Laptop streaming vs dedicated streamer?

Just replacing my aged Mac mini with new solution, Allo USB sig.

Still with growing pains so I will talk about what I know from the Mac mini.

Linear power supply was great upgrade with smoother sound and more detail.

Always had the library on an external hard drive.

Had the internal drive changed to SSD but did not notice any big change. Upgraded RAM for memory playback.

Mostly used iTunes, sometimes with Bitperfect, and Audirvana infrequently. Memory playback was a noticeable improvement similar to the linear power supply.

This was all with a Metric Halo ULN-2 DAC and standard cd resolution files.

With the new Allo unit, playing files with local external drive using Moode has been better than iTunes via Airplay.

To summarize, IMO, clean power and anything to reduce RF and other noise makes a clear difference. Memory playback from RAM is close second. Some dedicated streamers employ these principles and would likely be better than an off the shelf laptop. However, you can do these things yourself with a laptop or Mac mini.

 

Here is a new Bluetooth streaming box from McIntosh.

The McIntosh MB20 Bluetooth Transceiver.



You can stream from a device like your smartphone or you can stream from your stereo to a device like your smartphone.

Works with any McIntosh system, new or vintage.

The compact MB20 comes with a variety of analog and digital inputs and outputs to connect it to your home audio system – most notably amongst them being balanced inputs and outputs, making it one of the only Bluetooth transmitter receivers to offer these superior audio connections that help deliver top-quality audio performance. For connecting it to your system via analog cables, it includes 1 stereo set of both balanced and unbalanced inputs, along with a stereo set of balanced and unbalanced outputs. For digitally connecting it to your system, such as for use with an outboard Digital-to-Analog Convertor (DAC), it has 1 each of both coaxial and optical inputs and outputs.



The MB20 uses Bluetooth® 5.0 with support for both the high bitrate Advanced Audio Coding (AAC) standard as well as Qualcomm® aptX™HD for hi res audio playback. It also features Qualcomm aptX Low Latency for improved audio transmission speed to deliver sound in sync with applicable visual media. When used as a Receiver, the MB20 uses a high-performance 32-bit DAC with 192kHz internal processing for optimum sound quality; when used in combination with a separate outboard DAC, the MB20's digital output is fixed at 96kHz to be compatible with most third-party DACs in order to maximize performance and maintain audio signal integrity. When in Transmitter mode, it uses an equally capable high-performance Analog-to-Digital Convertor (ADC) with 110dB Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR).

 

Endgame streamer...

The Taiko Audio SGM Extreme Music Server and Streamer
SGM EXTREME – Taiko Audio

 

Looks like a flux capacitor!

 

It better be " endgame ", the price of a very nice car.

 

Runs on Gigawatts and not Gigahertz!

 

I use a Computer & DAC and have for most of this Century. I started streaming before dedicated streamers were well established and never felt the need to change. I've used a two DAC's over the years, a CAL Alpha and currently an Esoteric D-7. Any upgrade path's with a dedicated streamer's look cloudy at best to me.

 

exaSound said their E62 DAC has built-in reclocker which eliminates the need for an external reclocker. The S88 probably has one as well.

 

Sure. OTOH, if you need a re-clocker, either the source or the receiver is faulty (or both).

 

Is a reclocker always indicative of something being faulty? I'm honestly asking because I don't know the answer. Conceptually, it seems like reclockers are adding a new feature not fixing a faulty feature, but I'm not super familiar with how they operate.

 

I was being markedly emphatic in my declaration because I believe that needing an accessory device to intervene between two digital devices is an admission that one of the following is true:
1. The source device has an output that is inadequate in amplitude, impedance or timing or is not consistent in one or more parameters.
2. The target device has an input cannot properly accept a source that comports with the standard parameters mentioned above.
3. The interconnecting cable is poorly designed or poorly selected such that it cannot convey a qualified signal from source to target without loss or corruption.

So, if there is a re-clocking device in the e62 DAC, exaSound must have deemed it necessary and that their customers would not have to purchase yet an additional gadget.

If "re-clockers are adding a new feature not fixing a faulty feature," I wonder what that new feature is?

 

An external reclocker helps clean up the signal going into the DAC allowing for a better conversion process. Hans Beekhuyzen covers this in a few videos on his YouTube channel. You can start with this one for an overview through his review of the Denafrips Gaia: Denafrips Gaia reclocker on more affordable DACs.

