New streamer needed

mdalton

235 posts

03-03-2024 at 08:28pm 

… my advice would be to get a streamer that does 0 processing to the native data stream.  That doesn’t mean you’re limited to 44.1k, it just means you would be hearing the music in the format that it was mastered to be played in, thru the DAC that you like. (This goes back to what @benanders may have been trying to get at a while ago, btw.)

Sure. There are multiple issues here. From what I’m reading, the first issue is not knowing if the CD’s and streamed files are the same (bit depth, master source, etc.), second is comparing two different pairs of devices.

Once a streamer model is chosen, use ripped files of the CD’s for comparison - not a streaming service. If some EAC FLAC or WAV files from storage sound the same as the CD player, the culprit is probably your streaming service. If they sound different, then you’re still confounded by tandem variables (DAC —> streamer) even if bias isn’t in the equation.

@benanders that’s a solid advice! I did this as well. For the comparison I used dbpoweramp to rip to uncompressed FLAC. The software is free if you use just the basic features. CD rom drive is a $40 LG external unit. Nothing fancy. 

Entertaining exchange!

Thanks, makes sense! Now just need to find the right streamer model that can be tried at home in my system. And then trying to eliminate confounders...

BTW, I was the OP on one of the recent streamer posts. I ended up buying a lightly used N150 for $2K. Very happy with my decision… perfect form factor, great sound & love the conductor app, particularly through my iPad. 
I also use Qobuz. I would rank the sound of my system as follows:

1. Vinyl

2. High resolution Qobuz

3. CD

4. Lower resolution Qobuz. 

But all close. Hope this helps.