STREAMER DIFFERENCE

[jasbirnandra]

How big a difference does a streamer make in a setup with a good DAC and rest of the components.

 

[Another Johnson]

The streamer’s contribution is real … but the DAC’s is critical.

I use the Rossini Apex’s built in streamer with Qobuz controlled by dCS Mosaic, or Roon. But I also feed the Rossini with a Bluesound Node since BluOS allows me access to my Prime subscription.

When I compare Qobuz using the dCS built in vs the Bluesound Node, there are differences. I would describe them as subtle, but others might argue that they’re major.

I would note that a Bluesound node is a really inexpensive Roon Ready entry point and that BluOS is a very versatile control interface.

 

[Manxman]

It makes a bit of a difference, in my experience. That's a very vague answer, and probably not very helpful, but it's a subjective judgement and will depend on how significant you generally find differences between components. For me, there's a clearly audible difference between some (but by no means all) streamers but I wouldn't call it a night-and-day, veils-were-lifted, soundstage-magically-became-3D type of difference. Other people, hearing the same changes, might if they're rather more excitable.

 

[adrianywu]

There are streamers from the likes of iFi that are really inexpensive, as well as using Raspberry Pi or buying a second hand Mac mini, which are much more economical than buying a high end streamer. I wonder if the difference, if any, comes from the processing power, the better noise isolation or the algorithm used for the filters etc ? Presumably, Roon should work the same way across the different devices ?

 

[tony22]

All I can say is IME the difference between my Holo Red and my new Rose RS130 was large enough to justify the significant cost differential. So yes it was “worth it” better, to me. By comparison, the Red sounded flatter and grainier. Never noticed it until I had something better in the chain. Neither did anyone else. Maybe that’s a compliment to the Red providing good value for the money.

 

[Another Johnson]

Thinking back on my post extolling the Rossini Apex streamer vs the Bluesound Node streamer, both processed by the Rossini Apex DAC …. The Node is fed to the Rossini Apex by an AQ Diamond coax, while the Rossini Apex streamer goes to the DAC internally. You can’t separate the need for connection of any external streamer.

 

[audiopro92]

I don't use a streamer, but I'd like to suggest the following:

Parts obviously matter. Everyone knows this.

Each stage of power regulation could, in my experience, influence sound quality in audio components. Capacitors and other internals also matter, The more segregated everything is, the better. We don't want the slightest chance of mutual inference that can detract from sound quality.