Streamed music sounds awful in my system and I don't know why ....


cd's spun in a transport are so much more satisfying.  Streamed content lacks body, bass, and correct timbre.

DAC is the Moon 780 driven by Moon's transport with Audience Front Row loom. Streamed source originates  from Windows Media Player platform into the same DAC 780 via CAT 6 cable hardwired into a Spectrum router.

If I wanted to upgrade the streaming experience, where would I start ?

Rest of system -Shindo Giscours pre-amp, VAC Phi 300 amp, Purist speaker cables feeding Wilson Sophia 3's.

Thanks for any guidance.

 

 

 

 

 

dr-john

Excellent sounding streaming can be achieved with your PC in the right circumstances. If using USB, make sure your DAC has a good USB implementation and has Galvanic isolation. I’m streaming through Roon and Tidal/Qobuz and upsampling PCM as High as 1024X DSD with my Audio Holo May KTE DAC and HQPlayer. Even without using upsampling, it sounds excellent. You don’t necessarily need a dedicated streamer to achieve excellent streaming results! People who are telling you the PC is bad just haven't hear a well setup PC that had good results.

“Excellent sounding streaming can be achieved with your PC”
@willywonka 

What dedicated streamer have you auditioned and compared with your PC to arrive at your subjective opinion? 

Let me ask you a question. Under what circumstances have you tried streaming from your PC?  What DAC and how did you do it? Please be specific.

@willywonka

I had a feeling that you will avoid answering my simple query. I see that you have modified your original post. Would you be kind enough to tell the readers, how to properly setup a PC for streaming?

What you hear is correct. CD sounds better, as does watching a Blu-ray movie from Disc compared to streaming the movie in UHD or 4K, there is no comparison due to bandwidth limitations from the streaming companies and of course our internet service. Streaming is convenient and it ends there. CD, Vinyl is the way to go if you want the best sound possible, and I fully know how CD had been put down by the Magazines after 20 years saying their systems reviews using gear were SOTA and their sources were CDs. Streaming is #1 nowadays and that won't change, any physical format lags behind in sales be it music or Video but that does not make them the best source material.