 

Hmm. What component is responsible for the "dirty" signal? Why?

 

A reclocker is there to insure the integrity of the timing of the signal pulses. It does not necessarily mean that anything is faulty.

 

Thank you, Kal, I like the model you've laid out.

After reading some other posts and articles on this topic, my current understanding of reclockers is that they adjust the timing of data transmission from the source to the receiver (DAC).

Why would this be beneficial? Because a source sends at one frequency and a receiver (like a DAC) receives at a different frequency. If a DAC receives at a higher frequency than a source produces, there is a loss of data transmission that presumably results in a loss of audio resolution. In this scenario, a reclocker buffers the source signal and forwards it at a faster frequency, thus more closely aligning the digital source with the DAC receiver frequency. which then produces greater audio resolution.

What's the most common scenario where a reclocker would be beneficial? When using a commercial off the shelf laptop or workstation computer as a source and a hi fidelity DAC as a receiver, a reclocker can buffer and re-time the signal to better align the source and the DAC frequencies.

Is the computer "faulty" for not providing clock speeds that meet audiophile standards? That's where I'm not sure.

 

How does a reclocker 'know' what frequency your DAC needs ? So how does it know what adjustments it needs to make ?

 

I'm not very knowledgeable about digital audio, so please someone correct me if I'm wrong, but if one is transferring audio data using asynchronous USB -- which is, I think what is ubiquitous is today's DAC -- the clock in the DAC is governing anyway, so even after you've passed the output signal through a reclocking device, if you're transferring it on to the DAC via asynchronous USB, it's the DAC's clock that's controlling the data timing, not the reclocker or clocking information in the data stream from the reclocker, no? Not sure, if that's true, what reclocking along the way to an asynchronous USB receiver would be able to achieve. Maybe with SPDIF or synchronous USB there's some benefit?

 

I think you mean data rate and not frequency.

Surely, the receiver (and/or, possibly, the source) should adapt properly as that is one of its basic functions. Also, buffers are common features of data receivers.

 

You are correct. The reclocking is done in today's DAC's. In the majority of the cases, there is no need for an external reclocking device.

 

Personally, I think computers get updates longer. I can still run Audirvana with Qobuz on a 2010 Mac mini. My old (but newer than the Mac) Yamaha WXC-50 didn't get the recent updates to get Qobuz in app, as a result, I use Audirvana to send audio to it via DLNA. Without a computer in the process, I would have to go a different route.

Also, we are seeing changes that just happened with Apple Music and we will see an update from Spotify later this year. I would wait to see if we have streamer support for hi res on these services before I would update to a streamer right now. I think Apple will have changes and updates to their hardware and software to better work with the changes they just made.

 

Maybe I'm wrong, but I think the odds of Apple supporting a number of third party hifi streamers are pretty low.

 

I doubt they will do it natively, but they could update Airplay 2, come out with Airplay 3, etc. If you buy something limited now..there is a chance it will stay that way.

They have added their AppleTV+ app to more products, so there is also a possibility they will open AM to more products, we just don't know at this point.

At the end of the day, the main issue with streamers is they often stop getting updates. I remember looking at the first version of Kef LS50 wireless.. I started thinking about this proposition and didn't pull the trigger. Kef LS50 wireless 2 came out with a much improved updated app that was not backward compatible...just to give you one example.. I could talk about my Roku Soundbridge, as well, but you get the point.

 

I spoke with Rory from benchmark and he told me that a good DAc with correct engineering will solve any noise, jitter , etc.

I for one believe him.

my Marantz HD DAC 1 sound great getting fed from my MacBook Pro.
No different than my Blueray player.

asynchronous USB solves most issues

 

At this moment, Apple Music's Spatial Audio and Lossless does not run in iTunes on Windows 10. I connected my laptop to my OPPO-205 via HDMI and just got stereo output from iTunes, not surprising since ATMOS downloads are still delivered in AAC stereo. Also, I connected my laptop via usb to my Parasound DAC and since Lossless is still downloaded in 256k it too is playing in 256k AAC. So, I suspect Apple will update iTunes for those using iTunes on Windows 10, or loose that business. At any rate the only way I can get hi-res from Apple Music now is to purchase a lightning to usb cable to play from iPhone to Parasound. And, buy an Apple TV to connect to my OPPO via HDMI to play Dolby ATMOS.

 

Did he say whether their DAC3 is correctly engineered?