@theadmans
The case arrived yesterday Adam, fitted it this a.m. It's the definition of "a tight fit"
ronnie
I have just listened to a Chord M Scaler + DAVE fronted by an Auralic Aries G2 and then by a DCS Network Bridge. In both cases, they were fed by an Innuos server, then out via a Naim 252/300 & Kudos Titan 606 speakers.
With the G2 streamer and Roon server (Roon DSP switched off), music flowed well and sounded tonally slightly warm. All in all very good indeed.
Then the G2 was switched from being a Roon endpoint to using Auralic's own software. Dear me no. The drummer and bass guitarist were suddenly both so exhausted that neither of them could play in time, instead lagging behind the singer and lead guitarist. It timed as badly as a DCS Bartok does. And the sound was flat, lethargic and lifeless. Switch back to Roon again (with DSP engine switched off) and the same track came back to life.
How is this possible? I simply don't understand it, yet I hear it.
We then replaced the Auralic with a DCS Network Bridge. Weird. The listener is no longer drawn to the rhythm section (i.e. drums & bass guitar) but to the lead singer and lead guitarist. Tonally, the sound is a touch leaner. Yet music flows even better. This was my preferred set up of the three.
How one streamer can make music sound leaner than another, or one make music flow while the other produces ill-timed notes using the very same dac (Chord DAVE + M Scaler at that) is just baffling. Yet that is what both I and the dealer heard. Nor were these subtle differences, discernible by those blessed with bat-like hearing. The differences were obvious within the first 5-10 seconds of each track.
This streaming lark, it ain't 'arf complicated.
Best regards, FT
I needed to re-visit this thread, because while I was willing to accept the suggested notion that, everything else being equal, the Squeezebox with a decent power supply should be as good as anything else for rendering.
However, I picked up a Sonore Micro-Rendu cheap, so gave it a go (same power supply). The improvement over the Squeezebox into the same Dacs is huge and obvious, to an extent that must be measurable, if I had the instruments and skills.
So, streamers/renderers DO sound different.
Hi Andrew, no, as I plan to stream over ethernet rather than USB.Did you try the direct output from the Innuos ( running as Roon core and player)?
I needed to re-visit this thread, because while I was willing to accept the suggested notion that, everything else being equal, the Squeezebox with a decent power supply should be as good as anything else for rendering.
However, I picked up a Sonore Micro-Rendu cheap, so gave it a go (same power supply). The improvement over the Squeezebox into the same Dacs is huge and obvious, to an extent that must be measurable, if I had the instruments and skills.
So, streamers/renderers DO sound different.
With decently source agnostic kit, the streamer should have negligible effect on the sound. That's a pretty big should though. Design competence is usually price restricted In some way. Though cost is no arbiter of quality.
I am sure this is true.IME, better power supply can make a small difference. USB implementions also differ, so it's possible if you are using USB that could make a small difference. I think these things are in the realm of a "cleaner" sound, less background noise.