Multichannel DSD, streamer+DAC unit?

I am looking at going multichannel and am looking to play multichannel PCM and DSD downloaded files from the likes of nativdsd.com. 99% of my listening is classical. Can you recommend a suitable streamer that can output multichannel analog into 5.1 to 6 channels? I looked at the Merging NADAC 8-channel player. It has all I need with inbuilt Room Core but it costs £15,000. Surely there must be a unit that does the same but cost anywhere near this?

 

Multi channel DACs are a bit rare.
These are the ones known to me: Multi-Channel DAC

 

Thank you Vincent.

How would you feed a DSD stream from a computer or streamer to such a multichannel DAC?

What streamer would output DSD stream to the DACs mentioned above please?

 

I would let the media player convert it to PCM or use DOP over USB if the DAC supports this.
Most DACs (the chip) are multi bit so you might wonder if you are listening tot DSD or DSD converted to PVM anyway.

Maybe this one does what you want (haven't cheeked the price): exaSound Audio Design > Products > s88 Streaming DAC

 

Buy a used OPPO-205. Download multi-channel music from Acoustic Sounds. Place music on a thumb drive. Insert thumb drive in OPPO's front usb port. Set OPPO's menu to music. Click over usb icon. Play out to Pre-Pro via 5.1 analog in PCM which gets bass management. Or play via HDMI to Pre-Pro which will accept DSD input. That's it. Note, this means to multi-channel is gapless, and album songs remain in order as published. This is an essential to enjoy classical music.

 

Nice but for price $6500. OP should just get a used OPPO-205 and enjoy multi-channel from downloads placed onto a thumb drive.

 

You do not have the components in your system listed. It's kind of hard to make suggestions without knowing that or your budget. You could look at an Oppo 105/105D and play downloaded files from a suitable sized hard drive. I suggest the 105/105D due to being quite a bit less expensive than the 205.

 

Beolab 90s
Beolab 3 - soon to purchase four units when the multichannel source is finalised.
Beogram 7000 CD player
Beogram 7000 record player

 

Get an Oppo 105. Hard to beat without spending serious £££.

 

There are plenty of units that do what you want, they are just called AVR instead of multichannel DAC/Streamers.

 

They are not comparable in any way.

I cannot imagine enjoying my library from thumb drives.

 

Didn't say they were comparable.

I enjoy my library through the means which delivers most appropriately. I have at least 14 means to music.

 

I currently have an 8TB External Hard Drive hooked up to my 205

Music playback is something to be enjoyed not something for which constant tending is required . I never want to go back swapping round media discs, what a waste of so very many cumulative hours in ones lifetime. Hard Drive space is cheap, time is precious.

P.S. Yes I have several backup's for drive.

 

That's impressive.

 

No, it's just something I played around with a few weekends ago when cold weather shut me in. I bought a new LP, Classic Hauser, which sounded pretty good but pops distracted me, so I ordered the album on CD and also downloaded Apple Music, and 24/96 FLAC from Acoustic Sounds, then, compared the media by all means/methods/processes I had to enjoy it. Interestingly enough all formats sounded so similiar I could only conclude that Apple Music was more convenient and less costly than the other means to the music.

 

OK, precious. Your time must be somewhat meaningless though, after all you're here posting.

 

I'll agree regarding "here posting"

 

Kal, what do you have and use?
What do you recommend?

 

At the moment, I use NAS drives in both systems and each accommodates my library which is about 35Tb right now.
In the main system, I use a customized Baetis Prodigy X4i server running JRiver/Roon and output via USB/LAN to either an exaSound e38/II or an Okto DAC8 Pro.
In the other system, I use a MacMini running JRiver/Roon and output via HDMI/LAN to a Marantz AV-8805.
I also have several Oppo players (used primarily for movies or ripping SACD) and, for review, an exaSound s88 DAC/streamer.

 

Not sure how off-topic this is, but I didn't want to start a new thread for what I think is a basic question and I suspect most/all posters here could answer it. I'm interested in an SACD, which I will play on my Blu-ray/SACD unit, and the cover and back indicates that it is "multichannel" but says nothing about it being 5.1 and/or surround-sound. Multichannel must be more than mere stereo, but I assume is it less than 5.1 and/or surround-sound (or they would say so). Is this correct? If so, is it more like quadrophonic or some sort of faux surround-sound or something else?

Here's an example of one of the company's SACDs.

 

Pentatone Classics are reissues of 1970s quad recordings (originally issued by Angel/EMI) so four channels. Not faux, but the rear channels are more about ambience in the hall than anything super discreet. They are nice recordings, there’s a whole series of them - I have a bunch but not this one.

 

Thanks for the info. They should come up with a name for this, like 4.0 surround-sound. I guess it could be 4.1, since I assume it would not be difficult to create the bass-heavy sub-woofer. I wonder what the fifth channel is using a 5.1 amp. Nothing? My knowledge in this area is quite limited.

 

I only have a quad setup... just for listening to old quad recordings like this... but my guess is the 5th/center channel is not there. There is not a separate sub channel on the Pentatone classics... or on any of my true quad SACDs or DVDs that I can recall anyway.

 

I'm not planning on getting sub-woofer anyway (at least for the near future). I bought a 5.1 receiver and it's sitting unopened in the closet . . . a project waiting to happen. Right now, I have a converter that converts my Blu-ray player HDMI into RCA for my current amp. I suspect I'm not getting much (if any) of the SACD benefit, but at least I can play my CDs.

 

2, 3, 4, & 5 channel multi-channel SACD might sum bass from front channels and deliver it to .1 . My OPPO does that but conceptually it’s hard to get my head around it.