2. digital
  3. 192710-196145

ARE SUPER EXPENSIVE STREAMERS REALLY WORTH IT

Folks I am confused why some streamers need to be so eye wateringly expensive. I appreciate the internal basics need to be covered such as a high quality, low noise power supply and a decent processor speed etc..  but that is not rocket science.

So my question is could a decent streamer outputting its data stream via I2S to a good quality DAC receiving the I2S stream be a more cost effective way of rivalling let’s say a streamer costing 5k upwards.

I have heard and digested the argument for expensive streamers quality being centred around the management of the data timing via a quality clock circuit but there are very reasonable in relative terms, DAC’s out there that have dual super high quality temp controlled clocks within, at least the equal or arguably even better than the say a 5k streamer with some sporting dual high end DAC chips etc.

So could utilizing a good quality streamer and a separate high-quality DAC connected via I2S indeed offer significant benefits and potentially reduce the need for a very expensive streamer.

I say this with the knowledge that I2S is designed to preserve and separate the Signals so avoiding the timing issues connected with multiplexing. I2S (Inter-IC Sound) separates the music signal from the timing signal, potentially eliminating jitter or at the very least greatly reducing the possibility for the pesky music killing jitter which we all could agree would lead to improving overall sound quality.

Wouldn’t this separation ensure that the timing information is more accurately preserved, even when compared to a high price streamer, leading as clean or cleaner and more precise audio data output. With I2S, the DAC can use its own high-quality clock/s to synchronize the data, which will reduce jitter and improve sound quality.

Could this possibly mean that even if the streamer has a less advanced clock, the DAC’s superior clock can take over, ensuring best  performance.

So bang for buck would it not be advantageous to investing in a high-quality DAC and using a good but not necessarily top-tier streamer to achieve excellent sound quality without the need for an extremely expensive streamer. Surely the DAC’s performance will play a crucial role in the final sound quality.

Play gentle with the pile on please....................

nubiann
ghasley
2,506 posts
 

+1 @grislybutter 

sns
3,320 posts
 

@wtyamamoto Incorrect information on I2S,all  the dacs with I2S input I'm aware off give you the choice of sync or async, in other words you have choice between the streamer/DDC clock or dac internal clock.

 

For those who hear differences amongst streamers, many also hear differences between music player apps. Check out all the Aurender and Innuos users who prefer their native apps vs Roon. I also hear differences in the various apps available to me in my custom build streamer, ie. Roon, Euphony Stylus, HQPlayer. Roon and HQPlayer both require much processor resources, this will affect sound quality.

 

And I don't think anyone here is saying dacs not important, they are absolutely important!

wtyamamoto
5 posts
 

@sns - can you point me to where in the settings I would be able to set my Directstream to async i2s?

Edit:  I should note that I once tried operating the Directstream without the MCLK, but it failed to lock.  This was as I was building an IanCanada streamer, so wanted to see if I could dispense with the MCLK since the Raspberry Pi does not have an output for it.

 

sns
3,320 posts
 

I don't know if the Ps Audio has that capability, best to ask those familiar with unit. I'd also question whether you are indeed operating in sync mode, I was just reading this, https://forum.psaudio.com/t/ps-audio-i2s-clock/30748 According to my reading the directstream is using it's clock.

soix
9,683 posts
 

Bits is bits.  Thatʻs the beauty of digital audio.  At the very lowest level of computing, all machines do is:

  • copy data from one register to another
  • compare data between two different registers
  • add data from one register to another and write out the result.

Everything a computer does is a combination of those three operations.  The ability to copy data from one place to another with 100% accuracy is the hallmark of computing.

@russbutton  Sure, if you’re just sending a Microsoft Word document that’s not sensitive to noise, timing, etc. it’s perfectly fine.  But audio is very sensitive to these things, so you can hang your hat on that it’s just ones and zeros but most here who’ve migrated from basic computers to dedicated streamers know that’s absolutely not the case, and until you’ve heard a dedicated streamer your “opinion” is just insular ill informed. 

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