Sound quality differences in streamers

@ghdprentice , @soix 

+1 …. Big-time!
 

Nailed it , …. point, set, and match in tennis jargon. 

In my experience yes a quality streamer makes a difference you can hear.  I upgraded from a Bluesound Node N130 to an Innuos Zen MK3 and it made a difference I could hear immediately.  

There are differences, even at the ultra high end.  Some are a little smoother, some colder.  Software and UI matters.  The only server that does Roon perfectly IMO is Antipodes. I am biased (I am a dealer) but they are the only brand that uses two computers in the same box to split server and renderer duty which matters, even for streaming. This is less of an issue with software that is not Roon.  

streamer discussion

see link above to a prior discussion that touches on same topic.  I am a strong proponent that, putting aside processing differences (e.g., reclocking, up sampling/oversampling, dsp), the only differences across streamers - sonically - is differences in noise, including power supply-related, RFi/EMI, and jitter (and the science is really clear on this, btw).  Some DACs do a much better job than others at eliminating any or certain types of noise from sources (streamers).  But regardless of your DAC, there are a number of relatively inexpensive (less than $2k) streamers that do a great job of minimizing noise.  Bottom line:  there’s a lot of hype out there re streamers in part because this is the leading edge of the industry for a lot of consumers still, so there’s a lot of opportunity for high margin products for producers, and misinformation.  Good luck.

Lumin U2 mini with the Sbooster power supply » Allo Shanti supply on the WiiM Mini

This equal tipping of the scale really surprises me—a lot—given Lumin's reputation and the significant price difference. I previously tried the WiiM Mini (without an LPS) and found its lightweight low-end notes unacceptable. Some people told me a clean power supply would make a significant improvement, but I didn’t pursue it due to the Mini’s limited connectivity options.  The Pro+ and Ultra, which I tried later, performed much better in that regard, so I’ve kept them since.

Later on, I came across at least two not-so-impressive tests of the Lumin U2 Mini. One of them is this.  I don’t wish to jump to any conclusions about the performance of this particular Lumin model, but I suppose there’s a valuable lesson to be learned.