a USB stick into my NAIM Atom is excellent, rivals the Synology NAS and both are improved by the $50 or so Audioquest Jitterbug
@nonoise i appreciate your constructive post and links
I am a robot with a noise killing jitterbug in every port
Is a USB stick directly into ones streamer (renderer) better than streaming from a PC/NAS?
I have a cambridge Audio 851N which has a couple of USB slots, one of which is occupied by a small 32Gb USB 'stick' with some of my music on it.
I see a LOT, a huge amount of discussions going on re streamers/computers/NAS etc etc, and some spend thousands on these items. A LOT of money can be spent with expensive LPS and specially built computers, some also costing thousands, but WHY? Why, when one can dispense with the PC/NAS, rip off switches and their cables etc etc altogether and listen directly from a USB stick attached to a streamer, so no PC etc is required at all (for music playback).
Am I missing something here? Surely a USB memory stick (drive, whatever) costs almost nothing, as is connected directly to my streamer. I've no need to stream from my (expensive) PC or my NAS, with all the pitfalls that that entails. All I need to be powered up is the 851N and my power amp connected to my Maggie 1.7i's - bliss.
I don't use Tidal/Spotify or any of the other expensive sources, nor have any need for the rediculously over priced (IMO, I've not tried it) programs like Roon, as the USB stick does it all.
I've compared direct streaming from the USB stick with NAS and PC listening, both using 'good' cables and power supplies, and the direct USB input beats them both.
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Either hard drive storage system provides the same audio performance in my BRYSTON digital player and BRYSTON DAC system … a USB stick or NAS makes no difference . I use the USB stick 90% of the time because it’s faster The DAC that is paired up to the digital player / streamer is the “silver bullet” step- up to improving your digital music appreciation…. (And of course with a high-end cable linking the player to DAC in a 2 box system) …. It’s not the digital file storage medium. my stablemate BRYSTON DAC with a CARDAS CLEAR cable bested my prior ARCAM DAC and ATLAS cable. Ditto for no difference in USB vs NAS storage reproduction using the USB input on my other high-end DAC in my REGA ISIS VALVE cdp/DAC with a CARDAS CLEAR cables loom array. FWIW …. |
@erik_squires - I'm not looking to 'invest' in anything. I'm simply putting the question out there, as there seems very little discussions going on around my question. @fuzztone - I'm not frugal, quite the reverse, but I'm also not dumb. I don't see the need to spend, possibly, thousands, to get no, or very liitle SQ improvement. I'm willing to try anything out. I'm open to all possibilities - although expensive fuses in your mains pre/power amp input is where I draw the line! In a speaker, yes, maybe, as they're in the direct line of music. People get drawn in by 'good' dealers selling Foo. 'Good' meaning good at their job, the job of SELLING stuff. @tomic601 - Where would I use the Jitter Bug in my scenario? The Jitter Bug that's been reviewed many times, and most conclusions are - the only thing a Jitter Bug does is relieve you of $60/£50! @jond - So you spent c$1k. My NAS (920+) + 3x6Tb drives came to about the same, but my 32Gb stick was £12. A slight difference. And music from the stick sounds better. I've seen people who've spent c$10k on a streaming setup. Maybe they couldn't directly stream into their renderer from a USB drive/stick; maybe they haven't even tried it. Scared to no doubt after that expense. c$10k v $10. One would imagine/think/BELIEVE that the $10k setup would be much better. If so, by how much, if at all (that's not a question btw)? @akg_ca Thank you, and everyone here, for the useful input. Although you say the USB is equally good as your NAS. There's so so much written about LOTS of noise produced by a NAS/Switch/PC/Cableing, and how much one needs to spend to alleviate it, which is what prompted my original question. A USB stick obviates the need for any of that, IF your renderer has a USB input. |
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