[Les Strat]

I have an original SliMP3 from before the Logitech acquisition, but I haven't used it in many years. I've been considering my streaming options for my main system (which currently is vinyl only). The lack of digital out is probably a downside on this, as I doubt the DAC in it is anything special.

Do you happen to know if this nearly 20 year-old hardware still works with LMS and if it's worth trying to find the AC adapter and remote?

Thanks,
Mike

I have never come across one of those old players, so unfortunately I can't give you a definitive answer.
This hardware comparison table from the Slim Devices website suggests that it will work with LMS:
http://wiki.slimdevices.com/index.php/Hardware_comparison
It's a pity it doesn't have a digital out, as the internal DAC is likely to be fairly primitive.
The Logitech Touch works well as a digital source running LMS and these devices can be purchased used for under £100 in the UK.
I have tried mine with my Yggy using its RCA S/PDIF output. It sounds surprisingly good for such a low-cost device.
The DIY alternative to a Touch is a Raspberry Pi running something like MAX2Play. I have heard good reports about how good these can sound but it's beyond my IT skills to build one!

 

[Les Strat]

Tidal and Qobuz are tiny, nonprofitable businesses at high risk for not surviving long term. Tidal has been close to running out of cash several times but they seem to keep finding an investor to stay running a few more years.

I agree.
That is why I have kept all my CDs as well as several backups of the ripped, lossless files.

 

[KoshNaranek]

If you haven't seen it yet you might find this video to be insightful. There are a handful of other options that are looking to be at least as promising as Remdesivir, so perhaps in the short term supply issues could be mitigated by using more than one treatment type.

There are over 80 potentially beneficial treatment options against COVID-19. I really don't want to jump into the rabbit hole of potentially useful compounds. My intention was to point out the significance of the treatment that is considered to be good enough to be the metric of what new treatments will be measured against.

 

[renault4]

+1
I don't know about the Vidar, but I would not skimp on the DAC and I would get the newest one with A2 and Unison. More bulletproof for the future! Just my two cents and feel free to ignore it. At your own peril!!!

I’m already down one Vidar just to make the GS work; I may have enough buffer in the budget to obtain a unison card upgrade for the GS but not enough to cover the cost diff between the GS and a brand new A2 (~$1000 after taxes) even accounting for sale of the Bifrost. It is a compromise, no doubt, but I would contend a reasonable one. I suppose a hybrid approach here might be to avail of the A1 to A2 upgrade approach at some point, but then, wait, that would mean....see!!? Ha! we told you!

 

[myquealer]

I have never come across one of those old players, so unfortunately I can't give you a definitive answer.
This hardware comparison table from the Slim Devices website suggests that it will work with LMS:
http://wiki.slimdevices.com/index.php/Hardware_comparison
It's a pity it doesn't have a digital out, as the internal DAC is likely to be fairly primitive.
The Logitech Touch works well as a digital source running LMS and these devices can be purchased used for under £100 in the UK.
I have tried mine with my Yggy using its RCA S/PDIF output. It sounds surprisingly good for such a low-cost device.
The DIY alternative to a Touch is a Raspberry Pi running something like MAX2Play. I have heard good reports about how good these can sound but it's beyond my IT skills to build one!

Thanks. I think I'll probably keep looking and let the SliMP3 collect dust. I wish I could find a solution I liked that supported Amazon Music HD. All my CDs were uploaded to Amazon Music back in the day and now I subscribe to their HD service, but devices that support it seem pretty limited. A lot (all?) of their own devices don't even take advantage of the Ultra HD stuff they offer.

 

[438555]

I’m already down one Vidar just to make the GS work; I may have enough buffer in the budget to obtain a unison card upgrade for the GS but not enough to cover the cost diff between the GS and a brand new A2 (~$1000 after taxes) even accounting for sale of the Bifrost. It is a compromise, no doubt, but I would contend a reasonable one. I suppose a hybrid approach here might be to avail of the A1 to A2 upgrade approach at some point, but then, wait, that would mean....see!!? Ha! we told you!

Well, lots of people have said they like the Bifrost 2 even more than Yggy. You could save a bunch of money getting that, with Unison, and still get a Freya S and 2x Vidar.

 

[438555]

Tidal and Qobuz are tiny, nonprofitable businesses at high risk for not surviving long term. Tidal has been close to running out of cash several times but they seem to keep finding an investor to stay running a few more years.

I don't know how any of these streaming services make any money with how little they charge.

