Everything matters
I have now been tinkering for 10 years with my streaming set up and the principal lesson learned is that everything matters. Think about it: from the wall outlet to the router to one or more switches to the streamer and dac, the latter three dependendent on clocking and all of them depending on cables and power supplies), it stands to reason that e.g. changing a USB cable is very likely to compensate for a weakness in the chain, that if addressed, would result in an overcompensation by that cable. Therefore I look at individual component or cable reciews with a very jaundiced eye. It is the performance in the context of the individual chain, that matters. As a result I have had numerous ethernet or USB tweaks, be the filters, isolators or processors, cables and LPSs in and out of my chain. For what it‘s worth, the biggest impacts ranked on SQ I experienced were from inserting 1. Etherregen, 2. LHY Audio UIP, 3. 10m clocking of Dac, UIP and Etherregen and 4. LPSs on router, switch and Etherregen.
My main point though remains that praising individual components irrespective of the digital chain is borderline meaningless
There's the sign in the Chemist Shop that says: "We dispense with accuracy". That's the fundamental proposition with streaming - it does not matter if packets get lost or corrupted, just get the next one down the line. File transfers can be done perfectly, but streaming does not even try for perfection! Come to think of it, nor does Ethernet. Ethernet cannot even guarantee the timing of a single packet, let alone that it actually gets delivered. |
In the hobby of Hifi audio, the rabbit hole goes endlessly on power cords, power conditioners, XLRs, RCA, digital, and then there is the other endless money pit doodads in tweaks. My Eureka moment was when I bought a Shunyata Sigma V2 power cord for my Niagara power conditioner. Like the conditioner itself, the power cord into the wall outlet just makes everything just sound better, and in a meaningful way. My favorite tweak are Symposium's Rollerblocks and platforms. Perhaps it shouldn't be head-scratching, but it sure seems a bit snake-oil-ish from a distance until you pop a few of those little devils below your front end components. I was pleased with the - bringing things into focus - affect. It just makes the good stuff you have, a bit better. It's like sprinkling a bit of salt & pepper onto the cream cheese that's spread on a bagel, it just gives it more pop in flavor, hah!
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When your network tweaks cost more than a DAC I can tell you that you’re not on the right track. Streaming quality is in the streamer and DAC first and foremost. No amount of switches or regens or filters or fiber optic converters will compensate for a crappy streamer feeding low quality DAC. Once your components are in order all you need to get the best possible performance is good digital cable, good power cord and quality Ethernet cable. That’s it. |
Great thread over here at WBF, https://www.whatsbestforum.com/threads/affordable-ethernet-filters.39335/ |
When I swapped out my EtherRegen for the Network Acoustics Muon ethernet filter, I heard a nice improvement. I did this because I was focused on adding linear power supplies to every network component, and adding one to the ER cost about the same as the Muon, which is passive. My chain is Arris SB8200 cable modem, Ubiquity EdgeRouter X SFP (wifi access point for the house is isolated from the router by optical - another nice bump here), Cisco 2960 old school switch, Buffalo BS-GS 2016 switch, Muon ethernet filter (without the NA streaming cable), Allo DigiOne Signature streamer, Schiit Bifrost 2/64 DAC. Supra CAT 8 ethernet cable throughout, Apogee Wyde Eye BNC cable from streamer to DAC. |
Agree that all components matter but there are diminishing returns in my experience once you have a well matched system with quality components that fit your budget. The source is key. Need a strong and consistent Wi-Fi signal connected to your system. The streamer and DAC next and then the speakers have the most impact on the sound in my experience. Assuming you have treated your room and listening position setup so you are hearing the best your system has to offer. |
+1 @ghdprentice , I just moved from a BMC Ultra DAC to a Meitner MA3 and as an experiment, I removed my Etherregen, AD clock and the AD LPS powering them. Turns out, to me, sq improved quite a bit -- smoother, more musical and more detailed, with a marked decrease in the occurance of excessively high or shrill passages in certain recordings and alto sax runs. This may have had something to do with my now runing ethernet straight from the LPS powered modem and Bonn8 switch to the Zenith MK3 and ethernet, not USB as with the Ultra DAC, from the MK3 into the MA3. I use high quality ethernet cable in both instances (Supra CAT 8 and Veritas Mirus). |
True, however this is also a function of the quality of the streamer (and DAC) you use. Very high quality streamers isolate you from the network. On my system routers and etherregen made not difference. So, you can improve streaming with inexpensive streamers and fiddle with the network or get a really good streamer and just improve the sound on your audio equipment. |
@antigrunge2 Absolutely true, every link in chain is critical. I too have experimented with many of the same things you mentioned, I've learned that band aids don't cure ills. I go even further back in trying to optimize my chain, therefore, internet service and modems. Faster service better, nearby provider servers/ping time, only modems with Broadcom chips, LPS on modem. |
