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Do I Need a Dedicated Streamer?

Hello everyone,

As the title states, I am still unsure of if I need a dedicated streamer and if it would increase the fidelity of my music compared to how I am listening at the moment. Which is using AirPlay 2 from my iPhone to my Hegel H590 Integrated amp.

 

I know that the DAC in the Hegel H590 is considered quite good and it was one of the reasons that I bought the amplifier to begin with. However, would I get a better input using a dedicated streamer for around $1000 (such as the Cambridge CXNV2 for example) or would I be better off leaving things as is?

I am just not sure if airplaying music to the Hegel is degrading the signal in comparison to a streamer that would pull its own data and send it directly to the amplifier? Also, would improving my router placement and wifi signal make any difference to the sound since my Hegel is hardwired using a mesh wifi system?

 

I am open to switching streaming platforms if I can gain something out of it such as resolution but I’m not sure if apple music is the issue in any of this.

 

If the answer to the title is a no. I am curious what I would need to take the quality of my listening experience to the next level or where money would be better spent to achieve that. I do have acoustic panels in my room and have done my fair share of research on speaker placement already.

 

The only thing that I have been considering in the near-future would have to be the isoacoustics gaia 1 feet.

 

My equipment:

Hegel H590 Integrated

KEF Reference 5 Meta

Metra Velox Speaker Cables

 

Thanks for reading.

danb99
hickamore
659 posts
 

"My experience has been strictly with the SPDIF interface, in which case streamer quality and jitter are very apparent."

Right. As I learned here, if the streamer has better clock than the DAC, connect SPDIF. If the reverse, use USB.  

pennpencil
117 posts
 

Streamers make a difference in most systems. See if that’s true in yours. Purchase a streamer from amazon. Return it if it doesn’t help. If it does, consider if you’ve bought the correct streamer.

Ag insider logo xs@2x
jallan
304 posts
 

I found that moving from my laptop to an Aurender streamer was revelatory in the positive improvement in sound. It wasn’t close. Hardwire the server with Ethernet.

 getting good results with the Bluesound Node in my second system, again with a hardwired Ethernet connection.

Finally, try hirez Quboz- I never listen to my records anymore as it is better (on my system).

panzrwagn's avatar
panzrwagn
522 posts
 

Gotta love those people who argue over Ethernet cables, the dismiss WiFi that removes them completely from the equation. Or that are concerned about jitter on their Ethernet connections. They're still very confused about TCP/IP. FWIW, buffers eliminate jitter. If jitter is so bad that the buffers overflow, then there's a serious ssue with the network that would show up in the router management as dropped frames. 

Unless you are serious about cobbling a streamer from a Raspberry Pi, and doing the associated bit-twiddling, just get a BlueSound Node. They're available for under $500 now, and a big step up from your current setup, and not that far behind the $3k to $5k offerings. Next get off of Apple, whether you move to Qobuz, Tidal, or Amazon UHD. You'll be very pleased. 

kairosman's avatar
kairosman
283 posts
 

Logic dictates that your source be at a commensurate level with your amp and speakers otherwise it is the weakest link in the chain and will not maximize the amp and speaker’s sonic capabilities.

Just set aside all the comments here and think through that for a bit for yourself... you spent big money on your rig so far for a reason, you wanted the best sound you could afford, so don’t sell your rig short.

Here are 3 excellent streamer choices at ascending price points that have internal DACs and USB outputs so you can utilize your amp’s internal DAC as well:

Eversolo DMP-A8

Lumin T3

Aurender A15

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