Help me make a Streaming option decision?

[MikeCh]

Hey Guys,

I'm mostly a record spinner. However, I own many CD's and listen to them quite often too, though they are not ripped/stored anywhere yet. I also listen for hours each day to streaming music using the Logitech Squeezebox Classic when working from home. As a subscriber to Spotify and a user of Pandora I have lots of music choices but these services are limited in quality compared to Tidal. I'm not a Tidal user yet but will be once I get things figured out equipment-wise. From what I've been reading, Tidal can now be used with the Squeezebox / Logitech Media Server platform:

https://support.tidal.com/hc/en-us/articles/201871191-Squeezebox
http://www.digitalaudioreview.net/2...mes-to-logitech-squeezebox-and-auralic-aries/

I'm in the market to increase the overall quality and musical enjoyment of my digital audio needs. Though I stream music and mostly listen to the stream casually, there are times when I'd enjoy sitting down to listen with digital in a more focused manner purely for the convenience of being able to flip through musical choices. At these times, it would be nice if I could listen to Tidal and be getting better sound than the Squeezebox itself can provide. After all, it's an antique in the world of DAC's to be sure. The extent of my digital listening would be thru Spotify, Pandora and Tidal. I own no HD / DSD downloadable files and won't in the future unless I find a freebie or two to download on occasion, so DSD functionality isn't a concern for me.

So here's what I'm wondering....

1. does it make sense to ditch the Squeezebox completely and go with a Lumin D1 and use the streaming services mentioned including Tidal? I don't have an iPad and since I've lived this long without one I can't see buying one just to use the Lumin app. Can the Lumin be controlled with an iPhone or other device? The Lumin would be fed 100bt from my router that sits nearby in my upstairs setup. Not sure how I'd get a Lumin to work in my basement where there are no hardwired network connections?

2. keep the Squeezebox device and output it's RCA Coax S/PDIF signal to an affordable DAC like the Gustard X20U? Since the DAC-of-the-month thing doesn't appear to be slowing down, this option makes me think this might be the wiser solution?


Any suggestions?

 

[CPP]

Try lumin, you can control it via its nice app from an iphone, ipad, android device. You can build yourself a network. I don't have a basement but my network router is in our family room and my Lumin is in a office way back in the house, I use a Wifi Network Extender which is located in my office to get the job done.

 

[MikeCh]

Try lumin, you can control it via its nice app from an iphone, ipad, android device. You can build yourself a network. I don't have a basement but my network router is in our family room and my Lumin is in a office way back in the house, I use a Wifi Network Extender which is located in my office to get the job done.

Thanks Chris. Duh, I forgot about network extenders.

 

[MikeCh]

Since I listen with both systems often, perhaps I should entertain doing both options? With both options, the idea would be to gain better sound than the current Squeezebox Classic units that are running in each system:

1. Downstairs (more serious listening)- Lumin D1 with Sbooster PSU (remove this Squeezebox altogether) and stream with the D1
2. Upstairs (generally more casual listening) - keep this Squeezebox Classic in place and output its S/PDIF to a Gustard X20U DAC

This would give me the interchangeability of two different setups within two different systems to ascertain equipment synergies.

Good idea or bad?