@jaytor
yes, it’s the combined system, precisely. We don’t care what a streamer sounds like without a dac or source, because it has no sound. So if you say it adds noise to the system - i.e., it conveys noise that manifests thru the dac that can be heard - then you have to test it in the context of the system. There is no alternative. And that’s what the tests I’ve seen do. The results of those tests demonstrate that noise from a streamer can carry thru to the dac, in certain cases, but even in those, it is a question as to whether any marginal increase in noise from a streamer was audible, relative to the noise that was coming from the dac. In most cases that I’ve seen, with any decent streamer and dac, there is virtually no additional noise that comes from the streamer.
Candidly, I find extraordinary the reluctance on the part of so many sophisticated audiophiles to follow this basic level of logic and analysis when contemplating spending thousands of dollars on what is really just an accessory (again, putting advanced processing like dsp, reclocking, and upsampling aside). And as a result of this reluctance, a number of firms have dived into this niche market and, imho, are fleecing their customers. Don’t get me wrong: their stuff can be beautiful and well-engineered, but without significant sonic benefit. The only reason anybody should spend alot of $ on these niche players is if they think the UI is worth it (again, imho). But I’m a Roon guy, so spending another dollar for somebody else’s UI is akin to pouring that dollar down the drain.
