I am sure the more expensive streamers are better but at what cost ? Just like a Rolls Royce Phantom is a much better vehicle but at $500K, I would be very happy with a $100K Audi A8 and have $400K in the bank...
ARE SUPER EXPENSIVE STREAMERS REALLY WORTH IT
Folks I am confused why some streamers need to be so eye wateringly expensive. I appreciate the internal basics need to be covered such as a high quality, low noise power supply and a decent processor speed etc.. but that is not rocket science.
So my question is could a decent streamer outputting its data stream via I2S to a good quality DAC receiving the I2S stream be a more cost effective way of rivalling let’s say a streamer costing 5k upwards.
I have heard and digested the argument for expensive streamers quality being centred around the management of the data timing via a quality clock circuit but there are very reasonable in relative terms, DAC’s out there that have dual super high quality temp controlled clocks within, at least the equal or arguably even better than the say a 5k streamer with some sporting dual high end DAC chips etc.
So could utilizing a good quality streamer and a separate high-quality DAC connected via I2S indeed offer significant benefits and potentially reduce the need for a very expensive streamer.
I say this with the knowledge that I2S is designed to preserve and separate the Signals so avoiding the timing issues connected with multiplexing. I2S (Inter-IC Sound) separates the music signal from the timing signal, potentially eliminating jitter or at the very least greatly reducing the possibility for the pesky music killing jitter which we all could agree would lead to improving overall sound quality.
Wouldn’t this separation ensure that the timing information is more accurately preserved, even when compared to a high price streamer, leading as clean or cleaner and more precise audio data output. With I2S, the DAC can use its own high-quality clock/s to synchronize the data, which will reduce jitter and improve sound quality.
Could this possibly mean that even if the streamer has a less advanced clock, the DAC’s superior clock can take over, ensuring best performance.
So bang for buck would it not be advantageous to investing in a high-quality DAC and using a good but not necessarily top-tier streamer to achieve excellent sound quality without the need for an extremely expensive streamer. Surely the DAC’s performance will play a crucial role in the final sound quality.
Play gentle with the pile on please....................
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@nubiann - it’s not either or, but rather the entire audio chain matters. It’s not the strong link that matters, but the weakest link is the one to address to lift sonics. So for choosing a streamer, it depends on the level of your audio chain - not good enough it becomes the bottleneck/weak link, higher than the rest of the audio chain performance will be limited. if you tell us your audio chain and budget, then we can make informed recommendations Expensive streamers are best matched usually to very transparent systems with low noise floors which tends to also be expensive. |
I have a BS Node N130 with a separate linear power supply and I have a Aurender N200 streamer. When plugged into the same DAC, they sound very much alike, but there’s a huge difference in presentation. The N200 sounds cleaner and you can hear individual instruments to the point where you can point to them. There’s a crispness that the N130 just doesn’t have. |
- 41 posts total