Do I Really Need a Dedicated Streamer?

You don’t need one, you’re playing music without one but quality of playback can increase dramatically with a better streamer.

Ok, but how does quality of music increase?   Are we not streaming the same files...from my iPad as I would with a streamer?

The key question is whether you have the requisite high-end build quality and audio performance capabilities in the rest of your audio components?

While all streamers can play music, the sound quality can vary significantly depending on the components and processing involved The high-end models are key for audiophiles who crave every drop of slam, authenticity and insight from their digital music library..

Experience teaches you that the essence of the musicality also resides in the line signal processing stages, the power supplies (transformers, filtering, regulation), and the digital signal processing before conversion, and the quality of the key components: clocks, transistors, op amps, capacitors, etc…

Toddle down to your high-end bricks and mortar audio store and conduct a personal audition bake-off against a high-end build streamer played in a high-end build system. You may be surprised to see a differentiation of “good” as opposed to living with “good enough”.

For skeptics, Ask yourself a simple question … If it didn’t matter and a smartphone was a peer quality source, then why do all the audio expo presenters ( and audio dealers ,,,)always play streaming sources exclusively with high end streamers to showcase their systems,

For example, the sound wasn’t just cleaner -- the musical backdrop seemed quieter, too, as if the noise floor had dropped noticeably.

One was that I could hear deeper into recordings -- subtle details were easier to discern. In a nutshell, resolution was improved. Soundstaging and imaging markedly improved as well. With better clarity, increased resolution, and “blacker” backgrounds, images hung more starkly in space, the spaces between musicians on the stage were far easier to discern, and the width and depth of the stage were greater (provided the recording contained that information).

Much of the increase is due to the digital components increased quality within a dedicated streamer and dac.  This includes better clocks, power supplies, galvanic isolation which all can produce a much better musical presentation.  This would include better resolution, imaging, soundstage, transients, and lower noise floor.  Basically all the things @akg_ca stated.  Bits aren’t bits, there is electrical noise and jitter that are added to an output signal coming from an iPad or iPhone.  Whether your rig is transparent or revealing enough to hear that added noise is also a valid question. I run usb from my MacBook Pro but use a ddc and DAC to ameliorate those issues.

@akg_ca 

+1

i have a $22K streamer for my main system, worth every penny. I have requisite supporting equipment to make its additional quality well worth it.

My head phone system has a $3.5K streamer providing content. Also well matched. You can see my systems under my userID. 
 

‘’I’ve used, IPhones, iPads, Macs, PCs, and streamers of all investment levels.