Sound quality differences in streamers

I just went through the journey of demoing new streamers.  Your question is a good one and though the answer is counter intuitive, yes there are very discernable differences.  Even with the same streamer, different digital outputs will sound audibly different.  USB will likely sound different than SPDIF out of the same streamer into the same DAC.  Demo, borrow and listen to everything you can get in your room.  Take your time and find the piece that suits your tastes.  Good luck and cheers.  

While there are a few naysayers here who think streamers can’t sound different just like there are naysayers here who say cables don’t make a difference, the vast, vast majority here find significant improvements as they move up to better and usually more expensive streamers.  Suffice it to say it’s well worth your while to at least demo a better streamer and use your own ears to decide.  

Ah the old computer phrase “ It’s only X’s and O’s. The power supply makes a difference, the clock makes a huge difference, and there’s noise rejection. Even cables make a difference. I have a nice resolving Mid Fi setup and I can tell a huge difference. Being hardwired Vs Wi Fi makes a difference too. You can gain a little here and a little there , and it adds up to a big difference. If you get a streamer with a wall wart, a LPS is another improvement. I went from a laptop to a Project Stream Box Ultra II to an Innuos Pulse Mini with a LPS and I’m at the LOW end of streamer category. Happy Hunting , Mike B. 

I guess I will be the party pooper. You're using it as a streamer, so the heavy lifting is done by your standalone DAC @kckrs 

All you need is a streamer with a user friendly software system if it has one and one with good processing power is all and thankfully you can get one for pretty reasonable money and then connect you your DAC via any of the digital inputs and you're good to go.

Overthinking it and using anecdotes of people here and trusting it (including me) iṣan exercise in spiralling.

So yes connect the Wiim Ultra which has the best processing power of the Wiims and USB input on your DAC and you're all good

A Aurender music server paired with a solid DAC via USB audio, This IMHO is a solid high end setup, and it dosent cost any where near a DCS. a nice Aurender will be around $2500 new and a DAC would be around $1500 or so. Thats not bad for a very good sounding digital front end using Tidal or Qobuz.

And once hearing this ,you would never go back to anything inferior, its digital magic.

Matt M

There is a dCS streamer for $3K?  Wow

The best sounding streamer that I ever had was the Bryston BDP3 which had a terrible user experience.  For a few hundred less a Melco N100 sounded very close.

Then for around a third of the price of a Melco Cambridge Audio got me about 95% of the sound.  Currently using a Wiim Pro for $100 while rehabbing in my basement post knee surgery.  It’s maybe 90% sq of the CA.

  Worst streamer I ever heard also cost $100.

  So my take is budget streamers into a good FAC can get you most of the way to audio heaven.  Throwing more money will usually make it better but the asymptote kicks in a lot faster than say for speakers or turntables 

If the unit is just transferring zeros and ones to a DAC can there be differences in say a $300 WiiM and a $3000 dSC streamer?

And there is the ignorance, it is not just transferring "1’s and 0’s".

Doesn’t common sense tell the ones who have heard this nonsense that streaming music is no different than sending a word document there must be something else happening? That maybe those of us who have spent many thousands on streamers did it because the music actually sounded better? If there was no difference between a multi-thousand dollar streamer and a $300 Wiim how is it possible all these streamer manufacturers would stay in business longer than a few months? Because we are all fooled? We have nothing better to do with the money? Audiophile's like to pay thousands for a fancy case? Only a fool would believe that. 

Hans can explain it as well as anyone: Watch some of his videos: That is not "proove it" but explain why digital sound is complicated, this first one is not about streamers but filters, and the second explaining that digital is not simply "1’s and 0’s". 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PSsKdAcwUL4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-StTplQZys

More importantly prove it to yourself: go to a dealer and ask them to proove to you that expensive streamers sound better. Honestly I don’t know why people keep asking this question about streamers being the same or not over and over.

Words are cheap, and useless- the proof is in the listening- go listen. 

Assuming all things being equal, yes, significant differences. Most good quality streamers do not have a DAC. They are simply stand alone. If you have a good DAC you don't want to buy one with the DAC function. You want all the effort and cost to have gone into only the streamer function. 

Also, lots of memory to store ripped files is becoming less prevalent as streaming can sound just as good as stored files or CDs, so there is no use for storage. 

