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Streamer vs. CD Transport

I have my Arcam R Play streamer and my Cyrus CD t transport both connected to a Schiit Gungnir Multibit DAC.  The streamer only has an output for a coax connector whereas the transport has provision for both coax and optical cable. Therefore, I have the coax hooking up the streamer and the optical connected to the transport.  I like the sound of both, but the SQ from the Arcam seems to be slightly superior to the SQ of the Cyrus.
My question is, is this due to the inherent superiority of coax technology over optical technology?
Or, is streaming better sounding than CDs?
rvpiano

Showing 6 responses by lowrider57

lowrider57's avatar
lowrider57
5,418 posts
 
I find S/PDIF coax superior to optical. Have you tried using the coax on the transport? I run coax from both my transport and streamer to my DAC.

Another possibility is your transport is not up to the task. There may not be enough jitter correction. You could try  aftermarket footers on the transport, use a damping weight on top, try a better power cable, use power conditioning. 


lowrider57's avatar
lowrider57
5,418 posts
 
Yes, 2 inputs, but only one source can be used at a time.

lowrider57's avatar
lowrider57
5,418 posts
 
I meant to only run the transport via coax for a day or two and see if you notice an improvement.
You can then swap it with the optical cable. Kind of an a/b situation.
lowrider57's avatar
lowrider57
5,418 posts
 
I own a Bluesound Node2i and found improvement when replacing the stock PC with a good aftermarket.
I started thinking that what makes the Node a budget device is the lack of a high quality power supply. The PS in a streamer like the Aurender would be vastly superior to the Node. Better internals in the Aurender goes without saying.


lowrider57's avatar
lowrider57
5,418 posts
 
The Black Cat may not be fully run-in. Some cable require about 200 hours.
You should run your source through the cable day and night. Then have a listen.

Lack of highs and transparency would mean it's not a high quality cable, or it's new and needs more hours of run-in.

lowrider57's avatar
lowrider57
5,418 posts
 
Oh yeah, I forgot that it came from The Cable Company. You're right, that's how the Black Cat is going to sound. Disappointing.

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