Internet Radio assistance

[Skyman]

I am looking to get a good quality audio signal from an internet radio source into my amplifier. I do not want the other features and capabilities which a streamer can offer, as I am wedded to my vinyl as my prime source. However, I will make that purchase if there is a tangible benefit to be had from doing so. Recommendations would be much appreciated. Budget say £3,000 for the right result, if it is to be another black/silver box from the likes Naim, Audiolab, Auralic etc.

Edited by Skyman on Sunday 1st December 16:57

[blingybongy]

Bluetooth receiver and stream from your phone?

[outnumbered]

WiiM Ultra at £250 this week ?

[TownIdiot]

outnumbered said:

WiiM Ultra at £250 this week ?

For internet radio wouldn't a basic one do the job?

[mikef]

See if you can find a discontinued Yamaha WXAD-10, new price was around £100. It will stream Spotify and Tidal and you can also connect to it from your mobile phone

[Skyman]

Thanks so much for the replies so far. One question. How is the sound quality likely to be? For context, the system is as follows:
Linn LP12 Klimax spec
Dan D’Agostino Momentum Integrated Amp
Moon 610LP phonostage
Sonus Faber Olympica Nova III speakers
REL T9x Subwoofer
I am only going to listen to Planet Rock and the like, in a casual, background way, but do not want it to sound awful.

[OutInTheShed]

I'm not really an audiophile, but I've been happy streaming stuff from a PC, optical out, DAC to amplifier of choice.

A DAC with optical input can be anything from £15 upwards. Plenty of choice.
PC with optical out, no idea these days, I bought mine a long long time ago. Maybe a USB DAC would be the thing these days?
Personally I might be looking at a Raspberry Pi solution, but I quite accept not everyone wants that.

There is a whole world of different functionality you can have, getting music from the internet.
I'd want to be clear exactly where I was going before spending proper money.

[TownIdiot]

It will really depend on the quality of the stream provided by the radio station.

If it's just casual or background listening then I'd have thought a basic device would suffice.
In those circumstances does it matter if it sounds awful?

For serious listening then given your system it would be worth spending more, but you'd still be limited by the quality of the stream in the first place

[mikef]

Skyman said:

How is the sound quality likely to be?

You have a bitstream, error correction if the bitstream is compromised, and a DAC. Provided you have a decent intenet connection and a DAC that can do a decent job with 192 kHz / 24-bit conversion, which is about all you’ll get with internet radio, the sound quality should be fine. The Yamaha box has a Burr-Brown (TI) DAC and decent components, I’m not sure that paying much more will get you better sound quality, but technology has a habit of moving on. At £100 or whatever the used price is, it’s worth a try smile

[Mr Pointy]

AV Forums have a section devoted to streamers:

https://www.avforums.com/forums/music-streamers.33...

Richer Sounds have wide selection you can look through to weed out the units with too many features (eg speaker outputs in your case):
https://www.richersounds.com/hi-fi/hi-fi-separates...

[Skyman]

Thanks again all. As a quick and easy solution, I might just order a Cambridge Audio CXN100. It is wireless and has XLR balanced outputs, which I want. Reasonable build quality and reviews too.

[Mr Pointy]

The Bluesound Node Icon & the Audiolad 9000N have XLR outputs as well:

https://www.richersounds.com/bluesound-node-icon-n...
https://www.richersounds.com/audiolab-9000n-black/

[Skyman]

Mr Pointy said:

The Bluesound Node Icon & the Audiolad 9000N have XLR outputs as well:

https://www.richersounds.com/bluesound-node-icon-n...
https://www.richersounds.com/audiolab-9000n-black/

I do like the 9000N.

[Bluevanman]

Just be aware not all internet radio devices broadcast Planet Rock .I have a Yamaha receiver that can't

[Mr Pointy]

Skyman said:

Mr Pointy said:

The Bluesound Node Icon & the Audiolad 9000N have XLR outputs as well:

https://www.richersounds.com/bluesound-node-icon-n...
https://www.richersounds.com/audiolab-9000n-black/

I do like the 9000N.

It is reassuringly expensive!

[OutInTheShed]

Bluevanman said:

Just be aware not all internet radio devices broadcast Planet Rock .I have a Yamaha receiver that can't

It probably can't stand the adverts or the repetition?

[Skyman]

Oops, final characteristic is to fit on the bottom shelf here, so less than 8cm in height on top of the LP12’s power supply. Might have to be the junior Naim ND5, but that is RCA only.