Help settle a streaming argument!


This is a SQ argument and is as follows-  I argue if you connect your streamer to an outboard DAC the streamer does not matter it’s just serving the music to the outboard DAC to do the work.  Therefore, buy a basic streamer.  The other is that you need to buy a top quality streamer and DAC to get great SQ. 
 

I liken it to cd players or the more pretentious cd transport argument- if the intent is to connect to outboard DAC the cd player doesn’t matter the outboard DAC DOES!
 

features and functionality aside!  Thoughts…..

polkalover

@arafiq in the digital domain the sound signature is done by the dac.  if you serve the same file from a node or a $20K aurender and bypass the internal dacs of each there should be no sound change.  the only explanation I can give would be a better power supply. beyond that-   I would buy a node and upgrade the power supply. but people keep saying its better!  I ask how? if you're not using the internal dac.  that's all 

OP:

That's ideally true, but not absolutely true.  From multiple readings of multiple reviews, though rare, there are cumulative effects of jitter.

For instance, introducing mediocre jitter reducers in front of a DAC with otherwise excellent jitter reduction does show the effects of that "reducer" but in a negative fashion.

Modern jitter reduction techniques are really great, and far better than prior to 2000, however it is still possible that a really bad upstream component can introduce such bad timing effects even very good jitter reduction systems can't compensate for it. Is it worth $30,000 for a streamer? Probably not! :) 

Hans B. has several videos discussing digital signals and potential pitfalls.  He makes a point frequently overlooked.  Digital, 1s and 0s, are generated as an analog square wave.  Timing stability is one of the important factors for any "Digital" device. I take his explanations to boil down to everything matters.

Quality of the source material is very important.  From personal experience, the same track from Spotify and Amazon sound different.  Tracks from either compared to CD passed through the same DAC do not sound the same.  For me, a $500 streamer and $1K DAC is good enough to enjoy streamed music.  Your mileage may vary.     

@cleeds its not a belief system when its digital.  its like saying records sound better than cd's .  technically they can't but many believe they do.  that's a belief.  just because every says it -  doesn't make it true.  

... its not a belief system when its digital ...

Insisting that a demonstrable, measurable difference is  "insignificant" is a subjective judgment and so very much part of a "belief system." It doesn't matter if we're talking digital, analog or kumquats. A difference that may not matter to me may make a very big difference to you. Anyone who insists his preferences are the only valid preferences, or who attempts to disguise a preference as a fact, is very much promoting a belief system.