Streamer, no DAC please?


Sorry if this topic has been beaten to a pulp...I recently upgraded the digital side of my rig, Denafrips, Pontus 15 with a Project CD Box RS2T transport...

Now I have the itch to try streaming. It pains me to invest in a high end streamer and once again pay for a DAC.

Is it possible to find a quality steamer without a DAC? Any direction is appreciated, FYI, I consider myself a luddite.

larseand

Showing 1 response by big_greg

I don't want to be that guy that is "hey, it's all 1s and 0s man, it doesn't matter what you stream from", but...

I went from a Bluesound Node to a Roon Nucleus to a Rockna Wavedream NET server.  Since I was using the DAC in the Node, it's hard to say how good it was a streamer only.  I did not notice any significant improvement in sound quality when moving from the Roon Nucleus to the Wavedream NET.  Thankfully the NET does some other great things that the Nucleus doesn't or I would have been kicking myself for how much I spent on the Wavedream.

A friend who had the PS Audio Airlens just did an A/B/C comparison with two of our mutual friends between the Airlens, a Roon Nucleus, and a Bluesound Nano.  None of the three experienced audiophiles could tell any difference between the three.  The Airlens is gone, replaced by the Bluesound Nano.  

My suggestion is to prioritize the features of the streamer over any concerns for sound quality. Does it have the connectivity you want/need?  Does your DAC work best with i2s, coax, BNC, etc.?  What software platform do you anticipate using - Roon, HQplayer, Conductor, something else?  Does it have other appealing features - ripping / playing CDs for example?

The DAC is where all the conversion from bits to analog happens and that's where to prioritize budget in my opinion.