Post your stereo system!

Nice! Good HP setup is critical for a happy domestic situation. 

Interesting thoughts on the 2245 phones out. I use mine if I have to but I find the 2215b sounds much cleaner. The 2245 isn't bad but it's almost like the "Marantz warmth" isn't quite right for the headphone experience. 

Congrats on the new gear!

tempo_n_groove said:

mrussel1 said:

Here's a new toy...  I use my Marantz as a preamp only, feeding to the Parasound 140x2.  The problem with that is it bypasses the Marantz's headphone amp.  Normally I don't care, but my wife does at times.  So she was a big advocate for putting this Music Fidelity headphone amp into the chain.  It's on sale at Audio Advisor for $199, which is pretty good.  I also upgraded the wall wart to 24v which lights up the little EPS light (enhanced power supply).  The sound is perfectly clean, quiet background, etc.  It is a good match for the Senn HD600s.  It also sounds much, much better than the amp in the Marantz which I found grating.  Nice little unit, three gain settings, volume knob and handles both size jacks.  

I always see the Parasound brand offered in the Audio Advisor circular but though they were advertising for it.  Is that an actual decent brand?

Parasound is a good brand, I think.  They have some very high end stuff, and then some middle of the road.  I can't think of anything cheap that they sell.  Their mid to upper preamps and integrated amps are pretty darn good, from what I've read.  This particular amp is straightforward.  It's 140x2 solid state.  It has a nice loop and bypass feature along with A and B speaker outs which is handy.  At the end of the day, a solid state amp should sound neutral and clean, and this one does.  I can't get the Marantz 2245 past 12:00 without it being extremely loud, but never clips.  

tempo_n_groove said:

OK  I need help.

I want a unit to put all my CD's in that will save them and play them and be able to stream.

Anyone ever do this?

Not wanting to lose sound quality either.

Looking for something like this but not wanting to spend that damn much.
https://www.audioadvisor.com/prodinfo.asp?number=AXACS10

Any thoughts to this?

I'm not clear on your desire.  Do you want to just rip them and then be able to stream, or stream from teh cd directly without ever having to rip?  There are a ton of ways to stream, from dirt cheap (and mediocre) to out of control expensive and silly.  

tempo_n_groove said:

mrussel1 said:

tempo_n_groove said:

OK  I need help.

I want a unit to put all my CD's in that will save them and play them and be able to stream.

Anyone ever do this?

Not wanting to lose sound quality either.

Looking for something like this but not wanting to spend that damn much.
https://www.audioadvisor.com/prodinfo.asp?number=AXACS10

Any thoughts to this?

I'm not clear on your desire.  Do you want to just rip them and then be able to stream, or stream from teh cd directly without ever having to rip?  There are a ton of ways to stream, from dirt cheap (and mediocre) to out of control expensive and silly.  

I'm looking for media storage for my CD's all in one place and somewhere to store my digital downloads from Vinyl and what not.  This device should also be able to stream and be able to make a playlist and export said playlist.

So I have accomplished this in three different ways.  I'll detail them.  They all take a bit of investment, but nothing in the range of what that digital transporter was.  That's outrageous. 
First, everything is predicated on ripping the cds to FLAC.  That will take some time if you have not done that.  It's well worth it though, never having a cd player and cds taking up space in your stereo area.  

1. Squeezebox Duet - this is an out of production streaming DAC.  It supports 24/192 and has a pretty decent DAC installed.  You can still buy them used on Ebay and they will last forever.  It's straightforward.  You store all your media on your hard drive, install the Logitech server, and stream it to the Duet.  The Duet that connects either through optical or analog to your receiver/pre amp, etc.  You're in business.  It has a good aftermarket app called Ipeng which is top notch.  Here's an Amazon look, but this is way overpriced.  You can probably get it for about 200 today.  https://www.amazon.com/Logitech-Squeezebox-Touch-Discontinued-Manufacturer/dp/B002LARRDA

2. Yamaha WXC-50 - I am using this unit on a vintage Pioneer SX-750.  It's fundamentally the same thing as the Duet, but offers some more options.  It uses DLNA protocol to stream from your computer to the unit.  You would need to install a J River, Windows Media Center, Foobar, etc. to stream.  Reviews are mediocre, but the negativity is about connection, and I have never had any problems with that.  The internal DAC is good, but if your rip or source is meh, you're going to hear it.   https://www.amazon.com/Yamaha-Audio-Component-Preamplifier-Silver/dp/B01EI6DQS4/ref=sr_1_3?dchild=1&keywords=yamaha+streaming+dac&qid=1592242767&s=electronics&sr=1-3

3. Topping D30 - this is my last setup, and the highest quality.  May also be the furthest from your plan.  Topping is a company that makes really excellent DACs at a very affordable price.  I have the D30 which is only $120 new, although I bought used as a test and it was only 60 bucks.  It supports DSD and up to 32bit and a khz way over anything I have.  It sounds amazing.  However, mine is not a streamer.  So I took an extra laptop I had sitting around and an external hard drive, and copied all my music to it.  The laptop connects to the Topping using USB-A (like a printer cable) and then you set your JRiver/Foobar/whatever to Asynchronous mode.  This is a bit perfect stream from the laptop to the Topping DAC.  The Topping then decodes and sends analog to my vintage Marantz 2245.  It sounds spectacular for digital. After that, use a third party app so you don't have to get up.  If you have an extra laptop or desktop, this is both the cheapest and highest quality route.  https://www.amazon.com/Topping-D30-Decoder-Coaxial-Optical/dp/B00A2QLD80/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=topping+d30&qid=1592243454&s=electronics&sr=1-1

Now if you're using a recent AVR, you probably have built in streaming using something DLNA compliant.  I have that on my Yamaha AVR, but I think it sounds inferior.  It could be as much the AVR vs the internal DAC.  

tempo_n_groove said:

Forgot to mention that I do not own a PC.

Should also mention that I have vintage equipment so I don't stream through them, only through my Bose bluetooth speaker or the JBL clip.

I was hoping to delve away from a computer based backup and wanted to use a device like I mentioned above.

I have vintage as well.  Everything I'm doing is analogue based into the vintage.  However, not having a computer is debilitating, I think.  You're going to end up spending much more than if you just bought a $400 laptop.  

Added a bit of a light show. Colors and patterns change with the music. 

I'm a nerd like that. 

2215b on top and a 2245 below.

The 2215b powers a pair of Klipsch bookshelves with a little help from a Klipsch powered subwoofer. My turntable and CD player are running into it, too.

The 2245 is driving my Cerwin-Vegas. It's only source is the CDP, which is run by way of two AudioQuest splitters. That way, I can run both receivers and all of the speakers from the same source.

The 2215b is a little cleaner and more open sounding, while the 2245 is more warm and full.....the classic "Marantz sound". Together, both receivers and all of the speakers and sub running, the whole spectrum is pretty well covered. 

Sounds good enough that I'm not looking to add or change a thing.

New VPI rig and Hana SL mc cart.  Im done for a long while. 
 

mrussel1 said:

mickeyrat said:

"NEW" vintage Onkyo CP 1010A completely gone through with a new AT 90e twin magnet cart

Nice looking deck.  Is the cart vintage too?