Streamer vs Directstream Memory Player

Interesting to read these comments and makes me wonder if I am getting the most out of my Bricasti M3 (Mdx card). I have always used it with the ethernet connection which I think is excellent. My experience has been very different than that of @audphile1 as I believe what I hear is the opposite of "dull, rounded off and not engaging". I have also seen lots of reviews indicating that the Mdx ethernet input on all Bricastis is very good and not lacking relative to the other inputs.

Nevertheless, I do wonder if I am missing something. @audiotroy how did you connect from the Aeon to the Bricasti? USB? I had been toying with the idea of moving up to the M21 or possibly the new M11 (ladder DAC from the M21), but maybe I would be better off focusing on a dedicated streamer?

Please note, I do have a good server (Sonicorbiter i9) connected to a Sonore OM deluxe, so I believe that I am feeding the M3 a very clean ethernet signal.

op the quality of the streamer matters tremendously, we have found that a really good server can outperform a cd transport, 

to date we have tested Auraylic , Aurender, Baetis, Innous, Sotm and now he 432evo servers, 

the 432evo servers sound more analog like then any of the others 

in a direct shootout vs a 27k Innous statement next gen we found the aeon to sound literally as good as the three times more expensive Innous 

we are also a Bricasti dealer and the network card doesn't sound as good either

the Bricasti M3 aeon combo is extraordinarily good and the server elevates the M3 to a level closer to a 20 dac then a 5k one

Dave and Troy

audio Intellect N

432evo Bricasti dealers

Awesome system @gnaudio 

enjoy!

@ghdprentice thank you but my post is not a thesis that needs validation or proving out. It was simply what I experienced. My system is now in my virtual system.

Thank you for sharing your story. But I am somewhat puzzled that you are not sharing photos of your system and components. I assume since you state that you are one that does not believe that digital cannot sound as good as analog you proffer this account as proof of this thesis.   We  really cannot  learn anything from this post without understanding your system.  It would be really helpful if you would disclosing your system... as many of us have. That is why there is the Virtual Systems section.

Very early days into streaming, I had the choice between cd's with Memory transport, cd rips and streams, cd rips preferred over Memory transport and streams. Cd rips remained my favored digital format for some time. Streaming setup improved over the years to the point where I cannot distinguish a difference between streams and rips.

Delving more into Memory player, that wasn't close to best sound quality I experienced playing cd's, that would have been my Mark Levinson No.37 transport.  The Phillips CD Pro mechanism in that far superior to the generic mechanism in Memory player or transport.

Audiophiles are increasingly choosing streaming over playing cd's, audiophiles concern themselves with sound quality first.

Hello @gnaudio ,  First, I completely agree that the Streamer is very essential and will can vastly improve the sound of digital, just as a quality DAC.  As an example, the wonderful Mola Mola Tambaqui DAC, while housing a decent renderer, is no match for a quality streamer.  Examples that have been in my system include an Auralic Aries G2.2, and Aurender N20 and the amazing XACT S1.  The software used is also a factor, but let's avoid that for a moment, as user preference and sound quality factor here.

But, everything matters (in the case for digital) and I am referring to what is upstream of the streamer.  If you look at my system, I employ a very nice LPS on my modem, two stacked switches with again quality LPS, and quality ethernet cables.  Each of these upgrades has yielded easily heard sonic improvements.  For a system of your quality, I feel these steps are essential, likely similar to the steps taken to get to a great sound from your analog rig.

And I second your statement that those who do not believe / understand / hear this need not chirp.

My streaming of high res files sounds better than a CD.

That’s why I was recommending you try AirlLens. You can use i2s.
There’s an optimal connection with each streamer. For example my Aurender N200 has two digital outputs - SPDIF and USB. It’s by far the best via USB due to optimized USB out and the fact that it passes the responsibility of clocking the signal to the DAC. I’ve used it with PS Audio’s own DSD MkI, Chord Hugo TT2 and Bricasti M3. USB is the way to go in this case. With a higher model Aurender N20 that features OCXO clock your optimal interface to your DAC would be AES/EBU which would allow the N20 to clock the signal before it sends it down to the DAC.
So when comparing streamers you should take this into consideration.
The AirLens via i2s according to PS Audio’s provides low jitter signal to the DAC but at the same time Ted was stating in the PS Forums that all inputs on the DAC sound equally good. With AirLens you’re confined to Roon or Mconnect. With other streamers you take advantage of their proprietary signal processing when you use their native app.

So what’s your next step?

@audphile1 only if I can't find a streamer to beat the SQ I have now. I wonder how much the I2S connection contributes to the sound??

Cool. Then I guess your main source will be CD transport and Roon can be used for new music discovery. 

@audphile1 thank you again. I have demo’d in my home top line Aurender, Chord, Bricasti, Mytek, Innuos etc and the Memory Player and DAC beat them all in what I regard as important in sound quality. Was pretty cool for a change, especially when I had the components in my rack.

Keep in mind the DSD DAC is praised for its qualities as a DAC but its network bridge is known to be subpar. A high quality dedicated streamer will always beat any DAC’s inbuilt network renderer. If you want to level the playing field (streaming vs cd) you need a good streamer. If you want to continue using Roon one streamer you can try is PS Audio’s own airlens. 

@audphile1 I completely understand your post as i've just experienced it myself. @soix thankyou for your message but I am one of those audiophiles that don't believe any digital source can match the same caliber analog source, I've never heard it before. My streaming equipment are all Stereophile Class A rated components. My initial post discusses my equipment. I didn't post to create a challenge or argument but just to tell you what I heard. Read the professional and user reviews of the Directstream Memory Player, they all heard what I heard. It's not that often in my experience that this much of a transformation happens.  

@gnaudio my experience exactly. Except I was running Roon streaming Tidal, Qobuz and Local library into Bricasti M3 using its network card. Dull, not engaging, rounded off leading edges, robbed off energy. I got Audio Lab 6000cdt transport as a test and CDs just simply blew away streaming…using network card that is…just to be clear. After researching I picked up Aurender N200 streamer and I literally couldn’t believe the improvement. Running N200 into Bricasti via USB. No need for CDs. It is at least as good as physical media and in some cases exceeds sound quality of CDs.
Bottom line is, network card in DACs is not the best option for streaming. Secondly Roon degrades sound quality - I have tested this more times than I care to count and with every single streamer I used the dull, rolled off and sterile is the sound quality I get with Roon. I use Conductor 4 app with Aurender and the sound quality is excellent. If your preference is convenience over sound quality you can pick up a Roon ready streamer and you’re all set as it will most likely be a bit better than network card in DAC.

There are many aspects to building an excellent streaming setup, and if yours is that bad relative to stored CDs I’d submit somewhere in your streaming chain there are glaring deficiencies.  Not knowing any of the components in your streaming chain it’s impossible to suggest anything further, but I’d channel @ghdprentice as he also has an excellent system and has put together a streaming setup that is on par with his accomplished analog source so he in particular may have some very valuable thoughts/experience that apply to your situation.  In any event, rather than dealing in uncertainties I’d encourage you to share specifically all the equipment in your system otherwise all this is fairly nebulous and opaque. 

My experience is that I can't tell the difference between my streamer and a cd stored in memory.  I think you are correct, your streamer isn't performing as well as it should.