Will a wireless streamer add problems to a signal coming out of a computers USB output?


Between my Mac and a good DAC, I have a wireless streamer device. It purports to do various things to help with a USB signal coming into it, but perhaps I can approve my sound by doing something different?

128x128m669326

Look into connecting your streamer to the denafrips using USB. 
There are some posts claiming USB as the best sounding interface with denafrips. 

Optical connections are typically of lower quality than all the others. They are offered as a “just in case” option. They require a conversion to light…. Then back. Conversion is never a good thing. 
 

First choice would be AES, XLR… or SP/DIF. The safest bet is that the balanced connections will sound best… but technically you have to check.. The difference is unlikely to be so large as to need to loose sleep on. I have tried both in my system and couldn’t tell the difference… my manufacturer recommended balance… so I went with that.

The streamer can do either Wi-Fi or ethernet. I’m going with ethernet. As far as the connection between the streamer and the DAC, I happen to have an optical cable, so I’m going to try that. Anyone have a point of view about what’s the best way to connect them?

@m669326

My wife... does not have audiophile ears. Maybe some of you can relate to this…

I totally relate. It’s not that she doesn’t hear; she also doesn’t care.

I used my MacBook Pro for streaming, with a Halide Bridge through USB to Dac. Realised this had a ceiling, and eventually upgraded to a streamer. Does your streamer connect via wifi or ethernet? Ethernet is better. And if looking at next steps, an audio network switch would improve things even more.

Congradulations! Good move.
 

My streamer is the most expensive component in my system before (and equal) to my amp… well worth it. You can’t recover or reject what comes from the first piece in your audio chain. 

I took a leap by buying  a streamer to add to the dac I just bought. Thanks for all the help.
 

Not sure, but I do know that mine interferes with my tubed phono preamp, as it sits about a foot away. I tend to just unplug the streamer and that solves the issue. I’d move it further away, but I like where it is for convenience and the fact that the interconnect is not that long.

I can accept what people are saying. I’m actually contemplating a Simaudio’s Moon Mind 2 streamer, which of the ones in its price range seems as though it would serve me best. I had thought I would try a piecemeal approach where I ordered the Pontus2 first and experienced how that improved things, and then add the streamer if necessary. What I’m hearing is that it is totally necessary if I want to get the benefit of the better DAC and fully utilize my great speakers. So perhaps my experiment is doomed because I will have spent a bunch of money on the pontus, which is in shipment, and I won’t be able to tell how much difference it makes because the signal path will still be crappy in front of it.

Does this line of thinking makes sense?  I have some extra money right now and don’t mind putting it toward upgrading as long as the upgrades will be quite noticeable. My wife especially doesn’t like spending money unless there’s a good bang for the buck, and she needs to be able to hear the difference; she does not have audiophile ears. Maybe some of you can relate to this… 

Wireless to optical does not compute. You’ll never get there with a laptop and a D2.

Start over.

I almost went that route before I got my first actual music streamer for $200. Never look back or a pillar of salt ensues.

You been a real device the audio engine isn't it these sre cheap wireless Bridges 

 

 

Look at an innous or 432evo  uou will be amazed at the difference 

To get great sound quality you want a stand alone streamer connected to your audio system. Involve no computer directly. Great streamers come form Aurrender, Linn, and some other companies. Bluesound produced a good budget streamer.

 

‘’If not near your router you can plug in a wall wart wifi extender and then plug your streamer via Ethernet cable into it. I have a $150K system that sound extraordinary plugged in via an extender.

it’s a D2 wireless Dac from Audioengine that has the ability to take a USB input from my computer and send it wirelessly without using the DAC to an optical input on a Denafrips Pontus 2 that goes to a musical fidelity A308 integrated to Atc scm40 speakers . The D2 sounds remarkably good for its price, but it was time to upgrade. I’m confused as to whether or not I need a streamer for my current signal path to be fine or I need to put something between the computer and the dac to make it fine. Any help at all would be appreciated.