Do I Need a Dedicated Streamer?
Hello everyone,
As the title states, I am still unsure of if I need a dedicated streamer and if it would increase the fidelity of my music compared to how I am listening at the moment. Which is using AirPlay 2 from my iPhone to my Hegel H590 Integrated amp.
I know that the DAC in the Hegel H590 is considered quite good and it was one of the reasons that I bought the amplifier to begin with. However, would I get a better input using a dedicated streamer for around $1000 (such as the Cambridge CXNV2 for example) or would I be better off leaving things as is?
I am just not sure if airplaying music to the Hegel is degrading the signal in comparison to a streamer that would pull its own data and send it directly to the amplifier? Also, would improving my router placement and wifi signal make any difference to the sound since my Hegel is hardwired using a mesh wifi system?
I am open to switching streaming platforms if I can gain something out of it such as resolution but I’m not sure if apple music is the issue in any of this.
If the answer to the title is a no. I am curious what I would need to take the quality of my listening experience to the next level or where money would be better spent to achieve that. I do have acoustic panels in my room and have done my fair share of research on speaker placement already.
The only thing that I have been considering in the near-future would have to be the isoacoustics gaia 1 feet.
My equipment:
Hegel H590 Integrated
KEF Reference 5 Meta
Metra Velox Speaker Cables
Thanks for reading.
"if the data gets to the DAC without any errors, then there's no logical reason for one transmission mode to be better than another." Yes - but maybe there are reasons, nevertheless? Why do people insist that streamers make a change? What are the reliable, objective sound improvements with a better streamer? |
I have been through a couple streamer upgrades, each one was an improvement. I still have a ways to go. The objective answer is: jitter and electrical noise. Jitter smears the image, affecting the sound quality and the soundstage. I use SPDIF, and have also found there is a significant difference in these cables. I am not sure why that is, but it is the case.
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I've had a few Streamers over the last couple years and as much as everyone say's they make a huge difference that is not what I have found. here is what I've tried: Dedicated PC optimized for streaming music, Blue sound node first gen, Roon nucleus, Aurender A10, Chord Streamer ( 2go-2yu current). if I was honest the best sound was the dedicated PC optimized for streaming only. the rest were just slight and I mean very slight differences to the presentation/noise floor but none really any better over all. really IMO the DAC is a better place to spend the money specially if it has good isolation of the input signal ie USB galvanic isolation. That said your using apple air play and that's not optimum so find a streamer you like the software for, that seems to be the overall deciding factor with streamer love-hate. other than fancy case's and nice looking hi end stuff they really do not perform leaps and bounds above cheaper options in my experience. |
My guess is that virtually all of these anecdotes come from sighted listening tests which are prone to psychological biases. I don’t doubt that these listeners perceive a difference, it’s just that the outcomes or their tests aren’t very reliable.
So given the lack of reliable subjective evidence, the only evidence we can use is objective measurements. I haven’t come across any data that conclusively shows that a modern bit-perfect source (e.g. streamer) makes an audible difference in terms of distortion, noise, frequency response or jitter with respect to the USB interface - link.
In any case, you can test this yourself by having a friend or significant other switch out something in your playback chain without you knowing. Then see how many times you’ve detected a change. If you get it right 9 out of 10 times, it’s most likely making an audible difference. |
Possibly true in the case of the USB interface, as the DAC will handle the clocking and not the streamer. My experience has been strictly with the SPDIF interface, in which case streamer quality and jitter are very apparent.
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