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?

soix

Showing 7 responses by lalitk

“Although the iFi Zen Stream seems to be a relative bargain for the sound quality per $, I have to say their customer support is ass. ”

@soix 

That’s sad but expected at those bargain bin prices. That’s why it’s just as important to select a streamer / server that provides a good customer service support with a robust OS. It’s all part of the experience and many folks failed to see that when they think why pay for $2K streamer when I can get something for $500 or less. 

@soix 

I agree for the most part. It’s only going to get better. I have been streaming for over 10 years and for me, my streaming is equally enjoyable as my analog and CD/SACD setups. I am now more focused on optimizing or extracting the most out of my system. 

@juanmanuelfangioii

You completely missed the point of my post. I have no qualms about how anyone choose to spend their money or their personal preferences / priorities for vinyl or digital.

Peace!

@facten - Thank you!

 

 

 

holmz’s avatar
holmz

1,489 posts

It was easier with vinyl, as non of that extra multi-$1k increments were needed.

  • No power conditioners
  • No internet lines
  • No fancy USBs
  • Nothing extra.

 

Yup, setting up vinyl is like plugging a toaster to a wall outlet, plug and play 😂

Look at the recent threads started by @holmz

 



https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/tone-arm-plug-in-rca-cable

“One can only wonder and be excited in the anticipation of where we’ll be 10 years from now. I can’t even imagine.”

@soix

You can count on the ageless debate…Analog (Vinyl) vs Digital (CD/Streaming) 😂