Are all streamers the same?


Dogma says they’re all the same. Experience suggests otherwise. Price may or may not be guide. Are there solid tech reasons such as bleed of noise into the digital signal? What does “it’s all about the ‘implementation’”really mean? How come power cords and interconnects make a difference? For example, there are numerous USB cords that separate the power from the signal cables to minimize interference and noise transference.

Why don’t we have an accepted science of audio, as yet? Where’s the research compilation esp at textbook level? Yes I’m happy just listening and using my ears and my biases to make judgments; no problem.

Yet I continue to see dogma, from the USA and Europe, indeed everywhere, that remains steadfast in their disbelief in variances. It becomes tiresome at times. But hey what do I care? Lol, my pursuit of fidelity and knowledge remain equally strong.

128x128johnread57

@carlsbad2  “…I would say that if there is dogma in streamers, it is that quality matters.  The statement that they are all the same is more conspiracy theory.”

 

+1

@johnread57 

I started out with a Bluesound Node and it was good.  I added a Teddy Pardo Linear Power Supply and it was better. I now have an Aurender  N200 and it much better.  Something else that might matter is every company has their own operating system and App and they are definitely not the same!

All the best.

One of the guiding principles of audio (not laid down by me) is that it is subjective.  You must determine what gear is right for you by listening to it.  Books, measurements reviews, opinions, etc. cannot tell you what is right for you.

I was one of those people who pre-ordered a Wiim Ultra streamer. When it arrived, I did an A/B against my ancient PC hooked to the USB of the amp's onboard DAC (I do have a USB jitter filter). I couldn't hear the difference because I was so pissed off at the WIIM's operating system that made it hard to cast my Amazon HD music to it. My guess is that the WIIM probably sounded better due to it's well regarded Saber DAC chip. I'll never know because I sent it back and am saving my money for a better unit.

If someone reads this review and still thinks all streamers are the same, they have issues:

As Marcin explains, standard motherboards have noisy power converters that interfere with other hi-fi components, and efforts at mitigating this do not address the root cause. Therefore, developing an entirely new motherboard from scratch with only audio playback in mind was the only way to go with XACT S1.

The hardware is very important, but there’s more to making a good server. During more than 10 years of developing JPLAY, it has also become clear that the software has as much impact on the sound quality as the hardware platform itself. Therefore, the XACT Operating System was written from scratch and optimized for the hardware. Marcin explored all possible optimizations of the operating system and player’s code, ultimately identifying the most harmonious combination for the S1’s hardware.

 

XACT S1