Better DAC or better Streamer

Streamer

Streamer 

I believe the Nagra streamer is the same as the PlayBack Designs streamer that I had. The low end one for $3k. The Nagra DAC is also a PBD DAC design but with different boards than in the PBD DACs Andreas Koch of PBD mentioned the DACs in an interview and I read something about the stream online.

DAC for sure. There was someone comparing my $3k PBD streamer to the $13k or $20k PBD streamer and they could not tell the difference. Most likely because fibre was involved. PLINK in the PBD case but you can use something like a OpticalRendu for similar non-proprietary results.

DAC hands down.  I have a Chord Dave and it is huge.  I also have the Farad power supply for it.  I am not using mine now as I have gone Tube with Lampizator but in the AB the DAVE held it's own

Jerry

In streaming as with all audio the chain is only as strong as the weakest link, and in your case the DAP is by far the weakest link so get thee a good dedicated streamer.  You already have a good DAC, but using a DAP as a streamer in a high-end system???  No…just, no. 

I certainly depends on the sound character you want to change. If I had your system, I would want a more musical and natural sounding DAC. The DAC is likely to have a bigger change on the sonic character. The streamer will lower the noise floor, increase  dynamics and detail.

Thank you everyone.

System dependent. I've heard discernible differences between DACs and music servers. 

We are a chord dealer  and   we sell the remarkable 432evo servers

that is a hard decision in our experience a really good server streamer can make a very noticeable improvement in musicality.

Dave and Troy

Audio Intellect NJ

Chord dealer and 432evo servers dealers 

Better DAC ! Cause through a DAC you could run several different sources like a streamer. 

There are plenty of good streamers out there but finding one with decent software is a challenge. Many people recommend Aurender but in my experience while the SQ is excellent the conductor software is lacking. I finally settled on Antipodes with Squeeze software which is adequate but far from perfect. I'm looking forward to Qobuz Connect which again while not perfect would be a step in the right direction. But to address the question I believe the DAC will have more impact on SQ than the streamer. DACs can sound significantly different and I would not limit myself to Chord and would try as many as possible within your price range.

One’s conclusion on Aurender’s Conductor app may be highly dependent on when you used it. They did a major upgrade about six to nine months ago. Not a spectacularly smooth transition. But is solidified and now far more powerful than the earlier version... and it is getting even better daily,

DAC without question.

Thank you.

As evidenced by the answers in this thread there is no way to know. There is probably a slim chance you can review both yourself in your own system to compare I would wager? 

Having said that I then went and looked up this Astell & Kern thingy. That little portable player is how much? 

Going to ramble on with some of my thoughts: 

You can stream with that little portable A&K thingy, or you can stream with something like my streamer, which has a mass of 42 lbs. Logically how could this little thingy serve up files with the same sonic clarity as a huge dedicated box with 2 computers and massive power supply capabilities? 

Using the same logic, the Nagra is also a dedicated box designed to just do the same thing: serve/stream music files, so I don't think the A&K thingy has a chance to sound as good. The Nagra streamer is just 4 lbs- but that doesn't include the outboard power supply- is that a wal wart? notably one can upgrade its power supply- no idea how much that is and it is probably so new there are no reviews of that. But if one just needs that: to stream using Tidal/Spotify connect that is a nice, small, discrete, and attractive looking streamer, (mine isn't as shelf friendly) it may be a great choice. Nagra has a stellar reputation for top notch sonics, and Swiss (like my DAC) made quality. One review I just glanced at puts it above Lumin U2 mini for sound quality, but is should as it is twice the money, and Huff is drooling over it, probably because with a good review he can keep their $30k DAC longer...

I don't know- there are plenty of great streamers for the same amount of money, and that is before upgrading the power supply $$$ but the possibility of upgrades is appealing. 

End of rambling. 

No doubt the DAVE will eclipse the HUGO TT2, but to answer your question: which will upgrade your sound quality more? my money is on the Nagra- without a doubt. 

@yyzsantabarbara

There was someone comparing my $3k PBD streamer to the $13k or $20k PBD streamer and they could not tell the difference.

And then there was someone who demoed/compared the Antipodes streamers with Aries Cerat DAC’s.

His results were that the Oladra with the Aries Cerat Helene was preferred to the Antipodes K50 with the Aries Cerat Kassandra.

So the pricier streamer with the (cheap ) $19,000 DAC was better to his ears than the cheaper streamer with the $60,000 DAC.

I have read this more than once: some people have heard significantly greater differences with high end music servers than they have with high end dacs. That is once one gets to a certain level the diminishing returns are more quick with Dacs than they are with music servers.

And no, a fiber connection does not make streamers sound the same.

@mclinnguy

I have a A&K SP2000 DAP and an Aurender N100 (10 pounds) and an Aurender W20SE (46 pounds). I actually like talking weight. It isn’t there just for looks and is a pretty reliable indicator of sound quality. 

I’ve used all of these through my main system which has a good DAC. The A&K is a joke in comparison to either of the Aurender... obviously I have the W20SE because its sound quality justifies its cost.

Spend $2k less and get the PBD lower end streamer which seems like the same as the Nagra. Mostly likely because Nagra licensed it from PBD.

A fibre cable did not sound the same with 2 of 3 fibre streamers that I had at the same time. The Lumin X1 and OpticalRendu were fibre optical, and the Playback Designs was SPDIF in my test (though it supported fibre). All were great but very different sounding.

Thank you Thank you Thank you for everyone input.  

How close is Hugo TT2 with Mscaler to the sound of DAVE?

Are you looking to continue using Mscaler with DAVE or are you giving up the Chord combo to move up to DAVE and planning on using the DAVE without Mscaler?

If you plan on running DAVE by itself then I would probably say get a proper streamer and keep your TT2/Mscaler combo.

If your upgrade is DAVE/Mscaler combo then probably go that route and add a streamer later.

@audphile1 and everyone

Sorry I didn’t make it clear to everyone.

Yes, I will keep using M Scaler.

The dac100%  for a streamer is just bringing the signal in 

the Dac or sourse most important part of the audio chain .

the higher quality the better ,this is the end point where the signal goes down stream to all other components before reaching the Loudspeakers .

once a signal is sent good or bad it cannot be improved upon later this is why 

is is crucial for the fidelity of your audio system. The streamer is important also 

but it does-not do the final Digital to Analog conversion .