This is an interesting discussion, that we have a tremendous amount of experience in. The entire argument, that "bits is bits" or that digital transport devices don’t or can’t make an audible difference because a dac has re-clocking or anti jitter circuitry, bears out that in most tests that digital transports can, and do, make a very audible and noticable difference in sound quality.
We have also seen these improvements not just in dacs but in streaming dacs that have a direct path to the Ethernet as well.
Our history goes back to using a standard computer via a USB cable running Jriver to play stored music into our dacs.
First we were using Mac Mini’s because of their small size and ability to run quietly and easily fit onto our racks.
We got our first dedicated server when the Aurender N100H hit the market in 2015. The Aurender was a fantastic product, well built, beautiful, easy to use, headless, and boy did it sound better than both the Mac Mini and modified Mac Minis that we tried.
We took our N100H over to clients houses and they easily heard a wider sound stage, greater dynamic range and an overall improvement in sound quality over the non dedicated servers.
Then we transitioned to a Baetis Reference server a few years later and that much more expensive server indeed did sound even better than the less expensive servers.
We played with the original Nova Physics Memory Player, Naim Unitisevers, the Nad and a few other devices.
The more expensive servers did really sound better. Than a few years later we were introduced to the Innous line of servers and the Zenith MK II started to give the Baetis a run for its money yet cost so much less.
Then the Innous Zenith MK III came out and it was far superior to the older Zenith.
Recently we did a shootout of the Innous Statement, vs Baetis Reference and the Laufer Techik Memory Player. In the same reference system and the difference between all three servers was again audible and each server did indeed have a sonic flavor, and a distinctly different set of musical qualities.
Two recent tests will also be of interest:
Test One: Innous Statement in a completely different room feeding a Krell K300i integrated amplifier over Ethernet vs Innous Zenith also feeding the integrated amplifier via both from a filtered Ethernet port from the Zenith and over a USB from the Zenith.
Long story short the much more expensive server in the other room sounded better than the direct Ethernet connection from the Zenith feeding it in its same room. So in this test both test data was feed to the dac via Ethernet one server was in a different room, but was a far more expensive server vs a direct Ethernet connection to the integrated amp, this proves that a better data stream does indeed sound better.
There are two possible explanations, one that remote server was outputting a cleaner data signal that got to the dac even over the Ethernet port and the resulting network connections, or the fact that the server was in another room made the improvement, however the direct Ethernet connection from the Zenith should have sounded better because the dac was getting a direct, filtered and cleaned up signal
Another test Naim NDX 2 server running Tidal directly from the network and its own Naim app, vs the filtered direct Ethernet port in the Zenith then playing Tidal via Roon into the Naim.
Again logic should dictate that the direct network connection of the Naim streamer should produce the best signal or at best there should be no audible differences between both of these scenarios, a Tidal stream should be identical right?
Again the difference in sound quality was very noticeable, the server produced a more relaxed sound, a wider and deeper sound stage, and in general the sound was more engaging through the server.
We recently compared a standard high end Sony laptop over USB into a Bricasti M3 dac and then played the same music over Roon laptop vs the Zenith server, again the sever produced a much more musical sound.
The client heard the difference, the wife heard the difference and we heard the difference.
For those that are still incredulous way too many people will attest that they can hear these differences, it is of course possible to deny that these differences do occur, but when so many people hear the same thing then either there must be a huge server conspiracy or these devices really do affect the sound quality.
We have seen these difference manifest themselves with many uber expensive dacs that all employ re clocking, femto clocks and other anti jitter circuits, unless you consider Emm Labs, Esoteric, Light Harmonic and T+A’s engineering staff to not know what they are doing?
Could it really be that there are issues that the data can be affected by noise, and other factors that occur with both direct network connections?
A regular PC or Mac are not designed for the sole purpose of making the purest data package, compare the build quality of regular PC to a dedicated server running a quiet CPU, custom software designed to keep processes from using CPU cycles, circuit boards made to minimize nose and RFI and EMI intrusion, custom sound cards,
re-clocked, filtered USB and Ethernet connections.
Could it be that garbage in and garbage out really does manifest itself with a data stream and perhaps the more pristine data really does enable the dac to work with a better data packet which results with cleaner sound?
