IMO streaming has still not matured enough, it is certainly frustrating but also exciting times, there is a constant stream of new companies / new products that sound better than previous generation products. Also the price should be driven down as competition hots up but for the time being there is global shortage of ICs which keeps prices high and availability limited. I just hope we are not going to end up like the PC market that once a product is released it is obsolete within few months. At the same time the software is still lacking, perhaps ROON is the best effort on the software side, it could go like the PC market, several hardware makers and two-three operating systems / front end products.
Anyone else feel like it’s the Wild Wild West?
I’ve been following the streaming threads here for a while now, and I find it both exhilarating and intimidating. I mean, we all know everything in high-end audio matters to some degree or another, right (Ok, maybe except for the flat earth contingent)? From what I’m reading and from my own experience the process of optimizing steaming has near unlimited potential, and some even say it rivals or even surpasses vinyl if taken to the max. Cables, routers, optical, filters, extenders, power supplies, switches, etc., they all seem to make a significant difference despite the naysayers who say bits are just bits. I’m all in on this steaming renaissance, but most of the jewels of useful info are buried in other posts, so I’d like to have this be a consolidator post of your best streaming experiences and recommendations for others who could benefit greatly from your hard-won victories and maybe save a lot of people the agony you went through to get to streaming nirvana. So have at it — let’s empower this community in this noble task and help everyone realize the amazing potential of this magic gift to audiophiles. What say you?