Network music streamers: Why so complicated?

I usually enjoy equipment research but in the computer audiophile world, my head starts swimming.

Take network streamers for example. It should be clear cut: they take a signal from a server somewhere else in the house and transport it to the DAC near my amp. But the questions around how to get the best sound quality out of them make it anything but simple.

Ethernet vs WiFi? I would have thought a strong, fast WiFi connnection would beat an Ethernet connection because of the galvanic isolation, but many others say Ethernet is best.

USB vs SPDIF? USB is capable of higher but rates, but I find many references to the superior quality of SPDIF for audio.

Power supplies. A linear power supply is generally preferred, but not in all cases, for all streamers.

Femto master clocks. Don’t even get me started... Apparently everything now needs a femto clock.

Please, someone, make it simple for me and give me an answer I can trust from first hand experience before I drop a bunch of money on the word of someone on Computer Audiophile who is just parroting something they read from somewhere else in Computer Audiophile.

What makes the biggest impact on sound quality where streamers are concerned?

 

I also found that for me, a lot of learning was required to convert cds or albums into flac files and play them back via my 2-channel stereo... It would certainly be easier for an individual who enjoys using computers and is familiar with the protocols and vocabulary, unfortunately that is not me. I was surprised it is not simple and convenient for a novice, unless you pay for an all-in-one approach.
Like many aspects of the audio hobby, it depends on how far you want to persue it... I am currently researching connecting an external hard drive to a streamer and not downgrading the signal during the process. There is as much debate about this on websites dedicated to computer audio, as there is here regarding which interconnect cables are best.

 

In theory, a steamer should not add or degrade sound quality at all given it has adequate bandwidth to stream said media. The steamer is simply moving digital bits from one location (say a NAS) digitally to a separate location (say your DAC) where the bits are then converted to an analogue signal via your DAC.

The only real concern with steamers is if they have adequate bandwidth to move the bits in time from the NAS <> DAC for playback without buffering. Cat5 has more bandwidth than WiFi, that is why the majority of people prefer to use a wired connection if available vs WiFi for steaming. Increased bandwidth.

 

Start with an inexpensive Chromecast Audio and go from there.

It's idiot proof (I know because I tested it on myself!)

 

Definitely considered this. It’s Toslink only, right? I am looking for something Roon Ready, and $35 is impossible to beat.

I also considered an old iPhone with a USB Camera Connection Kit, but the DAC I tried it on requires power from the USB and the CCK didn’t work with it because of that.

 

Correct. Regardless of your Roon aspirations, you should try it just to get Tidal to your system (which I presume is on the cards?)

 

please excuse the novice question but is it possible to stream Tidal at "master quality" via chromecast? to this point I've only seen Tidal on the desktop even have the ability to stream master and for reasons unknown the desktop app doesn't allow AirPlay or anything like that.

 

Unlikely.

Only the first unfold. For full Master Quality Adulterated an MQA Dac is required

 

There is nothing complicated here. If it just the streamer you are talking about. The information being transferred is data, digital data. Not music and it has no inherit quality or audio characteristics. It does not matter quality wise how the data streams, WiFi or hard wire. Both have ample bandwidth for music. WiFi may be affected by external conditions such as wall construction, other WiFi signals in the area and the such. But this is external to the originating data stream and is an implementation consideration when selecting the type of connection to make. Just as defective connectors or corroded wiring may degrade the signal, this too is external to the data quality. What does affect quality is how the original was encoded into digital data and then how it is decoded back to analogue for playback.

 

You would be surprised! Here’s one choice thread:
A novel way to massively improve the SQ of computer audio streaming

I should be more clear with my confusion—I know how to set up a streamer to work in my system, and I’ve played around with a few. But the question that is relevant for me is: how do I make an informed purchase decision—in the absence of the ability to demo them myself—on an option with uncompromised sound quality?

Compare Auralic’s Aries, Aries LE, Aries Mini, Aries G1, and Aries G2. Besides the surface-level differences, each proport to have a different quality streamer due to power supply, clock implementation, etc... and that’s just one company!

No one streamer incorporates all of the tech that other streamers tout as being necessary for the utmost quality.

It’s a Wild West out there right now.

 

I do not have any interest in a streamer, since I get streaming satisfaction from one of my laptop's running iTunes, which delivers Apple Music, iTunes Library, and Internet Radio. What I find interesting is some component streamers cost several thousand dollars yet do not have any more functions/features that are found on a $600 laptop such as mine.

 

And they get more expensive:

Music Vault Home Page

AURENDER - Reference Music System

Baetis Audio

SGM Evo – Sound Galleries

 

I feel your pain. I think I’m more interested in something with an internal SSD and either a coax or USB connection to my DAC. For now I’m not interested in multiple endpoints. What makes me nervous is the quality of the software. It’s hard to know what I’m getting into regarding software. Roon is popular and broadly supported but streamers are expensive and dropping an extra $500 for software doesn’t excite me. Currently leaning toward a Bluesound Vault 2i because Blue appears to take BluOS development seriously. Bluesound is relatively mainstream. I get the impression that the higher end devices probably rely more on Roon. I guess paying for Roon doesn’t seem like much on top of a $3000 device. If Roon had an special deal for the license along with the Nucleus that would be more tempting.

 

That sounds like a rational and psychologically healthy perspective... I’m way too far gone for that.

