T + A streamers. I need help.

There are a few guys with T+A reference streaming DAC's here, hopefully they chime in. 

Try Roon; free 14 day trial. The user interface is as good as it gets, and Roon radio can discover many new bands/tracks you never knew existed, it is wonderful. 

But as Audphile1 and yyz... suggested you need a "core" for Roon- your system is well beyond using a generic computer such as a laptop so don't bother. Some use a Roon nucleus, Sonore's options are well regarded etc. Even better a dedicated server such as Antipodes K41. 

I would try other apps personally, can't you simply stream Qobuz or Tidal directly? Or from what I have read another great UI experience similar to Roon is Jplay, your unit has UPnP so that should work.

You have a revealing enough system to be able to easily hear the differences between softwares- try them and see which you prefer. 

But, if you really want to hear your unit at its best, feed it DSD files; the higher the better. I am currently upsampling tracks to DSD512 using PGGB and playing those files stored on my internal streamer's SSD into a T+A DAC 200 and it is sublime. Takes a good computer and plenty of storage, and patience, but it is worth it.  As you know T+A has 2 separate digital to analog converters inside its units, its PCM converter sounds pretty good, but its 1 bit DSD converter is exceptional. 

Because numerous variables are involved with streamers, software, and hardware, I need to take a slow approach to this. You guys have opened my eyes to the various possibilities. Appreciate your time.

I get it. I first read about PGGB about 3 years ago, then it was just an idea from a couple of electrical engineer's about how to upsample PCM for the boys with the Chord Dave's, similar to Rob's M Scaler. Then it expanded to other player's like Holo's, Gustard's, and now it is available as DSD upsampling for the strong DSD player's. 

Audio nirvana in small steps, a piece at a time, over the course of many years. the journey is typically more enjoyable than the destination. 

Hey @mgrif104, 

Saw one used so decided to snap it up a few weeks back. Always had these memories of how much better some DSD files sounded with my former exaSound DAC compared to "regular" files, so was always curious to try a higher-end dedicated DSD converter again to compare to a decent PCM player in the Weiss. I am keeping the Weiss, just building a second system and the Weiss is a player so I can feed Roon to both with the K50. Wasn’t happy about going back to a USB cable, but such is life. 

PGGB IMO is definitely the way to go, here is why: HQ player is embedded in the Antipodes, and I tried it in the past (with PCM) and was underwhelmed- too fiddly and the several filters I tried were no better than Squeeze, so why pay the money for it was my decision. I recently tried HQ again to upsample to DSD on the fly after getting the DAC 200 but the Antipodes is built for sound quality, not processing power, so upsampling to DSD128 on the fly with HQ Player had the cpu at 80%, whereas when I play an upsampled DSD512 file (via Squeeze or Roon) it is at 0%.

Upsampling on the fly kind of defeats the purpose of having a low-noise streamer.

And then I tried PGGB. I heard a few DSD 512 files, my jaw dropped, and I immediately bought the license. Hearing a redbook file upsampled to DSD512 was shocking-  either with Roon or Squeeze. Makes the difference between the two softwares seem irrelevant by comparison. To confirm I am not using HQ Player at all, I am playing these DSD 512 files back with Roon or Squeeze, both work fine but Roon is pickier with some of them. I have not yet tried HQ Player as just a player option playing the DSD files- either with Roon as the server software or HQ Player as server and player software. 

I have many old CD’s here I can rip to DSD 512 (or DSD 1024), most of them cannot be bought in any hi-res format. Previously I never bothered to rip them and play them from the internal drive when streaming them sounds just as good, and even better if Qobuz had remastered it at a high res file. But now the upsampled DSD files of those CD’s sound better than the remastered streamed files. And the upsampled DSD files of the 24/192 files I purchased sound better as well, just not as big of a jump as 16/44.1 to DSD512.

The only downside is buying all the music instead of simply streaming it all via Qobuz or Tidal, and buying several TB’s of storage. 

More info is here: PGGB thread

@v-fi 

The general consensus (not unanimous) is that Lightning DS makes the music more edgy, lit up, with a focus on detail, while using Roon is more natural, relaxed, organic. Which one is "better" will always depend on your preferences and system. 

You have definitely chosen words that put a positive spin towards Roon.

I just notice a lot of people parrot what they have read on forums about Roon not sounding as good, but when I have a direct chat with them it turns out many haven't even tried it, or tried it once many years ago and are still stuck on that opinion.

This is not a summary of others, or forum posters or reviewers, this is my personal comparisons of what I hear in my system: I don't know Lightning DS, but I know Squeeze. 

Squeeze has more clarity and separation/space, it is more airy, and yes detailed, which some feel is a negative word, but when I use this word it means it is easier to differentiate between instruments and follow lower level information. Musical information becomes more unraveled and easier to pick out. If one hears this detail as "edgy" then perhaps the extra resolution is revealing some part of chain that is the weak link. Bass is tighter and more defined- lets use the word detailed again here. Articulate is another good word to use here. Some may find this "lean". 

Roon on the other hand is thicker and more robust around the middle, some may call this "warmth", or more "natural" but bass is definitely more opague. Mids and treble still have good detail but perhaps a little smoother, softened or less extended. Relaxed is a word you chose that I can agree with, but I can also call this less resolving. 

Between the two I would say Squeeze is the more natural and organic one. It sounds more like the real thing and less like a muffled version. 

Does one like Telefunkens or Mullards? 

This is what I heard last year, and it still is true as of this date, perhaps not quite as much- I can't go back in time and compare then to now, and the system is always evolving. 

However, if the recording is not of a quality to match, Roon can be more enjoyable- and I think this is the key- IMO Roon is a little more rounded and a little softer to appeal to a wider audience, because not everyone has $50K+ systems. From what I have seen lately Roon has put most of their resources into this ARC option, and this is not for discerning audiophiles, this is for the masses. 

Now having said that, the delta is small, not as big as my exaggerated words above make it sound, and as I mentioned this delta is probably not as large as it used to be, and yes I still use Roon the majority of the time because it still sounds wonderful, and the UI is much superior, but if I am in the mood for the absolute best sound on a particular recording squeeze is what I use. 

JPlay will be tried eventually, along with Audirvana- choice is good!