New DAC or New Streamer?

@lalitk I am wondering what filtering devices you recommend. 
 

I would love to hear your thoughts also @sns ​​​​​@charles1dad .

Well said! I will go one step further…without network optimization, you’re not hearing full potential of your streamer or server. It is so vital to clean up the Ethernet signal from your modem or router before it enters your streamer/server. Even if your streamer/ server is galvanically isolated or use superior noise rejection circuitry, using some kind of noise filtering device is proven to be helpful in cleaning up the grunge. The degree of improvement from noise filtering devices may vary in each setup but they are generally effective. Please don’t go gadget crazy…IME, one or two high quality noise filtering devices are more than adequate, atleast that’s been true in my system.

It’s not the topic of this thread but I thought it may be useful to relay that I have found my Innuos gear to be so, so sensitive to vibration control. I have a ZENith Mk 3, a PhoenixUSB, and a PhoenixNET. While my 3 Innuos boxes have elaborate dampening footers, simply resting any one of my three Innuos boxes on top of Herbie’s Tenderfeet (Tall version in order to clear the stock feet), which are quite economical as far as HiFi stuff goes, really transforms the sound and not in a subtle way. I was really not expecting that type of difference. The difference is so large that in a different system with a different rack I could see some maybe not liking the change. But in my system the Tenderfeet added a large scope and scale to the sound - every frequency is presented much larger, with a more expansive soundstage. Really stunned how you can hear this just adding to one Innuos component in isolation. The best I can describe it is that there is more of a sense of drama, with improved dynamics too.  I only have experience with Herbie’s vibration control, but here is the thing you can do with Tenderfeet that you can’t do with other products intended to replace stock feet: you can experiment with placement of the Tenderfeet that the component is resting on. Which brings me to the next point - it actually matters! For example I like the smoother sound of one Tenderfoot at the front of my PhoenixUSB and two at the rear, rather than the other way around which producers sharper and overly precise male vocals. Even slightly better is using 4 Tenderfeet under the PhoenixUSB even though the PhoenixUSB has only 3 stock feet.

It’s not all good with Herbie’s though. Tenderfeet under my amp ruined my sound for months, and I just recently realized the Tenderfeet were to blame. So as everyone says, you may get different results in your system. But I thought it would be worth mentioning how incredibly sensitive the Innuos gear is to vibration control. You really have a massively flexible tool to adjust the sound presentation to your liking with Herbie’s + Innuos.

@nyev Isolation is key. I have damping weights on all of my equipment. 

@jerryg123 

I haven’t began my audio streaming yet.

I’ll defer to @sns ​​​​@lalitk and others with hands on experience.

Charles

Latik so correct on network optimization!  I'd trust the knowledgeable steamers in their recommendation of Acoustic Network Muon for top grade filter. My own situation is different as my streamer uses Windows based motherboard, so JCAT Net XE serves as my ethernet optimizer/filter, sure it contributes to my preference for the Sonore bundle vs new streamer straight into dac via less than optimized usb in streamer.

One of the more value oriented propositions some have tried is optical conversion via two generic FMC. I didn't find this to be entirely satisfactory in my setup.