But it depends on the rest of your equipment. My rule of thumb is that if you purchase best in class and synergistic components then investment levels typically look something like this. 20% speakers, 15% amp, 15% preamp, 15% DAC, and 15% streamer. Or better 25% speakers with the rest split equally among the components. 

The point of the above is that each component is equally contributing. 

This is because careful and thoughtful design and top notch subcomponents get you insulation from electrical noise, and vibration, and stable power...etc. from the start to the finish. 

I have owned DACs and Streamer from a few dollars to over $20K. The differences are obvious at every level. 

In my experience, which is primarily related to using Roon, the answer to your question requires separating the server from the streamer since they perform two separate functions.  In the case of using Roon, the server runs Roon server, or Roon Core, which manages music files, streaming services, and the audio devices on your network.  The streamer operates as a Roon endpoint, which clocks, processes, and transports the digital signal to a DAC where it is converted into an analog signal.  In some cases, the server and streamer exist in a single chassis, like with the Antipodes K50, the Grimm MU1, and others.

I have not heard noticeable sonic differences in the servers that I have owned.  However, I have heard meaningful sonic differences in streamers, with the best sounding streamer I have owned being the Sonore Signature Rendu SE Deluxe, which is currently in my main system.  If I didn't already have the Sonore streamer, the other one I would try is the Innuos Pulsar.

Streamers vary greatly in the amount of noise generated from within, noise is the enemy of resolution/transparency. In researching and comparing streamers you'll find much difference in the lengths some makers go to lesson noise. Every single component on motherboard can contribute to a lower noise floor. Proprietary operating systems and linear power supplies also contribute greatly to lower noise floors. Streamers set the resolution/transparency floor for the entire streaming chain, extremely important component, perhaps the most important component in the entire chain.

I heard a significant increase in clarity when I switched from a Roon Nucleus to a Grimm MU-1.  I thought the upgrade was well worth it.  So yes, there is a difference.

First of all, it’s dCS, not dSC, and to my knowledge, their least expensive model starts at around $22,000.

Personally, I don’t own (but have auditioned) any streamer over $1,000. That said, I believe you can clearly hear the difference between a Wiim and a truly high-end streamer—at least in terms of pricing. This belief comes from the ability to easily distinguish differences among sub-$1,000 streamer/DAC units out of my humble system. The real question is: where does the point of diminishing returns begin?

Price doesn’t play the music. For example, my $399 Cambridge Audio MXN100 sounds noticeably better than (1) the $330 Wiim Ultra (with Smsl ddc), (2) the $399 iFi ZS, and even significantly better than the $850 Eversolo A6. All were tested using their internal streaming sections, the same external DAC, and low-noise power supplies. The sonic differences are apparent and, in my opinion, may mostly come down to two specs, including (1) jitter noise and (2) electrical noise, that one needs to watch over in selecting the gear.

Finally, I encourage you to treat your room acoustics, optimize speaker placement, carefully select cables based on specifications (not ad-hoc recommendations), be mindful of system synergy, and train your ears to better reveal those differences.

I have the HiFi Rose RS130 Streamer. The sound quality is amazing. Software can be a bit wonky sometimes. Ive got it connected to a Luxman DX-07 SACD/DAC. It sounds amazing. Super quiet and very enjoyable. Good provisions for storing and ripping CDs other music files. 

As an aside anyone else sick and tired of Audiogon login system? Login/Password recaptcha then 2ndary identification via login code. This isnt classified information WTH is wrong with this forum. 

I will say 100% there is a difference! I have had a few and finally settled on a small green computer/Lumin setup. That is what I liked best. Not saying this is the end all, but I could tell very NON-Suttle differences between streamers. This was what I liked and just stayed with it. I found what I liked and stopped spending anymore on it. 

@lanx0003 

“The real question is: where does the point of diminishing returns begin?”

At what price point? Also, “diminishing returns” is subjectively defined by each owner/listener, for their own system. IOW, not a stationary target.

That said, in my system, the $6,000 Sonore Signature Rendu SE Deluxe (streamer only) provides significantly more engaging results than the $1250 Metrum Acoustics Ambre, $7,500 Antipodes DX Gen 3, or $7,000 Mojo Audio Deja Vu that came before it.  Keep in mind, the Deja Vu and Antipodes DX are server/streamers.  Of those, the Deja Vu came sonically closer than the others to the sound of the Sig. Rendu SE but, even then, the Sig. Rendu SE Deluxe clearly sounds better to me. A good comparison would be against the $8,000 Innuos Pulsar (streamer only).