On the Audio .therapy site David writes that most users prefer usb output, iirc.
Have any of you guys Made a direct comparison between web streamed files from Qobuz or Tidal vs local streamed files from your Melco using the same recording at the same resolution?
If so please describe in qualitative and quantitative terms what the difference was and how big it was, if there was a difference.
I have the new Beth Hart album downloaded to my Core from Qobuz. I cannot hear any difference between the Qobuz 24 bit streaming service and the same version streamed from my Core. Not to say others would find the same, different systems, ears etc
Wow - thanks Gazza.
That’s extremely useful info.
I am literally on the point of buying a Melco and starting a library of files, in order to get better sq.
But I have this strong sense that I’m jumping on the expensive end of the nas bandwagon just at the moment when carefully tuned web streaming has almost or actually caught up with local streaming for sq - which seems to be the case for you and various others.
So I’m not sure whether to get an NDX2 instead, and max out the web streaming Approach.
(The issue then is that I then need a new preamp (and psu) too, which means I don’t yet have the budget saved for an upgrade.)
I would wait if i was you for Naim to launch their native Qobuz. I think a demo at a dealer of the same albums on an ndx2 with native Qobuz, and then via the Melco is needed. I would be the first to admit others seem to have better ears than me. But i think waiting a few weeks would be time well spent. I was in the same boat when i got my nd555, i needed a preamp/psu. My dealer gave me a great ex demo deal on 252scdr to go with the streamer. Best of luck.
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Sound advice.
Also the market for SH Melcos might have more activity then as owners upgrade and also when the prices of the EX upgrade are formally published?
thanks
Jim
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I use tidal, but i tried qobuz on a free trial, couldn’t notice any difference at all
Yes, when I had the dcs Network Bridge I tried Qobuz and it sounded the same as Tidal too.
But have you ever compared your server - e.g. your new Melco - to Tidal using the same recording at the same bit rate and sampling frequency?
Might be fun to try this afternoon if you have a spare few mins.
Then you would know how much better the Melco is than Tidal…(or whether it’s the same).
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Hi Gazza
How do you stream Qobuz into your ND555?
Is that via UPNP running through some kind of prior device?
thanks
Jim
The reviews I am referring are from Hifi news, Hifi plus, Stereophile, Hificritic, and Audio Advice. com. Audiophile french site too.
Reviews of the all Melco range, Antipodes server, Naim streamers, Ch precision streamer, DCS Rossini, and Audiomat reference streamer dac
But Qobuz 24 bit is not Tidal and Gazza uses a new naim streamer.
On the old streamers the difference between Tidal and local files is very clear. A lot have reported on it too.
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So that still leaves the question - should I get a Melco with my 272/555DR?
Or go NDX2/555DR and get my 112x out of hiburnation until I can afford better amps?
Or just wait and get the NDX2 and SN3 when I can afford them both?
The difference between streaming-audio on either tidal or qobuz against ripped or downloaded tracks is quite big. So much so that when i had a nd555 at home, we couldn’t tell the difference between it and the nds i have. But on stored tracks the nd555 did have the edge.
But it does show to me that streaming-audio quality is still not the best and thats why i have moved on to using my ripped cd’s and buying new stuff, rather than streamer it all the time.
But i do like streaming still as you can find stuff that you would never ever have found or listened to
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I don’t know Jim. The best is to try and listen at dealer place. In all cases the Melco would uplift the sound and if you upgrade later your system it will be useful.
A lot of ndx2/ nd555 use Melco here. If not they would stay with Tidal probably.
But you can also enjoy your very good system as it’s now and one day replace the 272 by a second hand 282/ ndx2. Perhaps the best choice?
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Blimey Dunc - I didn’t expect anyone to say that there’s no difference between an NDS and an ND555 when streaming Qobuz - especially with 555DR/552/500 that you have.
Didnt have the 500 amp then, but i did have the 552 and was active into my S600. To be fair it wasnt anywhere near as revealing a system i have now, but it does provide a view that unless all is well in your system, going big on the source might not be the best way to go
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With saying what i just have, i guess that when the time comes i probably shouldn’t over look the nd555 and should atleast give it a second chance in my system i have now.
Plus just to add to that, when i tried my nds and the nd555 at hifi lounge this year, i wasnt convinced that the nd555 was worth the extra, that was on a naim system with pmc speakers, but it wasnt a full 500 series system.
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I tried it a long time back, using Tidal. There was no doubt that in my system Tidal was inferior. I would describe it as ‘less musical’ and ‘less involving ‘, to use two subjective terms. I concluded that Tidal was fine for discovery, but that if I came across something I liked, I would either buy a 24 bit download or the CD to rip.
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I watched his YouTube video of the N100. He tested it with the SBooster power supply but found that it decreased the sound quality. As he put it, the “medical grade” switch mode power supply that came with the Melco sounded clearly better.
Wow, for a twisted pair serial lead on a consumer spec interface and protocol that is some price.
Also it is worth remembering unless using duplex USB3, USB will by design create EM noise pulses, as such it is relatively electrically noisy by the very nature of how USB signals. USB3 addressed this and behaves more like duplex Ethernet for better performance and higher throughputs.
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