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Clock vs Streamer advice

Hi,

My current system is/was

Aurender N100H>Bricasti MC1>ARC Ref6 Pre>PS BHK 300 monos>B&W 803 D3

I sold the Aurender to try a different streamer and am temporarily using a MacBook to run Roon straight the the DAC through USB. I currently don’t have a huge budget. I emailed a local shop that has a used Melco N1Z to demo at home. I am going to try it out. I also want to try the Bricasti M5 streamer to see if there is synergy with my DAC.

I also came across the Mutec MC3+USB and Mutec Ref10 Nano combination in a similar price point, but I won’t be able to demo this.

If I have to pick between using a mac>Multec MC3+USB and Ref10 Nano>dac and the Melco>DAC option, which do you think will improve sound more. I’m still pretty new to this hobby and can’t currently afford the Melco and Multec combo.

zpatenaude37
zpatenaude37 OP
34 posts
 

Thanks for the advice, so you are suggesting a better streamer will outweigh a computer->clock->dac?

audphile1's avatar
audphile1
4,346 posts
 

I believe so. There’s no going around the noise the laptop generates. Not optimized for streaming. Too many things running, fan, etc.

On top of it all, it’s inconvenient. A good streamer should be all you need. If you feel the need to add a reclocker, you can tackle that later. 

zpatenaude37 OP
34 posts
 

Awesome, thank you for the advice. 

soix
8,819 posts
 

Keep the computer outta your system at all costs.  It’s a hot mess of noise and poor performance. 

benzman's avatar
benzman
385 posts
 

I wish I could recommend the Mutec Nano to you but unless you are going to seriously upgrade with an outboard LPS you will be disappointed . Sent mine back. 
Keep it simple with a good dedicated streamer from Lumin, Rose, etc. 
you can always upgrade your Bricasti with a network card and be good to go at a very reasonable price. 

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