Proud audiophiles, i have a situation that i can’t seem to find a proper solution for.
My setup:
Speakers: KEF Q900 flourstanders; Amplifier: Audiolab 6000A; Loudspeaker cables: Monster (yeah yeah, i know); TV: Sony Bravia XR-55X93K.
I found out that the optical connection on the tv only supports 16-bit/44.1kHz, while the connection on the audiolab supports 24-bit/192kHz. Now i know that let’s say Spotify doesn’t supports Hi-Res, but i do have a usb-stick that has albums on it that do.
From my perspective there are a couple of options:
- A Google Chromecast audio, which supports up to 24-bit/96kHz (that’s fine by me, still sounds great). Problem: that’s REALLY hard to get here in The Netherlands
- A dedicated network streamer, such as the Argon Audio Solo
- A HDMI (e)Arc extractor.
Does anybody have experience with one of the above or maybe another solution? Would like to hear your advice!
Get a Wiim Pro Plus Streamer. It’s amazing at $220 and comes with an outstanding AKM DAC if you want to use a line input on the Audiolab, or if you have a digital coax input on the Audiolab, the Wiim Pro for $150.
I have been using a Wiim Pro since last New Years Eve. I have it connected to my Denafrips Hermes DDC feeding a Pontus II DAC via i2s and it sounds glorious and the Wiim app is a joy to use. Wiim issues updates to features and bug fixes weekly. I auditioned streamers up to $2500 and the streamer that I liked the best was the Wiim Pro. Sure it doesn’t have a big pretty screen on the front of it, but the Wiim app on a 10 inch tablet beats the little screens in the front of far more expensive streamers and I can take the tablet wherever I’m sitting.
In all fairness, I have my Wiim Pro connected via coax to a Denafrips Hermes DDC hooked to a Denafrips Pontus II DAC via i2s. With the admittedly $1400 Hermes DDC I already own, the Wiim rocks listening to streaming services. I don’t use the Wiim for my NAS drive 12TB audio collection. For that, I use a Core i7 player/server running JRiver Media Center.