2. digital
  3. 190027-170711

why expensive streamers

@soix and others

I am unclear about the effect on sound of streamers (prior to getting to the dac). Audio (even hi-res) has so little information content relative to the mega and giga bit communication and processing speeds (bandwidth, BW) and cheap buffering supported by modern electronics that it seems that any relatively cheap piece of electronics would never lose an audio bit. 

Here is why. Because of the huge amount of BW relative to the BW needs of audio, you can send the same audio chunk 100 times and use a bit checking algorithm (they call this "check sum") to make sure just one of these sets is correct. With this approach you would be assured that the correct bits would be transfered. This high accuracy rate would mean perfect audio bit transfer. 

What am I missing? Why are people spending 1000's on streamers?

thx

 

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grislybutter
2,486 posts
 

I don't have a streamer or a DAC and I am absolutely clueless but based on what it does, it sounds like the only reason why cheap streamers sound worse than expensive ones is because they are poorly designed and "create" issues. There should be no noise, no timing issues, a streamer just moves packages like a conveyor belt at the airport. The software would have only one way to put the packages together, in either a 500 dollar or 5000 dollar streamer. 

But again, that's just my wearing an IT hat, knowing nothing about music streamers.

rcm1203's avatar
rcm1203
81 posts
 

I guess I lucked out. In my first foray into music streaming, I chose the Cambridge Audio CXNV2, and it had the exact sound I was looking for. Or, perhaps it sounded the way I wanted it to sound because I had already achieved the sound I was looking for in my setup, and it was neutral enough to fit right in. Food for thought.

mikhailark
130 posts
 

@jeffreyw - But of course :-)

mahler123
3,116 posts
 

@mitch2 +1

elliottbnewcombjr
5,260 posts
 

buy more vinyl

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