Old phones as streaming sources

that’s an example of “petitio principii” (assuming the original point).  The OP and some others seem to have experienced quite good, “audiophile” results using their phones.  I myself would never use a phone as my streamer because a modern IPhone is overkill for what is actually a very simple process - assuming functions like reclocking, up sampling or DSP are done elsewhere - requiring a very simple computer.  Current iPhones run at 3.5 ghz, the Raspberry Pi is 1.5 ghz, and the Apollo 11 computer ran at .043 mhz (lol!).  

When I first got serious about streaming, I built my own RPi streamer as a learning experience.  I don’t think being an audiophile should be equated to some level of expenditure (though I’ve spent a fair amount, admittedly).  But I think alot of audiophiles are a little intimidated by servers, streamers and the like because they involve technology that is not intuitive for most of us.  And I believe that there are companies out there that take advantage of that, and market products that may not do what we want to believe they do.  

The number of times I hear non-experts (like me!) say that something is less noisy, or “lowers the noise floor”, and then dismiss actual test results showing something different is incalculable.  That’s why I think threads like this, conducted in a civil way, are important.  We should have these conversations.  That’s what audiophiles do.  Respectfully.

@mdalton +1

I hope you don’t mean the processor power is the fault. The SGC sonicTransporter i5 you have runs on an Intel i5 processor at 3.6 GHz. The Ifi ZS runs at 1.4 GHz, and the Raspberry Pi is becoming more powerful, with the Pi-5 at 2.4 GHz. Several mid-end streamers like Innuos, hi-end like Aurender also use increasingly powerful CPUs such as Intel quad-core processors running at 2.5 GHz. As a comparison, the CPU speed on iPhones, ranging from 1.8 GHz on the iPhone 6s to 3.5 GHz on the iPhone 14, is by no means an overkill. A more powerful CPU is not a fault; how the circuit is optimized and implemented to achieve better sound quality is the key. I would wager that the trend among higher-end streamers will lean towards processors that are more powerful yet low in power consumption with better energy efficiency etc...

@mdalton I myself would never use a phone as my streamer because a modern IPhone is overkill for what is actually a very simple process ... Current iPhones run at 3.5 ghz, the Raspberry Pi is 1.5 ghz, and the Apollo 11 computer ran at .043 mhz (lol!)

@lanx0003 

Not really my main point, but the sonictransporter, acting as my Roon core, is doing a lot more processing than the streamer.  But the fact that it runs at about the same speed as a phone is actually telling, isn’t it?  Nonetheless, I also agree that speed isn’t everything.  

@lanx0003 

reread your post again. I think you misunderstood my point.  “Overkill” as in unnecessary, but not necessarily detrimental.  iPhones are powerful and pretty sophisticated, with all sorts of capabilities, and their prices reflect that.  So unless I were so cash-constrained that the only device I could afford was an extra phone lying around, I wouldn’t use a phone as my streamer.  I’d just buy an RPi or a Wiim product.  In a couple of my systems, I went a little beyond that for form function reasons, and because they were paired with DACs that I wasn’t sure how well they’d handle noise - I bought the Zen Stream and now have it paired with an iFi Zen dac, and I bought an open-box Pro-Ject S2 Ultra Stream to pair with a Topping DAC (that one still felt a little pricey even at $600, but it’s very cool, and almost as small as a Pi).  In both those systems, I experimented with the Pi, and was pleasantly surprised how good they sounded.  But the Pi is a little kludgy, so I gave it to my son-in-law, who has repurposed it in his home security system - gotta love the Pi!