New streamer needed


My streamer, 10yrs old, stopped functioning. Now I am listening to CDs again with the transport of the older Accuphase DP-67 and Merason Frerot DAC. The combination sounds great, very detailed and transparent. Now I am wondering how much money I would need to spend on a new streamer to match that sound level and which brands and models to look for. Any suggestions, possibly also from people who know the Merason and/or Accuphase? I am using Qobuz for streaming, and wireless options would be great too. Thank you.

128x128stievus

lol! definitely old enuf to remember that.  just remember though, assuming no processing of the digital stream (e.g., oversampling, dsp), all a streamer does is move a digital data stream between a server and your dac.  In that case, the only thing that distinguishes one streamer from another is how they manage/minimize noise.  “Tone” is established in the analogue realm, which means your DAC and downstream from there (amp and speakers). If that were not the case, you would see streamers marketed with tubes.  Even the companies that market streamers that, in my view, are way overpriced don’t do that, which is a tacit acknowledgement of the silliness.  To channel another classic Python scene, talking about the airspeed of an unladen swallow makes more sense than discussing a streamer’s “tone”. 

@stievus was hoping they would have bridged that gap with android support by now.
As to the differences…I don’t know how it’s different from other wifi streamers. Auralic offers an overview of the design and their approach to wifi related noise on their website. To answer the question whether or not it sounds better than other WiFi streamers you have on your radar or matches the sound quality of your cd player, only you can determine that. Unfortunately until you have it in your system you won’t know.


And for DSD…if you don’t have a large collection of DSD files, I wouldn’t worry about it. Over 90% of your listening will be streaming from Qobuz or Tidal. 

@mdalton Okay, I get the noise reduction purpose now. Thanks

@audphile1 The only way to test it is to buy it new, or very cheap so you can sell it again. No, I don't have dsd files. That's another advantage of being older...:-)

Ok so DSD isn’t a requirement. But the main requirement stays which is you’re looking for a streamer that matches your cd player in sound quality. 
So my take on this is, buy new with return policy and try. You can start with the cheaper streamers at the bottom of your price range. If you’re satisfied with performance, you’re good!

Another option is to bring your cd player with your few favorite reference cds to a dealer that would let you compare in the store. That also means you will be evaluating it in a system you’re not familiar with but it may be a better option than blind buying anything. They might also give you a demo unit to take home for a day or two, who knows. 
Or like you said, buy used at a good price and sell if you don’t like it.