Is a USB stick directly into ones streamer (renderer) better than streaming from a PC/NAS?
I have a cambridge Audio 851N which has a couple of USB slots, one of which is occupied by a small 32Gb USB 'stick' with some of my music on it.
I see a LOT, a huge amount of discussions going on re streamers/computers/NAS etc etc, and some spend thousands on these items. A LOT of money can be spent with expensive LPS and specially built computers, some also costing thousands, but WHY? Why, when one can dispense with the PC/NAS, rip off switches and their cables etc etc altogether and listen directly from a USB stick attached to a streamer, so no PC etc is required at all (for music playback).
Am I missing something here? Surely a USB memory stick (drive, whatever) costs almost nothing, as is connected directly to my streamer. I've no need to stream from my (expensive) PC or my NAS, with all the pitfalls that that entails. All I need to be powered up is the 851N and my power amp connected to my Maggie 1.7i's - bliss.
I don't use Tidal/Spotify or any of the other expensive sources, nor have any need for the rediculously over priced (IMO, I've not tried it) programs like Roon, as the USB stick does it all.
I've compared direct streaming from the USB stick with NAS and PC listening, both using 'good' cables and power supplies, and the direct USB input beats them both.
OP: I can see you are going to be one of those difficult one's. OK, fine I'm in the mood.
Did I say you? Did I say you should invest? Could you not infer a bridge between my answer and your question, that it's really not a good investment, and therefore not really requiring much discussion?
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