@nekoaudio - So Yes, definitely the UI, connectivity, compatibility, reliability, materials used, product features offered and support are all important consideration. And I am particular keen on the ’sound quality’ aspect of a streamer. I believe, (to your point) a big factor is again, ’clean power’ supply, isolation and jitter management. Even in as simple devices as [what I thought were] Streamers.
And @thyname to your point, coming from pure analogue rigs, I am one of those people who believe(d) in Chromecast [but I am working on my self to change that belief now :-) ] Problem is, I’ve tried Sonos streaming from Spotify vs playing CDs on Esoteric DV50 and DV60 players - found Esoteric sounded better then Sonos, but not by that much (using a PS Audio Direct Stream DAC). I found NO difference Streaming from Spotify via Sonos vs Cambridge Audio Azur 851N (using the Azur 851N DAC) , and NO difference streaming Spotify with the PS Audio Bridge II vs Sonos (using the PS Audio DAC). These were simple 16/44.1 AB tests. I am not sure if I compared everything according to the ’scientific method’ :-), but I couldn’t be that far off, keeping cables and downstream high res equipment consistent.
Perhaps, the reason why everything sounded ’close’ or ’simular’ is because I was using a really good Synergistic Research PowerCell, and dedicated 20A line which the PowerCell loves. So perhaps that helped with signal noise floor?.
@gawdbless thank you for sharing! Loved it. I did not know these simple customizations were so easy to find for the ResPi, I am going to try one!
