The best set up is a stand alone dac, cd transport and streamer. It will all sound great and I agree with @ghdprentice in that you’re “set for life” and I’m 61.
CD transport vs.streaming
Many have stated on this forum that the SQ from their CDs is superior to the sound from streaming sources. Others have said the opposite. Weirdly, in side by side identical tracks the sound from my Cyrus CDt sounds identical to my Cambridge CXN v2 streamer. I wonder if anyone else has this experience.
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This is a good analogy. Multiple set- up options, ethernet, fiber optic, wireless/Spdif,AES,USB connections. Switches, networks, optional LPS etc. Then consider the music server itself, Windows or Linux based OS. Number or type of processing cores. On and on it goes. Every bit as many decisions and options as constructing an analogue turntable system (Plinth/Tonearm/cartridge/phono stage/phono cable etc.). Even amongst the excellent tier music servers there are clear sonic distinctions, Antipodes K-50 vs GrimmMU1 vs 432 EVO Master vs Innuos Statement and so on. No doubt that assembling a streaming music server chain is explicitly unique and specific. Charles |
@charles1dad Charles, the complexity of streaming has renewed my interest in audio experimentation. I'm at end game components for much of my system, this is one of the two areas left to me for that experimentation, the other being vinyl setup.
Different components can make for substantial changes in streaming quality. Lots of innovation in this realm at the moment, I'm having a lot of fun and enjoying very high sound quality. |
- 89 posts total