Streamer Comparison and Suggestions


I am considering options for a new streamer for the specific purpose of improving sound quality as a Roon endpoint feeding a DAC.  

The set-up:

  • networked server/Roon core in a separate room
  • connection to my main system using fiber, a converter and LPS
  • very short Ethernet cable into dual Bonn N8 switches
  • Network Acoustics Ethernet cable then muon filter
  • Metrum Acoustics Ambre Roon endpoint/streamer (currently)
  • Variety of DACs having USB, S/PDIF, and AES/EBU input options

The Ambre is a Raspberry Pi based device with internal LPS and femto clocking.  I am curious whether some of the more expensive, more well-known streamer options may result in improved sound quality as a Roon endpoint feeding my DAC - which is my only goal.  I intend to continue using Roon to control Tidal, Qobuz, and my server stored music files so the addition of fancy touchscreens, on-board storage, or optional player software will not affect my decision unless the device also offers improved sound quality.  

Streamers I have been considering are in the $5-8K price range and include:

  • Sonore Signature Rendu SE (optical or otherwise - USB output only) $5,300
  • Innuos Pulsar (USB output only) $7,999
  • Auralic Aries G2.2 (lots of flexibility) $6,099

Thanks for any suggestions and specifically any comparisons between the streamers listed above.

mitch2

Showing 1 response by yyzsantabarbara

If you are a ROON user, then the 3 streamers I owned would all work well. They best part is you do not need a superstar music server (also known as a computer).

  • Lumin X1, this is a DAC and streamer. Lumin has released the streamer part of the X1 as a new product.
  • Sonore OpticalRendu
  • PlayBack Designs Stream-IF (fibre optic only works with PBD and Nagra DACs)

These 3 are awesome streamers and the first 2 were used with fibre optic. Using fibre means it does not matter what was before the fibre, such as the music server.

I did not use fibre with the Streamer-IF since I have not purchased a PBD DAC yet. I used SPDIF with the Streamer-IF into a Benchmark DAC3B. Even in that setup the sound was comparable to the other 2. I am thinking there is some fibre inside the box that is hooked up to the SPDIF pathway.