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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
finleyville
13 posts
 

@zpatenaude37

 

Is your Bricasti MC1 similar to the M1 in that you can have a network card installed?

 

I own a Bricasti M3 and a close friend owns an M1.  We have listened to them using every input.  The network input is, by far, the best input for these DACs.  One of the main reasons is that the network signal path is the shortest to the chipsets inside the chassis according to the designer Mr. Zolner.

My friend compared his insanely purposely built PC using two separate Mutec boxes (master clock then a reclocker) to his M1 and the network input from his home server.  We were able to blindly choose the network input every time.  Nothing changed tonality.  It was all about spatial cues and greater size and delineation of soundstage right/left and front/back.  Oh, BTW, he also uses B&W 802s.

 

TL;DR

Set up a home network if possible and use the Bricasti network card inside your MC1.

lalitk's avatar
lalitk
5,102 posts
 

“I really, really believe that the clocking in the server is a very real thing”

+1, @ghasley on the importance of clocking in a server/streamer. I have taken a slightly extreme approach by addressing the clocking in a streamer and DAC with a very high quality external master clock that has yielded to a very satisfying listening experience. 

wyoboy
238 posts
 

Do you exclusively stream through Roon?  If so and you don't have a big budget then why not Roon Nucleus as  your streamer--then USB to your DAC same as when you used Macbook.  Nucleus is purpose built for Roon, has no fan and even though one user here had a bad experience his situation was unusual.

mclinnguy's avatar
mclinnguy
289 posts
 

@zpatenaude37 how are you getting on? 

zpatenaude37 OP
34 posts
 

Hey, sorry I haven’t responded in a bit.

 

I spent the weekend with the N200 and N1Z. Both were great. The N200 beat out the N1Z on certain albums, but I strangely found it more fatiguing for long sessions.

I did look into the network upgrade for my MC1, and they can do it. It sucks that I won’t be able to demo that before doing it, but I think I will go with that option. It is Roon ready, so I’ll be good to go. Looking through the forums, I haven’t seen anyone expressing disappointment with the network upgrade on their Bricasti.

 

That will save some money, and then I will demo the shunyata altaira. I live in an apartment currently, so I'm curious if a grounding hub will add a notable difference. 

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