Music server vs. external hard drive to DAC

This is a great exercise where all input is appreciated. Goodlistening 64 has really defined my question. My external hard drive was populated with 2 terabytes of lossless music by a friend of nine played through a new Dell laptop into a RME dac. Sounds pretty damn good. I switched things up today with an all tube rig - Audio Mirror preamp into QS Horn Monos using a 25 year old Pioneer PD95 CD player (around 2 grand way back when and built like a 10k machine today) played into my recent Coherent Audio GR 12 . With a Japanese produced CD the sound, for me, in what is probably a modest rig, is stellar.

There are 3 components to consider: Music Server feeding a streamer feeding a DAC.  All three can be separate or combined into one, two, or three boxes.  

Music Server - manages music collection (if copied to a drive), supports your meta data database if using a product like Roon (highly recommended) and serves your selected music to a streamer / renderer.

Streamer / Renderer - receives music from your server or music service like Qobuz, Tidal, etc, usually cleans-up feed and rebuilds data packets (reclockes) and usually has some buffering capability to handle any delays / interrupts in your network service.  In simple terms the streamer prepares the music "data" to feed your DAC.

DAC - converts your digital data feed to an analog signal which is fed to you preamp / amp.

I've dealt with / had "all in solutions", and a few "separates" solutions.  Becoming frustrated with network blips ended up with a separate music server, feeding a combination streamer DAC solution.  I also have a 4 tb SSD music collection integrated into my music server.  

Specificly I am very happy with my:

Small Green Computer i5 Music Server with internal 4tb ssd, feeding a Bricasti M1 with a renderer / streamer card.  With this solution you can request your music with any wireless device: laptop, iPad, cell phone etc. while having your music feed system hard wired from your ISP modem and router to your audio system.  

I also recommend considering Roon.  In my case, it enables me to seamlessly integrate music services with SSD resident music collection.  It also treats each streamer / DAC as an endpoint, routing music to multiple output solutions.  In my case, my audio system, a sonos system connected to my main TV and an outdoor sonos system.  Roon also has the capability to route to remote points like your cell phone which can be connected to you car, or any other blue tooth connected speakers.

A side benefit is the ability to located the Music Server is another room next to my ISP modem router.  Some would say keeping a much noise and RF as far away from your DAC as possible.

Sorry for rambling.  I hope this is of some value.  Im now using my streaming solution "only" for all my music everywhere!   

I can only provide my experience

will a relatively inexpensive streamer played through a decent DAC give CD quality results? Already being a Amazon Prime customer is their streaming service on par with the other variants.

Depending on what is perceived as decent. I’m currently using the PSAudio MK1 as a Dac. I think it’s decent but YMMV

I’m don’t currently have my CD player hooked up but I can compare converted flac files to streaming.

I’m using a Windows Fanless PC using Foobar 2000 for streaming flac files compared to Amazon Pirime with USB output to the DAC. Local files sound better... not a lot better but better. I’ve used Qobuz in the past and it sounded better than Amazon Prime but still not as good local files.

(I also have a PI2AES streamer on the same system) local files both I2S and AES/EBU sound better than the fanless PC but sadly can’t provide Amazon access which is why I have both streamers.

The final note is that the sound difference from best to worst is a matter of several degrees. I would not be able to tell which configuration was playing if I wasn’t able to compare them directly.

So my answer to your question is No you will not get CD quality using Amazon and other services like Qobuz. While Qobuz does sound marginally better Amazon can still sound pretty darn good.

Streamer is not going to give you better sound if you ripped your files using Windows Media Pro or Lossless. If your files are 24/192 and you have a quality DAC, you are far better off financially with using local files for play.

A laptop with hard drive capable of multiple gigs is all you will ever need for your music and can be had for $150 to use as a dedicated jukebox.

A streamer comes at a fair cost and Quobuz is around $200 a year for as long as you use your streamer. So if your purchase of a streamer comes in at $750 and if you use it for 3 years, you have spent $1,350 to play. You can get a nice DAC, laptop and AQ USB cord for that price. 

I have a Schiit Yggy and while the rest of my system may not be top tier, I cannot hear the difference between 24/192 and lossless files. I have no experience with MQA music files. I use the remote for volume on my Rogue Preamp and while I cannot change music files, I can easily create a playlist on Windows Media Player to play what I want to hear. 

