Streamers and bit rot.


In audio land, I see streamers as being complicated and subject to what we call "bit rot" in the software industry. It really means that over time, the code that used to work may no longer work because the environment around them is moving on. It doesn't mean the code becomes buggy, but fails to keep up. A modern streamer has three different areas where code must interface to the outside world:

  1. The services being streamed (Quboz, Spotify, Tidal, etc.)
  2. The USB DAC - Drivers must exist for each chipset.
  3. The user interface - iOS, Android, web
If you are an audio manufacturer, say, Parasound or Ayre and you want to make a streamer you have to solve all of these issues. Those require developers. OK, so you pay your Android and Tidal developer. They go away, and Tidal adds a new feature or a new service like Amazon streaming comes in. Got to go find developers again.  Apple releases a new iOS and your old Android app is now dead. What are you going to do?  This happens with some frequency and all but the most basic of apps "rot" over time.

This is very different than the software-less EE world in which your core expertise may lie in. I mean, even if you use some microcontroller to handle your inputs/levels and bass management it's still a lot simpler, and fewer lines of code to manage and keep up. 

So, my dear fellow A'goners, what brands to you trust to keep up and how did you solve this issue?
erik_squires
Antipodes from New Zealand seem to do a great job across the board. I highly recommend them
@erik_squires Good thoughts. I was thinking about writing a similar post about how streamer manufacturers are not in a good economic position to author apps. And related is the ability to easily manufacture obsolescence in software. The recent news of Sonos discontinuing support for its older devices comes to mind.

It seems to me that many Vinyl and CD guys are now buying their first streamers, and streaming itself is now booming. I also suspect that streamer sales will slow as the market saturates with streamers. And if sales slow, the streamer manufacturers will not be in a good place economically to continue to pay for the even the current pore app development. And yet, the streamer consumer wants a good app! We love our consumer grade software, with beautiful user experiences and user interfaces, but many (most?) streamer manufacturers seem to only be authoring business grade software at best. 

I feel like the one piece of consumer grade streaming software that isn't about to go anywhere is the Chromecast protocol. Every streamer manufacturer should be slapping CC in their streamers. (NAD and Cambridge have it.) This way, the streamer manufacturers won't have to create and maintain apps. Plus, all the streaming services build CC support right into their apps. I can just use the app that my favorite streaming provider already builds and maintains. Demanding a streamer app to bypass the streaming provider app I already pay for seems wasteful. 

While I write this I have in mind another post where the OP asked about a streamer recommendation to replace his Cambridge streamer because the OP wanted a better app. But the Cambridge has CC build in... Well, maybe he'll sell me his Cambridge for cheap. 

I've thought hard about the streamer I will use. Darko says that the Allo Digi One Signature (a Raspberry Pi with a reclocking HAT and two low noise power supplies for $500) performs at the level of $2000-$3000 streamers. That's great value for money. But I don't think my S.O. would like the streaming software options that run on the Pi. 

So, for now, I use a discontinued Chromecast Audio with iFi reclocker. Both the reclocker and power cable upgrade for the CCA dramatically improved my system. I'm happy with this setup for now as I don't really know how a more expensive streamer will compare. 

BluOS and Roon also interest me. I suspect that NAD and Bluesound are winning market share from streaming alternatives, and that this is happening partly because BluOS is so convenient and polished. 
So, for now, I use a discontinued Chromecast Audio with iFi reclocker. Both the reclocker and power cable upgrade for the CCA dramatically improved my system. I’m happy with this setup for now as I don’t really know how a more expensive streamer will compare.


My experience with reclockers aligned closely with ASR’s findings: Great DACs don’t need reclockers. I also found that, as you might expect, the quality of those tiny devices as digital sources was mediocre.



Best,

E
For small manufacturers I think Sonore is doing a great job so far. Their Sonic Orbiter OS is Linux-based and in constant development. They release minor updates online and major updates with the purchase of a new microSD card which sells for under $30. The microRendu was launched 4 years ago (I believe) and is still supported.

Their hardware development hasn’t slowed either. They continue to push the envelope in this space to many accolades.

My experience with reclockers aligned closely with ASR’s findings: Great DACs don’t need reclockers.
Good to know. I've heard some say that more expensive DACs will have jitter reducing (reclocking?) built in to their various inputs. Now that I have a reclocker, I know I'll be testing it with future streamers and DACs.