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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 4 responses by yyzsantabarbara

yyzsantabarbara
5,026 posts
 

I had 3 streamers in the house at the same time:

  • Playback Designs STREAM-IF (used only SPDIF not the fibre)
  • Sonore OpticalRendu
  • Lumin X1

They all sounded different, and all sounded great. The fact that the STREAM-IF, using SPDIF, was comparable to the other 2 that used fibre optic shocked me. I think the STREAM-IF uses fibre internally. Whatever the case, all 3 were great but easy to tell that they produced a different sonic result.

I traded in the Lumin X1 for some end game speakers.

I sold the STREAM-IF because I realized that I was never going to spend $24k to buy the Playback Designs Dream DAC after I bought the under $3k Schitt Yggi+ OG DAC. The STREAM-IF hooks up to the Dream DAC via a proprietary streaming fibre link (which I never tested).

I now have 3 Sonore OpticalRendu’s (the oldest version) and I am not looking at any new streaming product. I will use the Rendu until they each die.

BTW - the OpticalRendu’s are going for some low used prices these days.

 

 

yyzsantabarbara
5,026 posts
 

One interesting thing I found in my quest to lower the cost of my gear was that my worst DAC, the Benchmark DAC3B sounds better with the $10 USB cable from Benchmark. I use the DAC3B a lot with a tube headphone amp. It sounds great.

yyzsantabarbara
5,026 posts
 

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D8Y4RWYS?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title

I bought this to stream fibre to my main rig. It will connect to a Sonore OpticalRendu. It is still sitting in my mailbox, and I will test is out on Sat once I get my DAC back from a friend. I expect it to work perfectly, since I do the same thing with my other 2 DACs. Those DACs use different network switches that cost a lot more and a bit more.

 

yyzsantabarbara
5,026 posts
 

@lalitk When I said work perfectly, I am talking about the sonics, the bit transfer is a given. My streaming is working in the fibre domain and everything before the Rendu does not matter from my experience with the other 2 OpticalRendu's I have. I initially had concerns about the quality of the switches but not anymore. My first Ubiquiti switch sells for $400-$600 now (I paid $150 before it became popular). My second switch was $75 and the 3rd one $45. I am not spending money on switches anymore based on my experiennce.

I also used to own the Lumin X1 and used a direct fibre into the X1 DAC and compared that with the OpticalRendu into the X1 and other DACs.

Very interesting test results. I ended up with 3 OpticalRendu's. The X1 was also a great streamer. As was a PlayBack Designs Stream-IF I had in the house (tested with SPDIF not the available PLINK fibre).

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