I know most of the people posting here indicate that streaming from a PC is bad for audio quality. Mostly due to space constraints, I am using a PC as a streaming source. It was clearly a sub-par source until I bought a Jitter filter. Made a huge difference in sound. I also have everything running via cables, ethernet to PC, USB to external DAC with a USB input. Bluetooth and WIFI are great when there are no hard wired options.
new to streaming- help!
Hi all-
I'm a long time audiophile but have always gone the cd/vinyl route. I am trying streaming but having trouble setting up a Bluesound Node X. Something about my wifi it doesn't like...I am enjoying Tidal on my Macbook, however. Which brings me to a question. Would I get better sound quality anyway if I just connected my laptop to an external dac? Should I scrap the Blue Sound? And if go that route, does it matter if I have my laptop connected to ethernet, or will sound quality be the same on either ethernet or wifi? (Asssuming a cable from MAC to DAC...).
Alternatively, would it make sense to run Tidal from Ipad to DAC? Or does one need a streamer like Blue sound to do that?
I'm sure this will get sorted out, but feeling slightly overwhelmed at the moment.
Thanks!
Margot
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- 39 posts total
@motown-l No, it has almost nothing to do with space constraints and everything to do with sound quality. Computers are multi-use devices that, unlike streamers, are not optimized at all for playing music and are very noisy. Noise is the mortal enemy when it comes to streaming, which is a major reason why computers suck as a streaming source. Treating jitter helps, but you’re still left with the noise. Get a streamer, even a cheaper one like Wii, Node, etc., and you’ll realize this immediately as the difference is not subtle if you have an otherwise decent system. |
soix - I have space constraints where adding another device will be challenging in my AV rack. I'm sure a dedicated streamer would sound better than my outdated PC. I just have nowhere to put an additional piece of audio equipment. Not sure what part of my post you are calling into question. Sometimes I make audio decisions not solely based on sound but based also on constraints in my listening space and budget. |
@motown-l My deepest apologies — I misread your post. The WiiM Pro gets decent reviews for sound and is pretty small (5.5” square x 1.6”h). FWIW. |
- 39 posts total