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Streaming transports SQ differences?

I

indus

pfm Member
Assuming connected to the same dac, do they sound different? Probably a can of worms....
One side insists its all ones and zeros so no difference if using a half decent dac. On the other hand there are reviews from people like Donnie Darko where he clearly states that the Auralic Aries G1 sounds better than a Blue sound and that the Innuous Statement sounds better than the G1.
Some people say that their £150 digione player sounds no different to a £3000 dCS bridge.

Is there an answer to this or is it as bad as the speaker cables/power cables debate? Are Auralic, Aurender, Moon all just snake oil peddlars??

Thank you
 
indus said:
On the other hand there are reviews from people like Donnie Darko where he clearly states that the Auralic Aries G1 sounds better than a Blue sound and that the Innuous Statement sounds better than the G1.
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What would happen to Darko, his web site and above all advertising income (and freebies) if he told people there are no audible differences?
 
indus said:
Assuming connected to the same dac, do they sound different? Probably a can of worms....
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Not really
Let's face it. we probably all either know the answer to this one or are never going to get it. So, by way of sideways look at this-
If you knew that whatever transport you plugged into your dac, its electrical output would be essentially the same- would this make you
a) pleased
b) sad.
Be honest.
 
I compared my second EDO Touch and wallwart to a more expensive streamer with dedicated linear PSU through the same DAC with A-B testing using the LMS (as the other streamer also could use LMS).
There was small a difference, but not motivating the price difference. If the diff was caused by not exactly matched output levels, us not being blindfolded or our expectations I don't know, but it was there.
The other person expected a larger difference in favour of the expensive unit, but I knew there wasn't going to be anything remarkable.
I think a Touch using the USB or optical output to a decent DAC can stand its ground even today.
 
Zombie said:
If the diff was caused by not exactly matched output levels, us not being blindfolded or our expectations I don't know, but it was there.
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The perception of a difference was there, but you have listed several likely explanations.

I think a Touch using the USB or optical output to a decent DAC can stand its ground even today.
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Absolutely - why wouldn't it? I still use them (and Raspberry Pis) as my primary sources.
 
I have managed to compare the following streaming transports connected to the same external DAC and connected to the router by ethernet:
1. Chromecast audio (£25, 3cm diameter x 0.5cm thickness))
2. Pro-Ject Stream Box S2 Ultra (£600, 10x10x4cm)
3. Auralic Aries G1 (£1900 - full width box, 34x2x8cm)

and I have compared these to a CD transport playing through the same DAC.

I found a definite improvement from Chromecast to the Pro-ject StreamBox, but found it difficult to detect a difference from the Pro-Ject Streambox to the Auralic.

I also compared the Pro-Ject to the CD transport. Initially I found the CD much better. I managed to bring streaming within a hair's breadth of the CD by doing the following: 1.Turning all unused connections off on the Stream Box (wifi, HDMI, Bluetooth, iOs Airsync); 2. Introducing a good quality Cisco network switch between the router and the Streambox; 3. Upgrading the two lengths of cat 5 cable (router to switch, switch to Stream Box) to cat 8 cable; and 4. changing the USB cable between the Streambox and the DAC (the best USB cable was one a friend of mine made and is very short - it is better than a £300 one I also demoed).

I hope that info is useful to you.
 
Yes there is a difference between streamers but diminishing returns kick in and resolve to a “flavour” difference. The big difference between inferior and better streamers is the lower noise floor (more detail, dynamics, quieter silences, and more resolved imaging and separation) and the UI. All IMO of course.
 
duckworp said:
I have managed to compare the following streaming transports connected to the same external DAC and connected to the router by ethernet:
1. Chromecast audio (£25, 3cm diameter x 0.5cm thickness))
2. Pro-Ject Stream Box S2 Ultra (£600, 10x10x4cm)
3. Auralic Aries G1 (£1900 - full width box, 34x2x8cm)

and I have compared these to a CD transport playing through the same DAC.
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I don't doubt your findings, but isn't the CCA digital output optical only? Similarly CCA is wifi input only? Not quite apples with apples I am guessing?
 
The Chronicals said:
It's not wise playing with electrical components while blinded. It can result in damage to said component or the household environment and is essentially a ridiculous thing to do.

Asking or advising to do this is very silly and shows incompetence as an adult.
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A perfectly reasonable question from Keith. - It is possible to get someone else to change the components around if you are really interested in seeing whether your subjective judgements stand up to reality.
 
gustavm said:
A perfectly reasonable question from Keith. - It is possible to get someone else to change the components around if you are really interested in seeing whether your subjective judgements stand up to reality.
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Absolutely not! That could cause damage to another human being! This would be terrible! or the other human being damages the components! absolutely not! This could cause broken friendships, war and/or divorce!

Very bad adulting @gustavm . Tsk Tsk.
 
Colin L said:
The big difference between inferior and better streamers is the lower noise floor (more detail, dynamics, quieter silences, and more resolved imaging and separation) and the UI. All IMO of course.
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So using optical S/PDIF (toslink) that provides galvanic isolation would eliminate those differences?
 
gustavm said:
A perfectly reasonable question from Keith. - It is possible to get someone else to change the components around if you are really interested in seeing whether your subjective judgements stand up to reality.
Click to expand...

In case you haven't noticed yet, very few people here are really interested in objective facts. :)
 
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