What are you using as a streamer? Constructive feedback please.

Hi, all.   I'm a fan of Apple Music.  I like the lossless and high res, the vast collection of music, and the price.  I also use Audirvana from the Mac for my own digital collection.  Haven't tried Tidal or Qobuz or Roon.

So I use a Macbook Pro (or iPad Mini) outputting via USB to a Topping D10S to convert to SPDIF coaxial to an older Peachtree DacIt that (I think) still sounds great.

For me, the next step is upgrading the DAC.  I think the digits going into the DAC are just fine coming out of the Mac or Ipad.  Maybe down the road when my system is more revealing, I'll have to improve it, but I find the DAC to be the most important part in the digital bits chain.  IMHO.

Unless you are having software problems, all streamers will sound alike.
Zeros and ones. .

In a perfect world yes but in reality that’s not true. The voltages that are represented by ones and zeros have residual values that distorts the signal.

Personally I use a fanless I5 PC and the USB out. My DAC manufacture provides a specific USB driver and I use Fidelizer to further reduce OS and component signal interference.

Windows Remote PC allows you to control your software . App from almost any device. Sounds better than the Raspberry PI with the ALLO digiOne.

I’m still not a robot but may be more android than ever.

@danager, In a perfect world yes but in reality that’s not true. The voltages that are represented by ones and zeros have residual values that distorts the signal.

And what effect exactly does that have? How much distortion? Does that effect USB, Ethernet and SPDIF/I2S, or only one or two of them?

In a perfect world yes but in reality that’s not true. The voltages that are represented by ones and zeros have residual values that distorts the signal.

Oh poppycock. The stream of bits coming out of my Raspberry Pi’s USB is identical to any streamer mentioned in this thread.  Everything down stream from the streamer makes the difference in SQ.  If what you say is true, you could never restore a computer backup.

Roon

NUC w/2 SSDs

Custom LPS

Bridge to isolate and distribute the computing load (bridge = Rpi Ethrernet in USB out)

Custom LPS for that

Isolation on USB

--> DAC; either DAC powers USB or i have yet another very small LPS to power just the clean USB side.

Most people are surprised digital can sound so -- well like nothing at all.

So what's important?

1. The network - wire it, no wifi

2. isolation of noisy computers from DACs.  Isolated interfaces, independent power.  This means not just +5 rails but grounds.

3. Timing at the DAC chip - generally not an issue unless you use SPDIF, which is one big reason i don't, except for TV etc.

The rest is pretty much irrelevant