All we can attest to is that we have many, many servers and dacs, and we have yet to find a setup where the server didn’t elevate the system’s sound quality dramatically.
Dave and Troy
Audiodoctor NJ
We have also seen these improvements not just in dacs but in streaming dacs that have a direct path to the Ethernet as well.
Our history goes back to using a standard computer via a USB cable running Jriver to play stored music into our dacs.
First we were using Mac Mini’s because of their small size and ability to run quietly and easily fit onto our racks.
We got our first dedicated server when the Aurender N100H hit the market in 2015. The Aurender was a fantastic product, well built, beautiful, easy to use, headless, and boy did it sound better than both the Mac Mini and modified Mac Minis that we tried.
We took our N100H over to clients houses and they easily heard a wider sound stage, greater dynamic range and an overall improvement in sound quality over the non dedicated servers.
Then we transitioned to a Baetis Reference server a few years later and that much more expensive server indeed did sound even better than the less expensive servers.
We played with the original Nova Physics Memory Player, Naim Unitisevers, the Nad and a few other devices.
The more expensive servers did really sound better. Than a few years later we were introduced to the Innous line of servers and the Zenith MK II started to give the Baetis a run for its money yet cost so much less.
Then the Innous Zenith MK III came out and it was far superior to the older Zenith.
Recently we did a shootout of the Innous Statement, vs Baetis Reference and the Laufer Techik Memory Player. In the same reference system and the difference between all three servers was again audible and each server did indeed have a sonic flavor, and a distinctly different set of musical qualities.
Two recent tests will also be of interest:
Test One: Innous Statement in a completely different room feeding a Krell K300i integrated amplifier over Ethernet vs Innous Zenith also feeding the integrated amplifier via both from a filtered Ethernet port from the Zenith and over a USB from the Zenith.
Long story short the much more expensive server in the other room sounded better than the direct Ethernet connection from the Zenith feeding it in its same room. So in this test both test data was feed to the dac via Ethernet one server was in a different room, but was a far more expensive server vs a direct Ethernet connection to the integrated amp, this proves that a better data stream does indeed sound better.
There are two possible explanations, one that remote server was outputting a cleaner data signal that got to the dac even over the Ethernet port and the resulting network connections, or the fact that the server was in another room made the improvement, however the direct Ethernet connection from the Zenith should have sounded better because the dac was getting a direct, filtered and cleaned up signal
Another test Naim NDX 2 server running Tidal directly from the network and its own Naim app, vs the filtered direct Ethernet port in the Zenith then playing Tidal via Roon into the Naim.
Again logic should dictate that the direct network connection of the Naim streamer should produce the best signal or at best there should be no audible differences between both of these scenarios, a Tidal stream should be identical right?
Again the difference in sound quality was very noticeable, the server produced a more relaxed sound, a wider and deeper sound stage, and in general the sound was more engaging through the server.
We recently compared a standard high end Sony laptop over USB into a Bricasti M3 dac and then played the same music over Roon laptop vs the Zenith server, again the sever produced a much more musical sound.
The client heard the difference, the wife heard the difference and we heard the difference.
For those that are still incredulous way too many people will attest that they can hear these differences, it is of course possible to deny that these differences do occur, but when so many people hear the same thing then either there must be a huge server conspiracy or these devices really do affect the sound quality.
We have seen these difference manifest themselves with many uber expensive dacs that all employ re clocking, femto clocks and other anti jitter circuits, unless you consider Emm Labs, Esoteric, Light Harmonic and T+A’s engineering staff to not know what they are doing?
Could it really be that there are issues that the data can be affected by noise, and other factors that occur with both direct network connections?
A regular PC or Mac are not designed for the sole purpose of making the purest data package, compare the build quality of regular PC to a dedicated server running a quiet CPU, custom software designed to keep processes from using CPU cycles, circuit boards made to minimize nose and RFI and EMI intrusion, custom sound cards,
re-clocked, filtered USB and Ethernet connections.
Could it be that garbage in and garbage out really does manifest itself with a data stream and perhaps the more pristine data really does enable the dac to work with a better data packet which results with cleaner sound?
All we can attest to is that we have many, many servers and dacs, and we have yet to find a setup where the server didn’t elevate the system’s sound quality dramatically.
Dave and Troy
Audiodoctor NJ