@ghdprentice Thank you. I just decided to go for a used MSB Discrete with Renderer V2. I will likely move my Ideon combo to a future headphone chain if my life will need that. Even in that case, I will still do some streamer upgrades over the Bluesound Node. My experience with the PST transport makes me realize that the entry-level Ideon DAC sounds amazing and certainly punches above its price, and that it my current streamer is a bottle neck. Aurrender sounds like a great option and I will certainly be looking for it on used market if I decide to go for that path.
My SACD Transport feeds so much better signal to my DAC compared with streaming end...
I mostly use Roon to stream my 2000+ album digital collection with Bluesound Node + Ideon 3R Master Time reclocker + Ideon Ayazi MKII DAC. Recently I got a used PS Audio PerfectWave SACD Transport to rediscover my CD collection from years ago that my parents brought back to me from their home, which I have not touched for a very long time. I thought the 3R reclocker would clean up much of the signal from the Bluesound to the extent that streaming will not sound much worse than CD -- Indeed, I have been satisfied with its performance. I was wrong. The CD playback experience totally blew me away. Much darker background, much better soundstage and depth, lots of details, and better dynamics with great authority... I guess you really need a good streamer to catch disc playback! At any rate, I plan to upgrade my front end to one that works with the SACD Transport's I2S output so that I can enjoy my SACDs as well...
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@curiousjim That's two great cents! |
I have to concur with Ghdprenice. I purchased an older N100 to try streaming with an Aurender. I can honestly say the sound exceeded my expectations. I no longer am interested in physical media. The streamer is all that I want to listen to for the ease of operation and sound quality. I have posted my PS Audio SACD transport for sale and plan on purchasing a N200 or N20.
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This is another of those questions where the only wrong answer is an absolute statement of what is best-or not. I don't find much difference in my streaming set up and CDs-I think its more dependent on the mastering of the track or album. So, the convenience and variety of streaming works very well for me.
On the other hand, I have friends who say their CDs sound significantly better than any streaming set up they have heard. Who is wrong? Nobody-its a subjective thing and the only way you will know is listen for yourself. I can safely make a definitive statement about what I like-but not what you might like. |
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