Why audio streamers are so much more expensive than video streamers?


I am a newbie in Hi Fi, and just got into the process of setting up my stereo system. In budgeting the audio streamers, I found it's interesting/hard to really understand that the audio streamers are way much more expensive than video streamers. From technology perspective, video streamers offer 1080p/4k video, with extra decoding of dolby vision/HDR, with built in HDMI and USB port, and same time offers audio streaming capabilities. Not to mention some even have fancy function like voice control. If you look at the audio streamers, pretty much all we talk about is the MQA unfolding, and DSD has been around for many years. Amazon firestick is only $35 while the most affordable audio streamer starting from $400-$500 range (Node 2), and most of streamers will need extra DAC, which adds another several hundred bucks, just to give you the audio. Am I missing something here? Are audiophiles paying way too much to preserve our self esteem and distinguish ourselves from regular people that pay minimum to get regular entertainment through video streaming?
dragoncave

Showing 1 response by ackerdo

I think everyone should buy my $5K modem and router since that's the first link in the streaming chain guaranteeing data integrity and therefore audiophile nirvana. Buy a modem that filters out all the noise on the WAN, and a router that double checks data integrity passing along your LAN. That's step one.

Anyone spending large amounts of money on a streamer should, following their logic, spend an equal amount on their modem and router.