iDevices have surprisingly good sound quality when bypassing the on-board DAC as you’re doing. That said, to my ears streaming via my microRendu > DAC sounds better than my iDevices into the same DAC using the CCK connection. It’s noticeable, but I wouldn’t say it’s a night and day difference either. Moving up to an opticalRendu or the Innuous .. I can’t offer you an opinion, unfortunately. No doubt someone will say there’s a massive difference. Massive. Veils will be lifted. Veil upon veil in fact. My advice is to take advantage of gear that comes with a trial period. Best of luck.
iPhone/iPad good as a source, or get a streamer?
This is probably a dumb question with a simple answer I’m just missing, but here goes. I’m currently using my iPhone and iPad wired with a Camera Adapter to my DAC via Qobuz in my headphone setup and it sounds good, but I’ve wondered if using a streamer (on the level of an Optical Rendu or Innuos Zen Mk3) would be better as it’d be plugged directly into the router. I’d assume the latter would be better given the wired connection vs. WiFi, but wondering if anyone has compared that to connecting an iPhone/iPad directly to a DAC? Location isn’t a huge deal since I’m in close proximity to my router anyway. Thanks for any thoughts/experience/suggestions.