The best I've ever heard Dutch and Dutch 8c direct wired to switch coming from router. You're lost in a subjective wilderness, getting incredible sound in streaming is easy and exponentially cheaper than vinyl. The only flat earthers I see are those who deny physics.
Anyone else feel like it’s the Wild Wild West?
I’ve been following the streaming threads here for a while now, and I find it both exhilarating and intimidating. I mean, we all know everything in high-end audio matters to some degree or another, right (Ok, maybe except for the flat earth contingent)? From what I’m reading and from my own experience the process of optimizing steaming has near unlimited potential, and some even say it rivals or even surpasses vinyl if taken to the max. Cables, routers, optical, filters, extenders, power supplies, switches, etc., they all seem to make a significant difference despite the naysayers who say bits are just bits. I’m all in on this steaming renaissance, but most of the jewels of useful info are buried in other posts, so I’d like to have this be a consolidator post of your best streaming experiences and recommendations for others who could benefit greatly from your hard-won victories and maybe save a lot of people the agony you went through to get to streaming nirvana. So have at it — let’s empower this community in this noble task and help everyone realize the amazing potential of this magic gift to audiophiles. What say you?
- ...
- 115 posts total
Hey folks, hundreds of millions of people around the world are streaming audio and that wouldn't be happening if streaming wasn't just as easy as pie. Easy peasy. That is the way it has traditionally been with audio, with many users taking the easy way out as we audiophiles dwell on details. For example, I'd wager that most cassette deck users didn't know what "Dolby level" was or how to align it, and that explains why so many people even now think Dolby NR isn't effective. It's the same with turntables and streaming and room correction and cabling and everything else in our little hobby - how far down the rabbit hole is your comfort zone? For many audiophiles, optimizing setup details is all part of the fun. Maybe you're in the wrong hobby if you're not having fun. |
It got me into modding for the first time. I have a PS Audio DirectStream DAC Sr. The designer of the DAC (Ted Smith) gave a bunch of tips about mods on their website forum. Other users shared pictures of steps they used to do the mods. One person even created boards that you can buy. I learned a lot about how the DAC works. It was quite fun taking the DAC apart and learning about the electronics. |
My journey in digital music playback without using physical media (i.e., servers, streamers, and digital conversion) has consistently become ergonomically easier to implement as well as better sounding. Every new DAC and every music server upgrade has been a notable sonic improvement over the previous. As mentioned by @sbank , improvements have been achieved by reducing jitter and noise; primarily through improvements in processing, power supplies, and isolation. The sonic improvements have consistently moved toward a more natural sounding presentation, improved dynamic impact, and better resolution without an accompanying hard edge. Considering that I have consistently provided a baseline of stable, damped support, clean power, and adequately constructed digital cables, the notable sonic improvements have all resulted from upgrading to better equipment (servers and DACs). None of the add-on tweaks, filters, etc. that I have tried have made what I could reliably call a consistent sonic improvement, especially compared to the improvements resulting from upgrading my digital playback equipment. I appreciate the dedicated manufacturers who have researched and implemented improvements in their equipment to bring us better sound. |
Streaming not need to be difficult. Think of it this way: Turntable —> Phonostage —> Preamp Streamer —> DAC —> Preamp
The two analogous. No management software is required. Buy a Aurrender, Aurlic, Lumin, or budget Bluesound streamer. The first three higher quality.
If you really just want a simple solution you can get a Streamer / DAC. Although future upgrades will be harder. I recommend Aurrender. I have two after trying others. Plunk it down, connect. Download the app and start streaming. If you are not close to your router… just buy a wall wart wifi extender… plug it in next to your system and plug that in to your streamer… it will just work. |
- 115 posts total