 

I plunged into the Roon lifetime subscription 3 years ago—now I’m committed. I think it was money well-spent. Having to decide whether I like the proprietary OS of each streamer is an additional headache that I no longer have.

 

Have you looked into Auralic devices?

 

I did a while back but they changed things up and the mini is gone. I can’t keep all their offerings straight but they seem (relatively) affordable.

 

Pardon the pitch but I have a Microrendu + linear Uptone PSU for sale in the classifieds. Roon ready, hookup was dead simple, and to any DAC with a good, isolated USB input it sings. I have two HiFiBerries (raspberry Pis with DAC hats on them) that I use for two zones in the house as Roon endpoints and they work well too. I've used the HiFiBerry in my audio room and while you start splitting hairs at some point, the Microrendu is pretty special. That said, I'm just a physical media guy so while I love Roon, I don't really use it in my dedicated room, hence the for sale post. PM me if you have any general questions, no matter if you're interested in the Rendu or not, hopefully I can help either way.

 

I did see your listing, and was tempted...

I think I’m leaning toward the Allo DigiOne Signature, which is also a Pi-based streamer. It’s a bit cheaper on the surface, but I do need to factor in an upgraded power supply for the clean side.

Why did you choose the microRendu?

 

I had been following its development since it was initially discussed, back in 2014-ish. It's just a really interesting device - a mini computer dedicated and purpose-built for audio alone. And Sonore was quite involved in computer audio and contributed significantly to the community so I wanted to give them a shot. Same with Uptone. And I wasn't disappointed at all, it's just not my format of choice at this time. The form factor is fantastic, you can stick it basically anywhere and forget about it. Pretty cool what they're doing with computer audio these days, but I honestly don't know how it stacks up against the Allo you're considering. I'm sure you'll be fine either way. That said, I can't actually put "or best offer" in the Classifieds here so, er, take that how you will

 

Speaking of making this stuff simpler... I found this helpful:

 

Nothing complicated at all. I had everything pretty much buttoned down 15 years ago.

Maybe that's where I lucked out: I got in this before audiophiles made it all complicated.

YMMV

 

I absolutely love my DigiOne Signature. I paired it with the Uptone LPS1 that I bought used for around $250. I didn't really notice a whole lot of difference between the DigiOne and my PC as a transport at first (besides the lack of PC fan noise), until I replaced the stock Allo PSU with the LPS1, and then the difference was certainly noticeable. If you buy the player version, the SD card is already setup with Roon Bridge installed, so it's as easy as plugging in a LAN cable and claiming the device in any Roon app. Feel free to PM me if you have any questions about it.

 

+1
I use a $200 fanless(silent) Windows 10 PC (serving almost 3TB of flac files on a 4TB WD Passport drive) attached to my Pre/DAC bitperfect thru Foobar2000 and controlled by my android phone and tablet with FoobarCon app. I have a folder with 25 internet streaming stations too that I can select using the same app. Works great, and <$300. I imagine I could stream Tidal and Spotify thru this too. I did add a Chromecast Audio for fun (podcasts thru my phone). BTW, you can convert its Toslink > s/pdif with a $15 converter (I needed one as my PS Audio GCD only had one toslink).

 

Exactly. There's no need to make it complicated.

Sound quality same on both. Your choice really. I've never been able to show a measurable difference or convince myself of audible difference so long as no buffer underruns. On the whole better to use ethernet if doing DSD/hi-res PCM. Ethernet already has decent galvanic isolation in place (see here).

Depends on the device itself. You'll find a bit more jitter with SPDIF but they are reliable and more straight forward to deal with (versus the bidirectional nature of USB which does have more features like DSD, etc...). The jitter is not audible even in the cheapest of SPDIF interfaces these days. SPDIF IMO does not offer better audio sound quality from the perspective of clock stability.

Just use a typical switching PS with the device and for kicks by all means try a linear at some point - just don't expect miracles. In some instances, the switching power supplies are superior to linear (see this). There has been no evidence out there that linear supplies "sound better". But for sure they create more heat and add a bit more to the electric bill. In fact, I can easily measure noise floor of my streamers/DACs out to 384kHz and see no evidence of issues using switching supplies. Lots of people with opinions of course but I think the linked Benchmark article is correct - myth!

Don't worry about jitter. Yes, with a "femto" clocked DAC, one can show amazing low-jitter performance (like the RME ADI-2 Pro FS). It's not audible... Try it yourself:
DEMO / MUSINGS: Let's listen to some jitter simulations with sideband distortions...

Essentially no decent modern device creates jitter anomalies to the extent of audible levels. Things have improved markedly in this regard in the last decade.

The biggest impact on sound in the digital streaming world is the DAC. Then of course the usual things as in any sound system - speakers, room, decent amp/preamp. Even with the minor stuff like jitter, it's primarily a function of the DAC.

I wrote a couple of articles on this stuff last year precisely because of the controversies and uncertainties and neuroticism the topic brings up...
MUSINGS: Computer Audio Part I: Demystifying "Computer Audio Demystified"
MUSINGS: Computer Audio Part II: The Basics & Suggestions

Keep it simple and have fun! Much of that nonsensical audiophile mumbo jumbo just makes people confused, perpetuates FUD and IMO does a gross disservice to the hobby...