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Discerning a difference between streamers is difficult...only me or common for all?

I have struggled to appreciate the upgrade to the streamer in my system. A couple years ago I had an Audio Research DAC 8 being fed by a Bluesound Node 2i. I picked up an Aurender N10 and did not appreciate anything so sold the N10. I tried a couple all-in-one units. First was the Aurender A20 and I was happy but curious about dCS. I got a Bartok 2.0 and felt the music was more natural sounding from the Bartok and sold the A20. I have always wanted the Audio Research DAC 9 to match all my other AR gear so got one that showed up on eBay a couple weeks ago. Since I couldn’t use the Bartok to stream I ordered a new Bluesound Node Nano so I could utilize the DAC 9 immediately. The pair sounded wonderful but I did not compare it to the Bartok. I ended up getting a quick buyer and it was already gone. The following week I purchase an Aurender W20. I was prepared to have my mind blown....but no. Some albums I could not tell any difference in the sound and others I think the W20 sounded slightly better but again...nothing huge. For the money and the space the W20 took on my shelf, I sold it. Over the years I always appreciate upgrades for all other components. This makes me feel like I am losing my mind. Have any others experienced this regarding streamers? I want to try more. Auralic and Lumin are on my list.

Thanks,

Dana

dhite71

Showing 1 response by glennewdick

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glennewdick
1,757 posts
 

 

I’ve gone through a half dozen streamers topping out at a $6500 Aurender. I found it makes very little difference depending on the DAC you are using.  For me once I got a very good DAC I found the differences between streamers to be almost negligible. At this point I now recommend to friends to find a streamer you like the software/App for. That to me is the deciding factor now, ease of use and sound cataloging.  

I did a test using red book digital quality (CD) through my Aurender and Apple TV box both directly from tidal both into the same DAC, surprisingly the Apple TV box was not significantly worse than the Aurender, actually very little difference. Granted at red book not hi rez formats. My optimized PC is actually slightly better/same as the Aurender, and I’ve since sold the Aurender. I won’t be wasting big $’s on streamers anymore.

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