Clock vs Streamer advice


Hi,

My current system is/was

Aurender N100H>Bricasti MC1>ARC Ref6 Pre>PS BHK 300 monos>B&W 803 D3

I sold the Aurender to try a different streamer and am temporarily using a MacBook to run Roon straight the the DAC through USB. I currently don’t have a huge budget. I emailed a local shop that has a used Melco N1Z to demo at home. I am going to try it out. I also want to try the Bricasti M5 streamer to see if there is synergy with my DAC.

I also came across the Mutec MC3+USB and Mutec Ref10 Nano combination in a similar price point, but I won’t be able to demo this.

If I have to pick between using a mac>Multec MC3+USB and Ref10 Nano>dac and the Melco>DAC option, which do you think will improve sound more. I’m still pretty new to this hobby and can’t currently afford the Melco and Multec combo.

zpatenaude37

I wound expect the n200 to sound better based on cost differential.  You may want to look at Small Green Computer (i5, i7, i9) with the Bricasti rendering card as a more cost effective solution.  I’m currently using an SGC i5 w/4tb ssd interfaced via Ethernet cable into a Bricasti M1 S2. The solution performs very well has great sound staging, imaging and detail.  Great option if you use Roon and need to define multiple end points and want to seamlessly interface a personal music collection with a streaming service like Qobuz.

Often, the reaction to new software is negative. It is different from what you were using and it is very counter intuitive. The Conductor app is widely praised, while not the be-all or end-all… very good. As you get used to it, it becomes easy to use and it is becoming better and better.

@zpatenaude37 I had the exact same experience with the conductor app.  It drove me nuts!  I have AT&T fiber optic internet service and the ethernet cable going from my router to the A20.  No other connection issues in my home over the Wi-Fi.  The A20 was the only component using a cable.  About 3 months ago I picked up a dCS Bartok and the issue was much worse with their mosaic app.  It would not only lose connection but instead of reconnecting in a few seconds, I would often have to close out the app several times before ever reconnecting.  It would eventually show the device like it does when you first set up the system.  It would also do something weird where if I paused the music for 30min or more and then come back and open the app and press play it would stop after a few seconds and skip to the next song.  I feel like this is an issue with our networks/routers but I am an IT idiot so had no idea what to do.  My digital journey took me back to separates today.  I had the Bluesound Node 2i for a few years and never had one single connection issue with the BluOS app.  I got their new Node Nano to stream into my new DAC and same as before..works perfectly.  Wish I had an answer but you aren't alone!