated by the phone.

To raise the game to the next level, you need to think in terms of using an external DAP (eg https://www.head-fi.org/threads/sha...-usb-transport-bluetooth-4-0-aptx-dsd.816385/, or transport , Poly, or other streaming device.
 
May 9, 2020 at 5:18 PM Post #40,212 of 42,759
Carrying on with desktop/hifi file sources discussion for Mojo (or and Chord DAC). Someone recently mentioned the Brennan players, and they operate by smartphone.

Anyway I was just looking over the specs for their devices, and even this radio could work as a file source. (There is some storage on it, but you can add a USB drive for storage. Then it plays USB out to DACs. Check this out.) https://www.brennan.co.uk/itemcontent.php/content/newbrennan


Then there is the B2 range. They have internal storage in 240Gb, 480GB, and 2T; (I am assuming 2T means 2TB). However even the 240GB appears to have USB input for HDD file storage, so may be expandable. It uses USB to back up music files to external drives, or load files onto the B2.

They have various outputs including optical, so a nice clean output with no noise. Am guessing they will have bit-perfect playback, but that definitely needs exploring.
https://www.brennan.co.uk/itemcontent.php/content/b2specification
 
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May 9, 2020 at 5:45 PM Post #40,213 of 42,759
Thanks mike, as I understand, the polly can’t stream full us songs unless I’m using the micro sd. I’m not that bothered about streaming from one device to my amp/dac without wires, I’m happy to used a wired connection.
 
May 9, 2020 at 8:45 PM Post #40,214 of 42,759
Thanks mike, as I understand, the polly can’t stream full us songs unless I’m using the micro sd. I’m not that bothered about streaming from one device to my amp/dac without wires, I’m happy to used a wired connection.

I don’t understand your statement. Poly can take any sample rate stream, as long as your app can send it. Roon, Tidal, etc.
 

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