Just to kind of piggy back off this question slightly: Ive been under the impression that internal streaming on most of the common higher end dac req (weiss, molamola, etc) is almost always pretty solid. Does this generally hold true or is my impression off base?
I guess it all depends, I think the dedicated streamer inside the 501/502 is better than most sub 500 streaming options, and likely on par with most sub 1k. I do think that it can be outdone with things above that, but the inbuilt streamer is quality
The ddc question is somewhat different since a ddc serves a different use case from a streamer
I think it’s generally true, but again it all depends on the dac at hand. I think most manufacturers of higher end dacs realize that if they skimp on the streaming aspect in sound, it’s going to show pretty easily
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I’m very happy with the streaming of both my 502 and my Lumin U1 Mini. The Lumin is probably a better streamer per se, but the 502 as an all in one solution is pretty dammed solid across the board.
That being said,thinking through the connectivity aspect, the 502 does not allow for a DDC to be connected downstream, so you get what you get.
If you’re looking for the best possible streamer, then it’s probably a good idea to buy the best possible streamer.
A lot of the cost of a streamer goes into their SW development for the UI. Roon is the great equalizer (no pun intended) so it makes any Roon ready device look just as good from a UI standpoint.
The Lumin U1 Mini on the other hand at a quarter of the cost and with a great DDC at about another quarter of the cost, and a great DAC at half the price would probably be a better overall solution dollar for dollar. But you know, space is a luxury so the all in one it was for me.
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wait, im confused. Doesnt the 502 have AES, SPDIF, USB, and number of digital inputs besides ethernet?
Yeah but they’re inputs not outputs. To use the DAC you use the analog out, XLR or RCA. So if you wanted to use DAC only you’d have to buy a dedicated streamer, so that many be money better spent elsewhere depending on one’s needs.
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oh! you are saying you cant use it as the streamer. I read that as you coldnt use it with a streamer and was confused as hell tbh 
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Got it. 
Honestly though, if anyone is spending $10K retail for a device, at that level it should be exactly what you’re looking for no compromises. The 502 is not for everyone, buy I’m sure it’s head and shoulder better than the Amber 3 I had as my flagship before at least at the high level listening I’ve done. It’s just that I was never able to do an apples to apples comparison and I still haven’t been able to connect it to a known factor gear as I’ve pretty much changed EVERYTHING I had in my chain just this summer.
In the end it’s one device and coupled with the LTA integrated, two boxes ultimately replaces five boxes, it was a decision that works for me.
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I think ultimately I’m good with the all-in-one solution it provides, given the DAC performance is appropriate for the price once you account for the streamer implementation at its contributing level of performance. If I were to pick up a different DAC of similar RRP, would the 502 be blown out of the water because some of the funds went into the streamer? I feel like that is fairly unlikely, and I imagine it’s still a significant jump from the Amber 3/La Voce S3 sort of level, even if fed by a streamer>DDC of $2.5kish a piece.
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One thing im not following here is shouldnt the streamer eliminate the need for a ddc?
Given the streamer is of a certain grade?
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You can have a pure streamer but most high end ones are combined with a DDC so it tends to be one or the other until you start getting into wild stuff.
Do you mean high end streamers have a “built in” ddc or people pair a ddc with them?
As in a large portion of the point of a high end streamer is that it has clean digital output on its own
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It depends on how it’s designed, sometimes it really is like that internally, sometimes it’s not
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Does anyone here have any impressions of gold note products? I’m finding they’re somewhat easier to obtain in canada than other brands
Anyone familiar with moOde player on Pi2AES? I did an update and now can’t get to any of the config pages.
No firsthand experience with moode but just general things that could be going on. Give updates time, they can take forever.
Make sure you’ve got network connectivity, sometimes the updates blow or turn off WiFi if that was how you were connecting. You may need to plug in to Ethernet and configure WiFi again.
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Thanks. I’ve tried restarting a couple times after the update showed as complete (updated day before yesterday). I’m connected via Ethernet cable, so shouldn’t be an issue with wifi connectivity. The player itself seems to be fine, just can’t get to any config pages, including networking, audio, or system. Trying to avoid re-flashing.
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Then you’ve done all the basics, the re-flashing is looking more unavoidable if you’ve done all the basics. Might be quicker to just bite the bullet.
Oh one last thing, put in an SD card with another OS if you’ve got one handy. At least this way you can check you don’t have an actual h/w problem.
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Good call. I’ve got a few cards laying around I can load another os on to test.
So I have just unexpectedly come into some money and I have enough that I can afford and justify spending some on the Denafrips Ares II. I think am covered for analytical dac for now with my JNOG v1?
For listening I have the RNHP, the SPL Control One and shortly, hopefully, the Whammy (running on a Muse 01 opamp initially.
As this is a bit unexpected, so before I order anything, I wanted to do a final audit of my options. If you had this choice, which dac would you get and why?
EU sourcing is important, outside the EU would considerably reduce my spending power.
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