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Wifi vs USB

I've been following lots of reviews on USB DAC's but missing a crucial piece of information:

Is streaming wirelessly to a DAC more or less as good sonically as going with a good reclocked USB DAC directly connected to the USB port of a computer?

What I really want to know is: for my main audio system, do I need to keep the computer with the music database wired to the system or can I get equivalently close audiophile sound by streaming the bits wirelessly to the DAC?

If the latter (I hope!), then what is an example of an acceptable configuration?

Thanks,
Art
artmaltman
swampwalker's avatar
swampwalker
5,138 posts
 
My music server streams wirelessly to my Transporter, which I use as a network player and DAC. I am very happy w the sound but I have never compared it to a hard-wired connection.
mapman's avatar
mapman
22,211 posts
 
Check out my system listing. The wireless digital sounds fantastic and 90% of my detailed listening these days goes that way.
audiofankj
373 posts
 
I am streaming wirelessly from my music server (iMac 24 - 1TB) set up in my office, to the system down the hall - using the Modwright Transporter.

Sound seems to be at least the equal if not better than the AMR CD-77. Srajan of 6moons felt the same, however his Transporter was using stock tubes, and now they are coming modded with Bybee purifiers too.

Phenomenal sound. Drop me a line if I can be of further help.
chazzbo
1,007 posts
 
Good question.Seems like the streaming thing should work as long as wifi is working right and DAC quality is critical not how it get's there though this is assumption.Transporter of course is really good.Intriguing product is new Naim all in one Wifi CD Player DAC Tone named product as product of year.Maybe the CD really is dead but i feel going from LP to CD lost huge ammount of tactile involvement (and some aspects of sonics) when we went to CD and now losing CD's is less of a big deal but there is no "there" there.Like Books to Kindle I guess one get's used to it.If it's account with crappy 256 MP3's that one thing but now with some companies like Linn offering expensive super high resolution download maybe their (Linn's press release)prediction of physical library will come to pass and digital just will get better a source and playback improves at pace with better chips,tubes,Bybee's or other tweeks.And will it filter down to lower priced Hifi.Makes you wonder what will be the "gotta have" tech in 10 years.Know this went off course but got me thinking about how many folks are going hard drive audio and how many used Cd's you can find in stores as folks just rip them to FLAC or WAVE and what a shift that is and next streaming as means of marketing and use of media.
Chazz
artmaltman OP
769 posts
 
Thanks for the tip, will check them out.
Art
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