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Streaming Services

Hello, Folks -

In an attempt to (somewhat) get with the times, I am incorporating streaming as a source in my audio system.

In my research I’ve seen that sound quality varies among the providers.

I’m looking for a provider suggestion. A service that you feel has high sound quality.

For the most part this would be for classical music. Some classic rock and jazz would be a plus.

I’m a fuddy duddy with my equipment and am not looking to change anything out. What I have:

Conrad Johnson HD3 USB DAC

Conrad Johnson Premier 16LS Preamp

Conrad Johnson Premier 12 Mono Block Power Amps

Vandersteen Quattro Loudspeakers

PGS interconnects

MacBook Pro

Any suggestions/recommendations would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you very much for reading my post.

Regards,

Randy

 

rbschauman

Showing 2 responses by mike_in_nc

mike_in_nc
1,173 posts
 

Every streamer review I’ve seen where the reviewer has changed from some kind of Mac had the reviewer raving about the improvement. I don’t understand why, but just saying....

I have used many streamers, and I’m happy with my Auralic Aries G1. It can output USB, SPDIF, or AES3 into a DAC. (If you want to spend more, there’s the Auralic Aries G2.1 and many other options.) It’s built like a tank and among other services, it does support Amazon and Qobuz (I use and recommend Qobuz).

It will even let you hook up a USB optical disc reader and play CDs using the Auralic's buffering and reclocking. That sounds really good to me and better than the $1000+ transport I was using.

(@cosmic_charlie : Auralic added Amazon support some time in the last year or so.)

 

mike_in_nc
1,173 posts
 

Besides audio performance per se, there are other things a streamer might or might not have or do that can be useful to the user:

  1. Have a useful display. The current Auralics by default display the IP address on the startup screen. That can eliminate a lot of fussing around. Then, the album cover when playing.
  2. Internal storage. I’m not a user of that, but some like it. (I use a NAS.)
  3. Access to different streaming services. Amazon can be difficult to use in a WiFi streaming context unless directly supported by the streamer.
  4. Compatibility with different playing software and quality of the manufacturer-supplied software. Cambridge units have been incompatible with standard software, which rules them out for me. And even if one doesn’t use the manufacturer’s software regularly, it may be important occasionally, e.g., for configuration.
  5. Roon Ready. Critical for many of us, not for everyone.
  6. Ability to play and/or rip CDs. (see my previous post)
  7. Ability to play audio files from an attached USB thumb and/or hard drive.
  8. Ease, quality, regularity of software updates.
  9. Quality of tech support. A good forum solves a lot of user problems.

I probably have forgotten some others.

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