2. digital
  3. 151435-125022

Why does my old CD player sound so much better than my new streamer?

Earlier this year I upgraded my system. Briefly, new Prima Luna Dialogue Premium HP integrated, new Lumin D2 streamer/DAC, kept my Tekton speakers, bought a 10 year old Muse Erato CD player, new Nordost Red Dawn cables all around.  After plenty of break in, the Lumin D2 streaming Tidal, even 24/96, does not sound close to as good as the Muse Erato.  I understand the Muse was about $10k new years ago, I paid $650 for it on Audiogon, is that the difference? It replaced my Naim I had for 20+ years and I bought it on the chance I want to listen to something not on Tidal, but now I'm going to CDs when I want to sit and listen instead of streaming. I considered upgrading to the Lumin T2, but will that be more of the same Lumin sound, which is accurate but thin and a little cold compared to the Muse.  I like the Lumin when just letting Tidal shuffle music as I move around the house, but from the opening note in an A/B test the Muse just sounds so much warmer, live and simply more enjoyable. Any thoughts or suggestions?
fsgattuso
Ag insider logo xs@2x
samzx12
1,220 posts
 
Audio Troy brings up some good points and advice. However, the issue IMO is Tidal itself.  I don't think you are getting good quality sound with it in comparison to a CD player.  Try ripping some CDs and playing those and do a comparison with the CDP.  I have a Lumin Mini with a T+A Dac and I burned all of my CDs and sold the CDP.  You have to compare apples to apples.
nabcs's avatar
nabcs
55 posts
 
After some work, my Antipodes streamer sound is very similar to local files / CD.

Introducing a good switch between the router and the streamer was the most significant upgrade.   
kzs70
31 posts
 
Introducing a good switch between the router and the streamer was the most significant upgrade.  
Which switch did you choose?I am looking at the SOtM  sNH-10G switch but have not found many reviews yet...
bo1972's avatar
bo1972
2,789 posts
 
The problem we found regarding switches, is exactly the same you hear and see regarding all audio products. The fact that they are incomplete. This means that they can not reveal all aspects of sound.

When we compare different switches with each other it becomes clear that the differences are huge. Lumin works differently regarding the transport of data. For this, the impact and result of using a better network switch are bigger compared to most other network players.

We have sold many modified Sboosters on the switch we use. Most of our clients experienced it as one of the most impressive upgrades they ever made. At first, you think and even believe that it can not make a big difference. But......audio is all about facts and what it does to the end result.
scthom
22 posts
 
Bo - What modifications do you do to the Sbooster and what do you charge for it? 
More to discover