Cost no object dac/streamer

[tourneychamp23]

What's the consensus on here for a totl dac streamer? Looking for something for my new system that measures well. That doesn't mean is has to cost uber money. Totl performance can be had for much less it seams. I'm looking for the price point.

 

[watchnerd]

What's the consensus on here for a totl dac streamer? Looking for something for my new system that measures well. That doesn't mean is has to cost uber money. Totl performance can be had for much less it seams. I'm looking for the price point.

Streaming from what?

Roon?

Tidal?

Spotify?

Blue tooth?

Do you need DSD?

Is 24/192khz good enough, or do you need higher?

What inputs / outputs?

 

[tourneychamp23]

Tidal will be used 99% of the time

 

[watchnerd]

Tidal will be used 99% of the time

Do you need MQA, since Tidal supports it?

 

[tourneychamp23]

nice plus but isn't a deal breaker either way

 

[watchnerd]

nice plus but isn't a deal breaker either way

Have you looked at the NAD models?

 

[tourneychamp23]

I've read about them. How have they measured?

 

[Sir Sanders Zingmore]

maybe a related question about streamers in general… I just have a mac-mini sitting next to my DAC and connected via USB. I play primarily Tidal or digital files that I have on my hard-drive.
What benefit does a streamer bring?

If this is going to take us off topic and is better in a different thread I'm happy to start one

 

[tourneychamp23]

maybe a related question about streamers in general… I just have a mac-mini sitting next to my DAC and connected via USB. I play primarily Tidal or digital files that I have on my hard-drive.
What benefit does a streamer bring?

a dedicated streamer is rumored to ultimately sound better because it's optimized just to play music

 

[watchnerd]

maybe a related question about streamers in general… I just have a mac-mini sitting next to my DAC and connected via USB. I play primarily Tidal or digital files that I have on my hard-drive.
What benefit does a streamer bring?

If this is going to take us off topic and is better in a different thread I'm happy to start one

Well, if you use something like a Raspberry Pi, the advantage is that it's teensy tiny and super cheap.

 

[Sir Sanders Zingmore]

Well, if you use something like a Raspberry Pi, the advantage is that it's teensy tiny and super cheap.

sure, but I already had a mac mini. And it's pretty small.
I guess I'm wondering what the benefits are of having a dedicated streamer?
Actually I guess I'm wondering whether a 'streamer' isn't something that was invented by the hifi industry to sell us more stuff (Happy to be wrong on this though )

 

[watchnerd]

sure, but I already had a mac mini. And it's pretty small.
I guess I'm wondering what the benefits are of having a dedicated streamer?
Actually I guess I'm wondering whether a 'streamer' isn't something that was invented by the hifi industry to sell us more stuff (Happy to be wrong on this though )

I use streamers / streamer-like things because I don't keep my computer in my living room where the big stereo is.

 

[digititus]

I use a streamer called Raspberry Pi

 

[jacobacci]

Cost no object, you asked for it:
dCS Bartok
If cost is really no object, the next dCs's up the line: Rossini or Vivaldi
Jokes aside, the Bartok is absolutely exceptional for its (admittedly not insignificant) price level. If you are considering a streamer for say 2'000 USD and a DAC for say 5'000 USD, I would move up to the dCS and be done for the next 20 years.
My friend's 20 year old dCS Delius / Purcell holds its own against today's best DACs (no streaming, no MQA, no DSD of course). Not the worst of investments.

 

[tourneychamp23]

Cost no object, you asked for it:
dCS Bartok
If cost is really no object, the next dCs's up the line: Rossini or Vivaldi
Jokes aside, the Bartok is absolutely exceptional for its (admittedly not insignificant) price level.

What makes that better than for examples a benchmark dac?

 

[jacobacci]

dCS does not use off the shelf DAC chips. They do all their filtering in FPGA, which allows them to evolve the algorithms over time. The Rossini will get firmware 2.0 shortly.
From the FPGA the signal goes to the actual digital analog converter, which is a dCS bespoke design called the Ring DAC.
Whether the dCS DACs measure better than a Topping D50, I cannot say.
All I can tell you is that the dCS DACs sound very different (and to my ears more musical and less fatiguing) than anything else I have heard. This includes Berkeley Alpha DAC, Weiss DAC202, Chord DAVE, Playback Designs Merlot, T+A DAC8DSD). Which DAC sounds best is in the ear of the beholder and different for everyone. Many people seem to like the dCS sound though.
Disclosure: I have a Rossini and Rossini Clock, so call me biased and arguing for the sake of justifying the high cost.

 

[bunkbail]

Linn Klimax DS.

 

[digititus]

I would be interested to find out if a DAC, network card and LCD in one box (AKA streamer) measures better than my modular streamer (DAC, network card and TV). Beyond the marketing I think it is convenience that may be the winner

 

[Thomas savage]

I would be interested to find out if a DAC, network card and LCD in one box (AKA streamer) measures better than my modular streamer (DAC, network card and TV). Beyond the marketing I think it is convenience that may be the winner

@amirm ? Streamers vs just ya DAC plugged into a computer, have we measured any streamers ?

 

[digititus]

If you are considering a streamer for say 2'000 USD and a DAC for say 5'000 USD, I would move up to the dCS and be done for the next 20 years.

Reading through some of the tests on these boards has demonstrated repeatedly that performance and sound engineering has no real correlation to price tag of units. Marketing is what sells these units.