 

[StevePNW]

I love reading what people are discussing as their next move in their own setups. We all look for the tangent points. What can I learn from this? What input can I provide from my perspective? There are so many variables that we have to be careful and not jump to conclusions. Yet, there are some basics that hold true through most of them. It's up to us to keep it balanced. Then there are the biggest differences in our systems such as the room acoustics or our ears, and our preferences. Just saying thanks to the community for the valid discussions and opinions!

I'm really enjoying the Schiit gear driving the LRS speakers. Mostly streaming of late from Amazon Music trial period and enjoying the quality. Even though I like the Spotify interface, the SQ difference is very noticeable.

Thinking about my next moves myself. I really love my RME ADI-2 DAC including the great EQ aspects. But, I do one day want to venture into the Schiit MB arena. I can't quite yet due to other recent purchases. And I also wonder about the future Gadget and how I would integrate that as I'm day-dreaming out the window. The transport I couldn't wait for and enjoying the Audiolab immensely in the meantime until that hopefully eventually temps me. I will be very interested in the Transport and Gadget storylines...

Listening to Mike Phillips - You Have Reached Mike Phillips. I'm in a good place as my wife is Zooming with her bookclub tonight. Take care.

 

[earnmyturns]

anyone have any opinions as to whether I should add the USB unison upgrade? (the windows limitation is not an issue)

It depends. If you ever want to use a USB source, Unison makes a significant difference. If instead you'll always be using S/PDIF coax or AES, no point.

 

[earnmyturns]

I don't have Unison on anything yet, but I'd be willing to bet you won't be able to tell the difference.

We (my wife and I) could. She listened without knowing which was which, as blind a test as we could do without a lab. Not huge, but noticeable. Here's a set of comparisons we did (not all at the same time) with Yggdrasil A2:

Pi 2 Design Pi2AES > AES slightly beats Allo USBridge+LPS > USB Unison beats Auralic Aries Femto > AES beats Allo USBridge+LPS > USB Gen 5

 

[porchwizard]

Amen, brother!

I find more interesting new-to-me music thru Spotify than I do thru Roon/Qobuz. My wife loves Spotify and has multiple playlists that can't readily be 100% replicated on Roon/Qobuz.

Those are the reasons I maintain accounts with both Spotify and Roon.



I wish you were wrong but you hit the nail on the head.

Competition and choice. Everybody wins! Right?

 

[Juan_R]

We (my wife and I) could. She listened without knowing which was which, as blind a test as we could do without a lab. Not huge, but noticeable. Here's a set of comparisons we did (not all at the same time) with Yggdrasil A2:

Pi 2 Design Pi2AES > AES slightly beats Allo USBridge+LPS > USB Unison beats Auralic Aries Femto > AES beats Allo USBridge+LPS > USB Gen 5

Found this to be a bit confusing. Mind breaking it down some? Sorry, it's late.

 

[tincanear]

@renault4 considering adding the Unison update at some future time when you send your Yggydrasil GS in for the Analog 2 update. a budget cap stops most of us from getting too far down the rabbit hole.

 

[earnmyturns]

Found this to be a bit confusing. Mind breaking it down some? Sorry, it's late.

Sure. I'm comparing 4 different digital sources I used with my Yggdrasil A2. Each source is specified as "device > connection". So, "Auralic Aries Femto > AES" means an Auralic Aries Femto streamer connected via AES to the Yggdrasil. The sources are listed from left to right in descending order of perceived sound quality for the Yggdrasil, all used as Roon endpoints with appropriate software (Ropieee for the Pi2AES, DietPi for the Allo USBridge, proprietary software for the Aries). "LPS" == Sbooster linear power supply.

 

[JamminVMI]

Good to hear there is another happy LMS user out there.
I have very poor internet speed where I live, but streaming Qobuz using their 'CD FLAC' option ( 16/44.1) on LMS doesn't stutter at all and sounds great.
I found that TIDAL stuttered a lot and I didn't think the sound quality was as good as Qobuz so I binned it. No regrets about that!
For many years I used the Logitech Transporter as a server, DAC ( for CD Transport) and preamp, feeding active loudspeakers and I was very happy with it.
About two years ago I added the Yggy as an external DAC, which has taken it to another level.
I think it sounds fantastic and with the LMS iPeng app and Qobuz plug in, it provides all the functionality I need.

Count me in! I have a squeezebox classic and a radio, as well as 3 pi-based endpoints (one is a touchscreen), all with Hifiberry digi pro HATs feeding various Schiit DACs and amps. With iPeng, we are happy campers in this house! I rip with CueTools and tag with MP3Tag.