Been here...Done all this! First streamer was Andover Songbird. I was totally blown away by the whole experience. I bought a Schiit Mode3+ not knowing that the Songbird actually degrades the bit count when using the optical or digital out.....But strange as it seems, it sounded better. I then moved the Songbird to my offioce and bought a Node2i.......HUGE improvement in SQ even with its own DAC....Hooked to the Modi3+ it sounded a tiny bit better but there was a strange interaction between the two. When a song changed and the resolution changed, there was an audible POP....I called Schiit and they were aware and said get a BitFrost!.....Just a few weeks ago I decided to take advantage of Amazons extended Christmas return policy and bought a Gustard X16.....HOLLY MOLLY! What an improvement! I couldn't believe a DAC to influence the SQ this much....Not sure how much better it would get with a multi thousand $$ DAC....Have I reached diminishing returns? (My equipment...Schiit Freya/ VTA ST120 Dynaco tube/ KEF LS50 Meta)
