Tony,

One thing I really dislike about the Roon Nucleus that currently sits in my network closet (surrounded by Hello Kitty towels…long story) is that they left an internal CD ripper out of the package. Fortunately, I ripped my CD collection years ago (on 3 LaCie HDDs) and have those drives connected to the Nucleus. To add anything now, I have to use an older iMac and do the rip and transfer back and forth. PITA. I control everything with an iPad.

I do think network amplifiers make more sense than just a dedicated streamer.

Best,

Ian White

Also, I use a laptop and a micro form factor PC over USB to another pair of DACs.

The dedicated streamer is a “computer” for people who don’t “want a computer” and are willing to pay through the nose. An Android tablet, IMHO, is the best way to do it, because you can get it up and running for $250 with a nice 640GB micro SD card… and with Tidal HiFi you can download tons of music into it. All the money you save you can put towards your DAC, or buy more records.

Not only that, but you can also mount your network and all the music in it. AND, you are pretty much safe from obsolescence.

I would say, “Yes” a laptop will do just fine. I used to use a laptop for my Pandora accounts and it worked great. I could just plug in some desktop speakers via the mini-jack out and happily listen whilst I looked at Moto Guzzis and the like.

And then I got my first “internet radio”. This allowed me to not have to boot up and logon. Just turn on the radio and hit a preset. Was it better sounding? I do not think so. It only got better as I got better speakers or a radio with better speakers. Use your laptop until you want to be free of that device and then buy yourself a nice internet table radio from Grace Digital or some other brand.

I am no fan of using my phone to “cast” or BlooToof to a speaker but you could do that too but it kinda-sorta locks your phone out of the music (even casting can sometimes get cut off for a call or at least it did so to me) if you need to talk on the PHONE, LOL!

Do NOT let some frAudiophile tell you that a phone does not have the necessary “quality” to play your music. Remember that these beings are the same ones that supported MQA, green marker pens and more dumb stuph (none of those creatures reside here) so that shows you what they are all about. I prefer my radios and my AVRs when at home and when on the road I use CarPlay or AndroidAuto. And no need for that thing called “Roon”. You can easily push play and listen rather than have some “Algoreithm” (get it?) claim to do it better. Pffffft!

Enjoy it. Remember the Doobies sang “Listen To The Music” and not the equipment. The latter brings it to us. I prefer mine to look a certain way and the music I enjoy takes care of the rest. Have fun!

ORT

I use a MacBook Air to stream Tidal and Amazon Music HD, and also the ~700 CDs I have ripped and stored on the Mac. Roon on the laptop integrates both Tidal and my own music files to a single music library and UI. External DAC IS an iFi Zen Blue. The sound quality is very good and using a laptop ensures my system will almost never be obsolescent: I can upgrade any of my apps or the DAC and still keep my laptop. Streaming providers will morph and change over time (look at the issues MQA is having) but I’m pretty confident a laptop provides me the easiest, most cost-effective, and flexible streaming platform possible.

You will still need to purchase a quality DAC and amplifier, unless you are using Powered/Active speakers. There’s virtually no difference between a laptop and a phone, when it comes to the internal DAC.

Also, you won’t have access to services like Tidal Connect, and I believe Room. Both make the experience much nicer.

Looking good, Ian!

ORT