Just my two cents.

Assuming we compare the red book CD, vs stored file, versus streaming. Assuming the same quality of the equipment feeding the DAC, then they would be all the same.

However, Qobuz has over half a million albums of higher resolution. So, this is where you may have heard this.

As far as components… they all make a difference in the sound quality… so the better the streamer, the better the sound… just like the DAC, preamp… etc. to find an appropriate streamer, I would start by researching in the same price category as your DAC. Better streamers sound better. I have owned best of class streamers from $1K to $23K… and the latter is simply stunning and provides sound quality equal to my extremely good vinyl leg.

Why not save and step it up like a Innuos SS HD streamer 

and exceptional dac like the T+A200 dac + excellent active preamp 

that’s what I am buying next $7200 retail I have seen demo models $6200 

and as good or better then Any dac at $15k ,I have heard many at audio get togethers all in the same systems over 10 top dacs some over$20 k that was not as well balanced . Do a demo , and check out the reviews.

It should equal CDs but I never compared Prime LL to CDs while I tried it. Happier with Qobuz because it plays on most streamers while few have be embraced Amazon. I listened most often with my PC which might be why I dropped it.

Sorry  @maxwave, I thought maybe it was an  honest mistake.  No insult intended.

I appreciate the input but I believe I’m at fault in describing what I’m looking to accomplish or the equipment needed to do so. I’m looking and asking about a music streamer, not a server. So the question - will a relatively inexpensive streamer played through a decent DAC give CD quality results? Already being a Amazon Prime customer is their streaming service on par with the other variants. Thanks

I sold my Synology as I found that cheap SSDs sound at least as good and much easier to work with.

Not sure who "told" you different but I stand by it.

Why would adding a network into the mix add positive change to any SQ?

When the Iinternet goes down you got nothing.

@carlsbad2

As much as I know, Lumin L2 is a server.

It must be connected to a DAC or a DAC streamer.

I have other motivations in life than highjacking this thread

@maxwave did you post in the wrong thread?  or are you trying to hijack?

We use an old MacBook Pro into a MHDT DAC.  It seems to work fine and the sound with hi res files sound as good as the same out of the CDP

I stream from Qobuz , high resolution .    
I am not that exited by the sound quality .

I am looking for a server only.
Not a server with streaming feature
I already have a LuminX1 for that.(DAC/Streamer )

Lumin L2 is the solution . But very expensive.( Too much , according to some )
Why Lumin , would have launched this server , if it is not very good , for digital
downloaded files ( Flac, DSD )

Lucas Audio Labs has good reviews .
https://www.lucasaudiolab.com

So to actually answer your question, I'd say usually a streamer from an online service should not sound better (usually).  Assuming your external hard drive is good quality and you have no equipment issues, and the files on your HDD are full resolution, then your DAC will deliver CD quality music.  Frankly, most music servers are the same setup except the hard drive is inside.

Streamers are so expensive and work hard to not drop any bits to ensure they provide "CD quality".  

When I first started streaming, I compared it to a CD and found that the streaming service sounded better....then I realized I was using a CD player instead of a CD transport feeding my DAC.  So what I was really comparing was the cheap DAC in the CD player to my high end DAC seperate.  Apples and oranges.  

The exception I mentioned is music that is now available on streaming services that is higher resolution than CD quality.  It takes a good ear and a good system to tell the difference, but it is there.

Like previous responses, I prefer the endless library and convenience of a streaming service.

Jerry

Hello @kckrs 

There is a whole world of music available by streaming Qobuz vs just your own cd's ripped into a hard drive, or purchased music files on a hard drive.  It is an amazing way to explore new music.  Also, a quality streamer will sound better.

You have some nice stuff.  I would reach higher than the Node.  Most of us had one and many of us have upgraded.  Look at models from Aurender, Innuos and Auralic.

Perhaps it is one of the hardest concepts to understand, how a better streamer improves everything.

RME is a fine DAC.    Only reason I sold mine is that my new Integrated has a DAC. I used it with a Bluesound Vault and it sounded excellent.  That DAC will be a good pairing , the Node sounds good through it's analog outs but will sound better through your DAC.   

Buy something like a Bluesound Node, subscribe to Qobuz or Tidal and there's no looking back.