Are streamers digitally enhanced?


I had a conversation yesterday with a studio engineer friend and I was telling him about the sound of my Innuos Pulse. He has heard my system with the Node 2i and was skeptical about how much difference a better streamer could make. 

After I described improvements in soundstage and overall sound quality he remarked that it sounded like some digital enhancement, similar to a studio plugin, was part of the higher end circuitry. I offered that it was revealing, not enhancing, and he replied "how do you know". 

How do we know? Digital circuitry is controlled by software/algorithms and these can't be readily seen like hardware. When new hardware comes out, reviewers can open the hood and look inside. But what do we know about how streamers or DACs are processing the signal? Is the goal purity or beauty? 

mashif

Showing 1 response by zlone

Aside from those streamers that advertise DSP, I am with the crowd that says streamer sound is primarily affected by clocking and noise and no manipulation is occurring. The absence of noise and the use of a high quality clock makes all the difference. And while I can’t explain it, the cable to the DAC can have a significant effect as well.