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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?
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- 115 posts total
@rbstehno But what about the hardware of the streamer/server? The software is only a small part of any streamer’s sound quality. Also, I would say that I have heard bigger improvements at times upgrading streamers/servers vs upgrading DACs. A high performance digital source is the only way digital can ever sound as natural, organic and resolving as the best analog sources. Also, the cable used largely depends on the clocking of the system. If the DAC has a better clock than the streamer/server, use USB. But if the source has a better clock, use AES or Coax. Many people don’t realize how these different cables utilize the clocks of different components, and I’m happy to expand further on that as well as on master clocks if needed. |
“Although the iFi Zen Stream seems to be a relative bargain for the sound quality per $, I have to say their customer support is ass. ” That’s sad but expected at those bargain bin prices. That’s why it’s just as important to select a streamer / server that provides a good customer service support with a robust OS. It’s all part of the experience and many folks failed to see that when they think why pay for $2K streamer when I can get something for $500 or less. |
- 115 posts total