Help settle a streaming argument!

This is a puzzling post, can some clever engineering matter in a digital transport device? One area you can be pretty confident is the digital domain. Rarely could anyone say the expense or engineering of a streamer matters in video. Which seems harder since you have both video and audio. But our perception isn’t about bitrate, it’s contrast, volume and other things artists deliberately manipulate.  Possibly there’s a difference in video streamers but the beauty of a digital signal is noise imperviousness. It sends information in such a way that you encounter little or no error. You likely can’t measure any either because of outrageously clever protocols that basically make every system work. Like the internet. You don’t get misspelled words or grainy pictures.  Except somehow for audio since it’s ‘special’. Hate to say but all these boxes don’t make sound, they just process it. In a blind test our ears are too sensitive to all the myriad of other ssues of reproducing sound, including mainly mixing choices by the artists, our room and speaker placement, etc. My take? Get the cheapest possible streamer. DAC may make a little difference but most problems come with amplification and energizing your space realistically with the recording type and choices of the music you listen to. Personally I couldn’t be happier and have always used Apple TV. Without the TV part.  It has the best and easiest to use interface, reachable by any Apple device including my watch. You just have to split HDMI audio out into toslink, but that’s a 20 dollar box.  Also for 30 dollars a year you can store all your music in Itunes. So it plays anything from its catalog or yours, wherever on any device. But this hobby isn’t about saving money but I think they have the best solution at about 250 all in. 

Do previous comments apply to systems with AES connection between DAC and streamer?

A cheap streamer delivers the identical string of bits to a DAC as an expensive streamer. Bits are bits. The only way they could sound different is if one of the streamers is changing bits, or one of the streamers is generating noise into an amplifier. Power and grounding is so well understood that even cheap streamers emit very low noise. A Checksum guarantees the bits I receive from QoBuz are identical to what was transmitted to my streamer and to my DAC. I use a Raspberry Pi loaded with Moode. mConnect is my user interface via iPad or iPhone. Total cost $70. DAC = RME ADI-2 DAC FS, Amp = Luxman 509X, Speakers = Magnepan.

If you read my previous post, I address why a bit perfect file can sound different. You are correct that bits are bits, but not correct that noise is not a factor. Sound quality can vary among streamers. It is measurable.  It is audible.

Many people here post what they believe (me included). But believing and experiencing are different things. It is true that it’s possible some of us have been deluded by placebo. But, I think there’s more than enough measured and anecdotal evidence to suggest there’s benefit to investing in a better streamer. That’s what i believe. But also what i experienced directly - when I came in as a skeptic.

Do the work. Make an honest effort to do an honest comparison. Then tell us what you heard. I’ll regard that feedback as far more valuable than telling us what can’t be. Do the work. Then post.

+1  "If you make listening and observation your occupation you will gain much more than you can by talk [posting]. " - Robert Baden-Powell