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Sound quality issues streaming from Tidal vs CD

I am hoping someone familiar with streaming from Tidal might be able to help.

I have recently installed the Pro-Ject Streambox S2 Ultra, which is a small Raspberry Pi based network bridge. I connect this to my router via ethernet cable and to my Vitus DAC (which is part of the CD player) via USB. My CD player obviously outputs through the same DAC.

The sound quality from CD is so much better than the sound quality from Tidal (I am a Tidal Hifi subscriber).

So my questions are:

1. Is this just a feature of streaming via the internet, it simply is not as good as a good quality CD transport?
2. Or is it an issue with the Pro-Ject - would something like the Autralic Aries G2 (also a network bridge with no DAC) which costs 6 times the price of the Pro-Ject, improve the Tidal stream?
3. Or is it the fact that the USB cable I am using is an entry-level £10 cable?
4. Or is it Tidal? - would Qobuz sound better?

Any advice or knowledge would be welcome.
128x128duckworp

Showing 2 responses by sfine0

sfine0
9 posts
 
I found in my setup that tidal sounds washed out compared to ripped CDs. And that digital music sounded better stored on a solid state drive as opposed to my USB3 Drobo disk array. My setup includes an ultrarendu / LPS1.2 power supply with Auoquest USB and network cables with a direct connect to network switch in my equipment rack. On the advice of Alex Crespi at uptone audio I spent $20 on a used enterprise Cisco 2960 SI 10/100 switch (replacing a new netgear gigabit switch with an audio grade external power supply). The change in sound quality for all of my stored and streamed (Tidal) music was dramatic. Music from Tidal now sounds like CD quality recordings, but still not the quality of locally stored music. I am a retired embedded systems engineer with a fair amount of knowledge about network hardware and the only reasons I can figure for this upgrade in sound quality is generally better build quality reducing noise transfer between switch ports and a better power supply.
hope this is not too long winded and is helpful 
sfine0
9 posts
 
Duckworp 

i have a single wired drop into my audio room (Cat 5e soon to be Cat 7 - a euro standard) connected to a network switch sitting with my Mac mini and drobo disk array. The network patch cables are Cat7 from wall outlet to switch, Audioquest Vodka from switch to an Ultrarendu and An Audioquest Cinnamon cable from a 2012 Mac Mini. The Utrarendu / LPS2.1 is plugged into a dedicated 20 amp outlet, the Mac min another 20amp outlet and the Cisco switch is plugged into a shunyata Hydra 4. My Fios modem is in my basement 2 floors down from my listing room.  It is my experience a hardline connect gives better results than WiFi and that well made network cables are an important component to good sound. 

Remember, what we are dealing with are digital signals being transmitted in an analog format. All of the devices in the digital transmission chain should be seen the same way normal analog device/interfaces  are.
steve
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