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Help settle a streaming argument!

This is a SQ argument and is as follows-  I argue if you connect your streamer to an outboard DAC the streamer does not matter it’s just serving the music to the outboard DAC to do the work.  Therefore, buy a basic streamer.  The other is that you need to buy a top quality streamer and DAC to get great SQ. 
 

I liken it to cd players or the more pretentious cd transport argument- if the intent is to connect to outboard DAC the cd player doesn’t matter the outboard DAC DOES!
 

features and functionality aside!  Thoughts…..

polkalover

Showing 1 response by yyzsantabarbara

yyzsantabarbara
4,530 posts
 

I have had 4 streamers and 3 of them are as it gets.

- Sonore microRendu

-Sonore OptcalRendu using fibre

- Lumin X1 using fibre and testing the streamer section only

- PlayBack Designs Streamer-IF (using SPDIF for now, once I get a PDB Dream DAC I will use the fibre output of the streamer)

None of these 4 streamers sound the same. The microRendu is way behind in terms of sound quality to the other 3. I believe the reason is analog noise traversing the streamer from the Ethernet and then through USB into the DAC.

The surprise for me was how good the Streamer-IF sounds. It is good as the Lumin X1 and the Sonore OpticalRendu. I think the reason is that there must be a fibre wire inside the Streamer-IF that both the Fibre and SPDIF outputs use.

Listen to a stream that uses Fibre and one that does not. It should be very easy to hear a difference, even on a good network.

 

 

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