ARE SUPER EXPENSIVE STREAMERS REALLY WORTH IT
Folks I am confused why some streamers need to be so eye wateringly expensive. I appreciate the internal basics need to be covered such as a high quality, low noise power supply and a decent processor speed etc.. but that is not rocket science.
So my question is could a decent streamer outputting its data stream via I2S to a good quality DAC receiving the I2S stream be a more cost effective way of rivalling let’s say a streamer costing 5k upwards.
I have heard and digested the argument for expensive streamers quality being centred around the management of the data timing via a quality clock circuit but there are very reasonable in relative terms, DAC’s out there that have dual super high quality temp controlled clocks within, at least the equal or arguably even better than the say a 5k streamer with some sporting dual high end DAC chips etc.
So could utilizing a good quality streamer and a separate high-quality DAC connected via I2S indeed offer significant benefits and potentially reduce the need for a very expensive streamer.
I say this with the knowledge that I2S is designed to preserve and separate the Signals so avoiding the timing issues connected with multiplexing. I2S (Inter-IC Sound) separates the music signal from the timing signal, potentially eliminating jitter or at the very least greatly reducing the possibility for the pesky music killing jitter which we all could agree would lead to improving overall sound quality.
Wouldn’t this separation ensure that the timing information is more accurately preserved, even when compared to a high price streamer, leading as clean or cleaner and more precise audio data output. With I2S, the DAC can use its own high-quality clock/s to synchronize the data, which will reduce jitter and improve sound quality.
Could this possibly mean that even if the streamer has a less advanced clock, the DAC’s superior clock can take over, ensuring best performance.
So bang for buck would it not be advantageous to investing in a high-quality DAC and using a good but not necessarily top-tier streamer to achieve excellent sound quality without the need for an extremely expensive streamer. Surely the DAC’s performance will play a crucial role in the final sound quality.
Play gentle with the pile on please....................
@carlsbad2 You say that "a low to mid level streamer achieves a higher percentage of high level performance than a low to mid level DAC does." Good luck trying to apply a quantitative concept like percentage to the qualitative differences between hifi components.
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@newton_john Never tell a physicist he can't quantify something. However, did you see any numbers? I didn't try to quantify anyting. I just used a simple-to-understand method to describe the RELATIVE performance if these items. Unfortunately, it wasn't simple enough. Jerry |
@nubiann +1 with those posting that each component of the entire digital chain from router to DAC matters. Just pause for a moment and really think about that and all the analogous instances where that logic from an engineering perspective is incontrovertably true - it has most definitely been true with respect to building out my digital source chain. With respect to I/O interfaces, it is the component quality that takes precedence; an example is the Grimm streamer some posters here have mentioned, it is fantastic and uses AES/EBU instead of I2S. I will end by saying the most noticeable sound improvement in my system came from going from ethernet to fiber optic. |
