What is the basis for people asserting these other streamers they happen to fancy are somehow better than the Cambridge? In what way other than perhaps cost? Anything concrete to back it up? Has anyone actually compared what they suggest with what the OP already has? What about feature comparisons? That can vary a lot with streamers. The Cambridge streamers tend to get top notch reviews in the press so that would suggest they are pretty good.
New DAC or New Streamer?
This should be fun. After I pay to get my amp upgraded at VAC next month I plan to either upgrade my DAC or Streamer next. I should have enough for that by late spring/early summer. I'm retired so I save some each month until I have what I need. My system is in my user profile. But to keep this simple my current DAC is the Dinafrips Venus II I got a year ago. (I also have the Hermes DDC)
My streamer is the Cambridge CXN V2 via coax to the Hermes-> I2s -> DAC which is also 1 year old. I was just getting into streaming then and knew little about it. I have learned a lot this past year, a whole lot.
I think the bottle neck is leaning more toward the streamer. It seems the DAC is pretty good, I know there are much better DAC's out there but it holds it own I think. Maybe not? I cannot afford the likes of DCS, Lampizator, etc.
The next planned upgrades are a Terminator II DAC and Aurender N200 Streamer. Both are $5000-$6000. (Unless I go for the Terminator + DAC that is $7500 but I am not sure it is $2500 better than the Terminator II)
So, since both will get upgraded a year apart, which should I go for first? Which would provide the biggest upgrade?
Thanks. Happy holidays to all.
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I don't doubt the proprietary players best with the streamers they're optimized to work with. Whether Roon is optimized for the wide variety of streamers its used on is the question. No doubt the Roon interface requires more processing than the stripped down proprietary players, running more processes means more opportunity for noise to be generated. This doesn't mean motherboard generated noise has to affect SQ, my custom build has linear power supply dedicated solely for the processor, another for the motherboard, and the PCIe cards for various interfaces totally isolated via extensive on board filtering, clocking and external linear power supplies. Any noise generated by motherboard doesn't make it to the network port or usb renderer/port.
For individuals with streamers that don't have embedded proprietary music player software there are various music players available via subscription such as the Stylus which is available within Euphony OS or as endpoint only via Stylus EP. Others could then compare these proprietary players vs Roon. My own comparisons of these two is still ongoing, Euphony OS allows settings for Stylus I have yet to try.
Also, Roon likely has deepest pockets of all the music player software developers, means constant ongoing upgrades. One also should be mindful that streamer manufacturers using Roon are extremely likely to be working alongside Roon in order to optimize streamer/Roon integration, this would include attention to sound quality.
The fact the proprietary players embedded in certain streamers preferred to Roon doesn't mean Roon SQ inherently inferior. Roon users also not obligated to use any of the filters/volume leveling/dsp, fact is I turn every one of these off, I hear sound degradation with some of these.
I observe individuals claiming great sound quality with virtually all music player software out there, until an objective comparison directly comparing these music players with a variety of streamers is undertaken I'll assume all can supply fine sound quality. |
+1 @sns |
I used Roon for a year. After careful listening I felt the DSP functions were like using PhotoShop, it just added a layer of digital noise and made listening fatiguing, but fun to play with. I don't miss it. Innuos Sense is hands down better sounding than Roon. Sense fully integrates with Qobuz. I enjoy the HiFi Partners Playlists. Sense is free and keeps getting better.
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I don’t know who would arrange or conduct such an objective comparison undertaking. It appears that the individual brands have developed successful proprietary apps and good quality sound. People are very happy with their “Sense”,”Conductor “etc. It seems if listeners are very satisfied with the sound quality and user interface of their respective music servers/network players then mission has been accomplished. Roon no doubt is a very good comprehensive product but not everyone wants or needs it. There are multiple pathways to streaming contentment. Charles |
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