WiFi makes anything on the computer side unimportant. Sound will be affected by the jitter on the receiving end. Use low jitter receiver or/and jitter rejecting DAC (or any DAC + Reclocker). Use power supply filtering/conditioner for receiver and DAC to minimize noise induced jitter. Jitter in digital stream will convert to noise affecting clarity, timbre, imaging etc. |
I've been using an Auralic Mini for the past few months and love it for streaming Tidal. With the stock wall-wart, it's pretty OK; with an SBooster power supply, the sound is excellent, besting my Marantz SA11-2 on Redbook. Like any good source, it is sensitive to tweaking power cords and cabling. My listening is 90% vinyl and I'm not going to give up my turntables and tube phonostages any time soon, but for ultra-convenient digital, this combo is a steal, IMO. |
https://www.sbooster.com/ @brianportugal Yes, a good linear power supply will make a big difference on any streamer/network player. That's a big part of the cost difference(~$300 worth) in the various Aurelic models. @eddy1 , Spotify sound quality is mediocre, not even CD quality. Tidal will sound better regardless of your hardware choices. Cheers, Spencer |
brian, here's a link to the specific model. I also got the Ultra upgrade, which is essentially an additional filter. https://www.sbooster.com/botw-pp-eco-15v-16v/auralic-aries-mini If you're in the US, you must buy from a dealer. I used TweakGeek for the Auralic and SBooster. As sbank says, an upgrade PSU makes a big difference, and this one seems more robust than Auralic's own, though in all fairness I've never heard that one. Of course, the SBooster doubles the cost of the Mini (plus Tidal), but it's worth the money, IMO. |
