why expensive streamers
@soix and others
I am unclear about the effect on sound of streamers (prior to getting to the dac). Audio (even hi-res) has so little information content relative to the mega and giga bit communication and processing speeds (bandwidth, BW) and cheap buffering supported by modern electronics that it seems that any relatively cheap piece of electronics would never lose an audio bit.
Here is why. Because of the huge amount of BW relative to the BW needs of audio, you can send the same audio chunk 100 times and use a bit checking algorithm (they call this "check sum") to make sure just one of these sets is correct. With this approach you would be assured that the correct bits would be transfered. This high accuracy rate would mean perfect audio bit transfer.
What am I missing? Why are people spending 1000's on streamers?
thx
I just did a thorough search of all the internet audio forums. This is the 2,134,567th thread devoted to this topic. After the 5th one, nothing else has ever been said that wasn't said before. Yet, here we are again. Next time, I suggest doing a search for this topic rather than starting the 2,134,568th thread on the same topic with the same reponses. |
OP: What am I missing? Why are people spending 1000's on streamers? Audiophile grade DAC's are all withing everyone's budget. If we all agree that the same digital file entering each DAC is well,,,identical. Then the DAC converts it and sends out its analog interpretation of that digital file. During this conversion, each DAC's colosr and distort the signial in their own way based on the design and opinion of the engineer. The question becomes, do they sound better/worse or just different. Next, do you trust the opinions you get from others without knowing their ability to hear accurately, perfect pitch, and ideal audiophile approved DNA. Add to this each persons equipment and speakers. My rule of thumb is that to spend more that 10% of your system's budget on a DAC's will deprive you of achieving your "ideal system". Enjoy the music!!! |
+1 @herman it a bit fatiguing repeating again and again. Short answer the data rides on an analog stream that’s subject to picking up noise, and minimizing jitter (timing differences) |
You go to Munich and visit the $1M rooms for the oligarchs and what do you see for streamers? Mostly Aurender at around $25K, not saying Aurender is the best, I'm just saying $25K is the benchmark ie at that end of the market streamers are seen as important in the chain. Even in the $150K system rooms the streamers are minimum $10K, so yeah manufacturers are telling you when they are demoing their gear, be they speaker or amp manufacturers, that streamers matter. In my system I use the Lumin P1/L2 combo and yes the fiber optic I/O makes for a very easily heard sonic upgrade versus ethernet LAN. Apropos don't let the "makes zero difference" crowd tell you otherwise. |
