Streamer selection

Dave, if you are the type of individual who enjoys DIY projects, you can build a streamer using a Raspberry Pi. You can find easy-to-follow instructions online. Total cost less than $100.
 
Mr Peabody said:
The Eversolo A6 was reviewed in FA, from that review I'd avoid the A6. The writer says he couldn't tell any difference between the A6 and the Bluesound Node. He mentions the Orchard Pecan Pie at $799 was better sounding than either. The review is worth a read if you are really considering the A6. He really beats up Eversolo for lack of support and response.

Sonore is a company I'd try, IMO, based on support and how good my Ether Regen worked. It should have a return period if like his other products.
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The EtherREGEN is a product of UpTone Audio, not Sonore. IIRC, Sonore may have been a reseller of EtherREGEN for a time; I don't know if they still are. John Swenson does the design for both companies' products. Knowing first-hand how good a EE John Swenson is, I'm confident the EtherRendu or OpticalRendus are excellent products.

Also, the Eversolo DMP-A6 has received many positive reviews, so personally, I wouldn't draw a conclusion of "a less than positive review" from a sample size N=1...just sayin' ;)
 
Dave, another choice may be the Cambridge Audio MXN 10. $499 on Amazon.

High-level specs:
StreamMagic Gen 4 Module – fast music retrieval & high-quality sound
ESS SABRE ES9033Q DAC – for the latest streaming capabilities
High-quality Internet Radio – using MPEG-DASH support
Spotify Connect, TIDAL & Qobuz built in – for best possible sound
Roon Ready – simple consolidated browsing of digital music sources
 
Very informative thread. I had no idea of the many streaming options available for less than $1k. Certainly a good era for music lovers wanting to get in the hobby for a reasonable amount of money.
 
Ritmo said:
Very informative thread. I had no idea of the many streaming options available for less than $1k. Certainly a good era for music lovers wanting to get in the hobby for a reasonable amount of money.
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You would be amazed at the number of “high-end” streamers costing a ton of money that are based on a lowly $50 RPi. Today, consumers can enjoy true high-end sound without having to spend a ton of money.
 
Mikado463 said:
Answering Tom & Jacks question on a DAC, my SACD/CD player (Marantz Ruby) DAC is accessible I do believe
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I am certainly in the minority here but a streamer is a trivial digital to digital converter that, assuming you have a capable DAC, will make little to no difference in the sound of your system.
It’s just a conversion from Ethernet to serial data. Any small microprocessor can do it without breaking a sweat.

If your DAC has a USB input, the DAC’s clock will control all the timing and data transfer. If your DAC has an AES/EBU or S/PDIF interface then the streamer performance does matter but a good DAC will attenuate any jitter form the streamer.

There are expensive streamer options and what you get with these devices is nice casework, an app that may be nice (or not) and maybe a pretty color display. All of these things are nice to have but don’t impact the sound quality.
 
W9TR said:
I am certainly in the minority here but a streamer is a trivial digital to digital converter that, assuming you have a capable DAC, will make little to no difference in the sound of your system.
It’s just a conversion from Ethernet to serial data. Any small microprocessor can do it without breaking a sweat.

If your DAC has a USB input, the DAC’s clock will control all the timing and data transfer. If your DAC has an AES/EBU or S/PDIF interface then the streamer performance does matter but a good DAC will attenuate any jitter form the streamer.

There are expensive streamer options and what you get with these devices is nice casework, an app that may be nice (or not) and maybe a pretty color display. All of these things are nice to have but don’t impact the sound quality.
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Tom, you're not in the minority at least when it comes to 'logical thinking' !
 
W9TR said:
I am certainly in the minority here but a streamer is a trivial digital to digital converter that, assuming you have a capable DAC, will make little to no difference in the sound of your system.
It’s just a conversion from Ethernet to serial data. Any small microprocessor can do it without breaking a sweat.

If your DAC has a USB input, the DAC’s clock will control all the timing and data transfer. If your DAC has an AES/EBU or S/PDIF interface then the streamer performance does matter but a good DAC will attenuate any jitter form the streamer.

There are expensive streamer options and what you get with these devices is nice casework, an app that may be nice (or not) and maybe a pretty color display. All of these things are nice to have but don’t impact the sound quality.
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I totally agree with everything said. In fact, I put my money on that: My streamer is a lowly RPi.
 
That is just false information. I started with a HEOS, then the Node, thena NAD M50.2 and now my ACS10. The M50.2 was better than the first two by a lot but the ACS10 is better than all of them by a large amount. Unless you have experience comparing you should refrain from misguiding people. All of the mentioned I just used digital out. The was also a large improvement when going from a printer USB cable to the AQ, large enough if you couldn't hear it you shouldn't be spending large money on high end gear.

If you gave me all my money back for the Aurender and any of the prior units for free I wouldn't do it, not even a consideration. I don't know why some of you persist in talking so much crap.

