What makes One Music Server Sound Better than Another?

Getting back on topic, I have had the Antipodes music server for almost 3 weeks- I'm 3/4 of the way through the trial period.  It is for sure not going back.  Compared to my previous NUC based Rock/Roon music server it is much better sounding.  What makes it sound better I'm sure includes the power supply, the double isolated ethernet port, the custom designed motherboards and the dual processors for the server side and the player side.  But I find the software makes a difference too.  I can see now why so many here like the sound of their Aurrender music servers with its proprietary software.  

The Antipodes, with its dual processors allows for flexibility with respect to operating software.  For example, I can run Roon on the Server which allows me to control the music with the Roon App on my iPad.  But I don't have to necessarily run Roon on the Player.  I have several options such as not just Roon but also Squeezebox, MPD, HD Player, Shairport.  HD Player, like Roon requires a subscription.  The first day that I got the Antipodes I switched the Player from Roon to Squeeze.  It sounded better so I listened that way for over two weeks.  I decided to switch back to Roon for a day.  At first, I didn't think it was much different but as time went on I felt like I was missing something in the music.  The next day I switched back to Squeeze and it felt like I had removed ear plugs.  It was that big a difference.  

It took years to learn analog.  Tube bias, cables, tonearms, cartridges and then it was dialing in VTA, VTF, Antiskate, azimuth, and cartridge loading.  It was art and science and then there was the air bearing ETII Linear Tracking tonearm that could reduce men to quivering jello.  Now we have a whole new set of variables in the digital world.  What fun...

I can tell you that from having owned the Antipodes K41 for the better part of 2 months now I’m extraordinarily impressed by the sound and the level of support from Antipodes. Mark Cole is the best. I have it paired with the K22 player feeding a Mola Mola Tambaqui DAC, connected by Cerious Tech Lumniscate cabling - which , in my opinion is the best sounding cable one can buy at any price I’m about as happy as can be with the overall sound quality and I LOVE the degree of support Antipodes provides for Squeeze I’m a Roon lifer and is seldom use Roon as Squeeze sounds so much better

@krell_fan1 and let me guess, a cat 6 cable in between the K41 and K22 😉

Since this is a "which streamer sounds better" thread, can you tell us what you had before as a streamer and how the sound you get now compares? 

I believe this thread is which SERVER sounds best, as opposed to which STREAMER? 
 

But in answer to your question regarding a cat 6 cable connecting the K41 and the K22, yes, confirmed, though not my first choice and likely not the final solution. I have two EtherREGEN switches each fed by a Sonore Module Deluxe (FMC).  The goal was to feed pure fiber to each respective Antipodes unit. I was using a DH Labs SilverSonic out from the eR to the K41 and felt it was quite articulate and neutral. One day after a month it simply stopped communicating with the server. I sold it after confirming it worked just fine otherwise . Can only presume either the  K41 is very particular or the stiffness of the cable is such that it has a hard time maintaining a solid connection to the eR. 
 

I purchased a new Synergistic Foundation SX. Never could get it to communicate with the K41. Returned it. Meanwhile, a basic Amazon cheapie cat 6 worked just fine and sounded “ok.”  It too is quite stiff. A friend suggested I dig out the Antipodes provided cat6 cable from the boxed and try that. Rather than connect from the eR to the K41 I decided to take the advice of the factory and connect the two units as you’ve guessed.  It actually sounds great - as good as the system has sounded. And yet…I feel I can do better, IF I can find a quality cat6 or cat7 cable that can communicate with the server. Soon I’ll contact Mike at Avanti Audio as it seems he may be onto something that may resolve my issue. I’ll pick his brain to see what he has to say. It can be tricky business I’ve learned and apparently shielding can be a determinant. To this extent I confess Ethernet cabling can be a bit out of my realm. 
 

But clearly I like what fiber has done overall for my system. Otherwise I’d not have spent $600 for a 2nd eR, 1k for a Farad LPS, $500 for a 2nd Sonore Module, not to mention close to $300 for a lair of high performance SFP transceivers and fiber. It’s been an expensive lesson, but oh well. 
 

As to your question which STREAMER I had before the K22, I had  the Sonore Signature Rendu and loved it. I had recently upgraded the power supply and went to the Synergistic purple fuse and it sounded so good it left me wanting more.  Enter Antipodes. Is Antipodes better?  I think so, but not by a wide margin. I think the sound is “bigger.”  I hear a greater  depth of the notes and a wee bit more detail with a nominally wider soundstage. But it is the server that I value most. The software is great and I place a huge premium on how Antipodes supports Squeeze. 

Correct, I did mean to say server- I stand corrected. I wanted to know what you used before the K41 SERVER. For my music "streaming" I have had 2 different one-box server/streamer solutions, so I have a hard time differentiating between the two words/functions. And why did they both have to start with an S? We should have enforced the "renderer" term. Thanks for the response. 

@krell_fan1 

"I believe this thread is which SERVER sounds best, as opposed to which STREAMER?" 

You are correct that the original intent was about servers not streamers, but not so much about which server sounds best as about trying to understand why they sound different from each other at all.  

After spending more time with my back-up Antipodes DX server, I am not convinced that I hear much if any sonic difference between it and my Mojo Audio server.   I have however found that I perceive sonic differences between streamers which, if true, would imply that it might be more likely to perceive sonic differences between one-box server/streamers, such as Grimm MU1 or Antipodes K50 than between stand-alone servers.  This would be especially true if the streamer is processing the signal in some way.  My own Mojo Audio is a one-box solution that includes a JCAT USB card but I have found it sounds just as good when used as a networked server-only, being played through separate streamer/endpoints.  I will soon be trying a SGC sonicTransporter i9 optical (Gen 3) so I will then be able to compare the SQ I am getting between three different units used as servers-only; the Mojo DejaVu, Antipodes DX2 Gen3, and the sonicTransporter i9 optical (Gen 3).