Any audiophile use computer (MacBook) as your audio streaming source?


I rarely see any audiophile talking about streaming audio digital sources from a computer. I understand MacBook can accept native lossless formats form all the various platforms, and it can store unlimited music files in any format, so supposedly it’s the best source, and the digital file is the most purest before it’s fed to the dac. Anyone compared the sound quality of computer vs other audio streamer? 

randywong

The benefits I appreciate from a DDC are galvanic isolation, multiple output choices to my DACs, and lower jitter.  I have owned the Hermes and now the SU-6, and I am curious what criteria you believe makes one DDC SOTA and others not? Not arguing, just curious.

@mitch2  Yeah, I agree as to the benefits of a good DDC.  Frankly I’m surprised you prefer the SU-6 to the Hermes as the latter uses an OCXO clock that I’m not sure the Singxer does, but I could be wrong and there’s also the Gaia that ups parts quality even further, hence my assumption that the SU-6 isn’t SOTA but I could be wrong.  BTW, I own a Singxer SA-1 headphone amp and love it so I’m a pretty big Singxer fan outta the box.  Regardless, @lanx0003 trying to tell me I don’t hear the benefits I clearly hear with my Iris because he has some measurements is totally bogus to me.  I trust my ears, as I believe you do too with your excellent DAC reviews, so the measurements-above-all crowd doesn’t compute with me (pun intended) and I feel sorry for them that they need numbers to tell them what apparently their ears can’t.  But that’s me. 

I also stream with Mac Book Pro, but also

have some of my CD collection loaded

on Mac Book Pro has a CD Drive.

I don't use any ,I don't stream...

very helpful, extremely valuable input for the OP to consider, thanks

Audiogon Discussion Forum

The best and better performing dedicated streamers outperform any known consumer over the counter computer including cost-no-object Mac.  Search results on this subject including appropriate AB tests supports this opinion and I've never seen any reliable information to contradict it.  

Under my definition for best and better streamers I include a custom DIY based on Amazon's Mele computer (about $1k,) the Resonessence Fluvius (RIP, last SRP about $1700,) the current Infigo IS-1 ($5k and $7k versions,) the $20k Antipodes K50 and $30k Taiko Extreme.  I own the first 3 streamers listed; a person I know well in Europ AB tested the Mele/Antipodes/Extreme.  The Mele takes considerable knowledge to assemble and run.  The Fluvius is Android based with let's just say not-ideal library function (one of the main reasons it sounds so good is because it's not Mac nor Windows.)   I'd exclude Aurender models @ $12k and below.