W9TR said:
I am certainly in the minority here but a streamer is a trivial digital to digital converter that, assuming you have a capable DAC, will make little to no difference in the sound of your system.
It’s just a conversion from Ethernet to serial data. Any small microprocessor can do it without breaking a sweat.

If your DAC has a USB input, the DAC’s clock will control all the timing and data transfer. If your DAC has an AES/EBU or S/PDIF interface then the streamer performance does matter but a good DAC will attenuate any jitter form the streamer.

There are expensive streamer options and what you get with these devices is nice casework, an app that may be nice (or not) and maybe a pretty color display. All of these things are nice to have but don’t impact the sound quality.
Click to expand...
 
Thanks for the clarification. I saw both names on my papers or website so didn't realize the difference.

I was a bit skeptical when the reviewer said he could hear no difference between the Node and A5, the none between the A5 and A5 Master. Valid points on response and support from the company though, if a reviewer got none then what chance would a consumer.


Puma Cat said:
The EtherREGEN is a product of UpTone Audio, not Sonore. IIRC, Sonore may have been a reseller of EtherREGEN for a time; I don't know if they still are. John Swenson does the design for both companies' products. Knowing first-hand how good a EE John Swenson is, I'm confident the EtherRendu or OpticalRendus are excellent products.

Also, the Eversolo DMP-A6 has received many positive reviews, so personally, I wouldn't draw a conclusion of "a less than positive review" from a sample size N=1...just sayin' ;)
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This is the reason I advised the Allo and not a normal Rpi because the latter one doesnÂ’t have galvanic separation

That having said, a good power supply is very important and what I forgot to mention, an open rpi or a plastic case is bad for the interference: a good aluminium chassis is the way to go.
 
NewAlkyogre said:
This is the reason I advised the Allo and not a normal Rpi because the latter one doesnÂ’t have galvanic separation

That having said, a good power supply is very important and what I forgot to mention, an open rpi or a plastic case is bad for the interference: a good aluminium chassis is the way to go.
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Agreed on both points, power supply and chassis.

Also, ground-plane noise reduction for these devices is very important as well. Connecting them to an Altaira or Gemini's GP-NR system pays big dividends in sound quality.
 
Ritmo said:
Very informative thread. I had no idea of the many streaming options available for less than $1k. Certainly a good era for music lovers wanting to get in the hobby for a reasonable amount of money.
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Yes, lots of options available these days. Personally, I think Lumin does this best, but they're in the higher price tier, and there are number of other very good value propositions at lower price tiers. If it were me looking in Dave's price range, I'd be looking at Wiim, iFi, Sonore, Eversolo, and SOtM. Just my 2¢, though. Cheers.
 
But unless you are willing to experiment with third party apps then that eliminates everything from your list except Eversolo and WiiM. If dealing with third party apps is ok then the best of the ones I've tried while avoiding Roon is JPlay for IOS at $50 a year. At the moment it does Tidal and Qobuz and has it's own Roon Radio style function. Internet radio is coming soon.
 
Gentlemen, again, thank you all for enlightening me. As my son reminds me, "I've remained behind the times for too long" !
 
Jack said:
But unless you are willing to experiment with third party apps then that eliminates everything from your list except Eversolo and WiiM. If dealing with third party apps is ok then the best of the ones I've tried while avoiding Roon is JPlay for IOS at $50 a year. At the moment it does Tidal and Qobuz and has it's own Roon Radio style function. Internet radio is coming soon.
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Roon and Qobuz are excellent "third party apps", and I really like them. Roon has been great integration for it's integration with Qobuz, for just sitting back and discovering new content, including all the playlists from various companies and organizations that have playlists on Qobuz and it integrates seamlessly with many makes of network bridges and streamers and streamer/DACs. While it doesn't provide the absolute audio quality I obtain, for example, from using the native Lumin app on a Lumin U2 or P1, to be honest, much of the time, that's just fine. I don't need "the absolute sound", absolutely all the time. Life's too short to obsess over these sorts of things. Many times, I just want to sit back, cuddle with the cat, and listen to a lovely recording.

Just to put this into context for the gang, as someone who worked as a PhD-level molecular biologist in Biotech and 10 years as a Design for Six Sigma Master Black Belt, one of the challenges I personally dealt with was being "Cursed with the Blessing of Perfectionism", or likely more accurately "Blessed with the Curse of Perfectionism". :P

And then...years later, when I started to understand the philosophy of "focus on what is PRACTICALLY SIGNIFICANT and do not obsess over what may only be "statistically significant", because most of the time (80-85% of the time), all that MATTERS, in the real world, where we all live, is what is...PRACTICALLY SIGNIFICANT. Is that last little bit, that last little 10-15% really that important? Well, sometimes it is, but most of the time, 80-85% of the time...it isn't.

So, I've just..."let it go", and adopted Hans Beekhuyzen's philosophy: "Enjoy the music."

In many ways, this is consistent with the Philosophy of Stoicism, which I personally resonate with.

Apologies for the philosophical digression, but my thought is Dave would agree with me on this.

Cheers, guys.
 
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