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Surprised by streamer differences

This from a newbie when it comes to separate streamers/DACs, having just recently dipped my toes into them.  I’ve been a long-term user of the Perfectwave DAC with a Bridge II streaming my ripped discs, Tidal and Qobuz via Roon.

Picked up a Denafrips Ares II and was using a Node 2i as a streamer.  Thought it sounded pretty good.  I didn’t do a direct comparison to the PSA unit.  

Read about streamers making a difference so I picked up a Stack Link II.  Listened to Stack/Denafrips rig and heard more detail than through the PSA rig.  

I then compared the Denafrips to the Perfectwave using the Stack streamer.  Here, I expected to hear some differences.  I did, but those differences seemed subtle.

I then picked up a Auralic Aries streamer to compare to the Stack.  I only played them through the Denafrips, but this is what surprised me.  I heard more of a difference in sound quality when swapping the streamers than when I swapped DACs using the Stack streamer.  

Through the Stack, everything seemed tight and precise.  And through the Auralic, everything seemed more relaxed and loose.

The best way for me to describe the differences is like comparing my Lexus ES330 (loose and relaxed) vs my BMW 650i (tight and precise).

I just found that kind of interesting.

 

 

I

128x128audiodwebe
henrye
9 posts
 

@zlone - were you using the coax output from the Node 2i?

I have a Node 2021 model and found it sounded a little different when using the USB output (vs Coax) to my Gungnir Multibit. Not night and day different, but I am sticking with USB as I think it is better sounding for the Gungnir. 

zlone
689 posts
 

@zlone - were you using the coax output from the Node 2i?

Yes, I used the coax/RCA output of the Node 2i. In the case of the Pi, I am using coax/BNC. I have heard that USB is consistently better in most cases, however that port is in use on my Gungnir for another purpose. So perhaps not a perfect apples/apples comparison since I am using different input ports on my Gungnir, but still using SPDIF for both.

 

 

ghdprentice
7,052 posts
 

Streamers just don’t seem like they should matter. But as you discovered, they do. If you have a good DAC that you like, the streamer can be a huge variable. I ventured into real streamers with a Auralic Aries 2… btw, I own a Lexus ES330… I don’t like the Mercedes or BMW because they are so bumpy. Seemingly both appropriate for my personality. But I still changed to Aurender and worked my way up to their flagship W20SE. Each step provided a bigger improvement in the sound than the one before. 
 

Enjoy the journey, lots of great things ahead.

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