Do I need a streamer?

[LonelyPostmodernist]

I'm currently using a pair of Kii Three with my PC for their simplicity and I'm being told so many times by some "audiophiles" that I definitely need some hi-end streamers to "unleash the potential" of Kii Three. But I don't really get it because a streamer is just a computer, right? And my computer is like $4000 with best CPU, motherboard and GPU. Also the Kii Three is taking care of all the DAC, PREAMP, AMP issues.

Why do I need a streamer? Does a hi-end streamer really make the system sound better?

Or does some USB isolation or Reclocker like JCAT USB CARD, Innuos Phoenix, Ideon Time, will improve the sound? Is the PC really producing some "high-frequency noises"?

 

[julian_hughes]

If your current hardware is streaming audio and while doing so is silent or so quiet that it has no effect on your music playback, then no, you don't need a streamer. A "streamer" is anyway not a very meaningful term. In effect your smartphone is a streamer, so is your TV, your PC, or any other device which receives audio streams over a network and renders them or passes them to another device for rendering. Ignore the marketing drones and the hype and the BS.

 

[BDWoody]

Why do I need a streamer? Does a hi-end streamer really make the system sound better?

You don't, and no, it won't.

 

[Chrispy]

I generally have problems with "audiophiles" who need some particular piece of electronics to "unleash potential" or "make the speakers sing" etc.

 

[SaltyCDogg]

I'm calling troll early on this one.

 

[LonelyPostmodernist]

You don't, and no, it won't.

Thanks!

If your current hardware is streaming audio and while doing so is silent or so quiet that it has no effect on your music playback, then no, you don't need a streamer. A "streamer" is anyway not a very meaningful term. In effect your smartphone is a streamer, so is your TV, your PC, or any other device which receives audio streams over a network and renders them or passes them to another device for rendering. Ignore the marketing drones and the hype and the BS.

Thank you for your response. I have used a Sonnet Hermes as a streamer and it cost around $1000 and I cannot hear a single difference...

 

[julian_hughes]

In my bedroom I use a $40 orangepi running armbian and that sounds exactly as good as the USB DAC it's connected to. In my living room I run a very long USB cable from my HP Proliant home server to a USB DAC and that also sounds exactly as good as the DAC it's connected to. A dedicated, branded streamer can be great if it offers great convenience, or saves you from learning a whole new operating system and syntax, but really these are very simple devices: all you need is a basic operating system on embedded hardware with ethernet and USB 2.0.

 

[antennaguru]

I think a lot of this depends upon the "stream" your broadband connection is capable of. In one of our homes the Cable Company coaxial cable connection has a tough time delivering a 192kbps stream without drop-outs, so I usually choose 128kbps. OTOH, in our other home the Phone Company ran fiber optic cable right into our house to a MUX, and I can choose 320kbps with no drop-outs. Thankfully 128kbps sounds good for non-critical listening!

Having said this streaming is nowhere near CD quality, so a music server actually makes the most sense for critical listening.

 

[julian_hughes]

That sounds almost as bad as dial up. If you have a steady 10 megabit connection you can stream any audio format. For CD quality flac 2 megabit is more than enough. It's nonsense to say that "streaming is nowhere near CD quality". I can stream DSD from my home to my phone. That is untouched DSD. What exactly would make it inferior to CD quality. Almost all of my music collection is derived from CD and stored as lossless flac. I stream that too. Guess what? it's the same audio arriving on my phone via 4G wherever I happen to be as if I was playing the physical CD at home. And when I stream Qobuz lossless to my home or my portable devices that is also nondifferent to playing the physical CD. This can be verified btw simply by capturing the audio files, converting them to wav or pcm, and hashing them and comparing with wav/pcm derived from physical disc.

 

[BDWoody]

Having said this streaming is nowhere near CD quality, so a music server actually makes the most sense for critical listening.

I don't believe this is accurate.

 

[Pat]

I think a lot of this depends upon the "stream" your broadband connection is capable of. In one of our homes the Cable Company coaxial cable connection has a tough time delivering a 192kbps stream without drop-outs, so I usually choose 128kbps. OTOH, in our other home the Phone Company ran fiber optic cable right into our house to a MUX, and I can choose 320kbps with no drop-outs. Thankfully 128kbps sounds good for non-critical listening!

Having said this streaming is nowhere near CD quality, so a music server actually makes the most sense for critical listening.

Even an awfully bad cable connection should be able to handle a CD quality flac (~800 kbps) stream without a problem. Have you tried a speed test e.g. speedtest.net?

 

[Nicolaas]

I have an €180 Intel pentium NUC with Linux Mint 20.1 Xfce. My default player is Audacious with ALSA. And I am streaming my SD and HD flac files via USB to my Topping D90 DAC with beautiful and very satisfying result. Occasionally I stream Internet radio and Spotify (free tier) from my NUC to my D90.
However I will only take a Spotify subscription when the Hifi/Lossless option is available. So my streamer solution is quite small, cheap and with free and very satisfying Linux Mint software! And the NUC is very quiet compared to the fan noise from the laptop I used before...

 

[watchnerd]

Every 2 years my streaming widget performs better and costs 1/2 of the previous one.

I'm down to $50.

 

[Chrispy]

I think a lot of this depends upon the "stream" your broadband connection is capable of. In one of our homes the Cable Company coaxial cable connection has a tough time delivering a 192kbps stream without drop-outs, so I usually choose 128kbps. OTOH, in our other home the Phone Company ran fiber optic cable right into our house to a MUX, and I can choose 320kbps with no drop-outs. Thankfully 128kbps sounds good for non-critical listening!

Having said this streaming is nowhere near CD quality, so a music server actually makes the most sense for critical listening.

So you haven't tried any streaming more than 320kbps? CD level and more is available....

 

[BDWoody]

Every 2 years my streaming widget performs better and costs 1/2 of the previous one.

I'm down to $50.

I'm at $15 as long as I don't run out of CCA's.

 

[Nicolaas]

I think a lot of this depends upon the "stream" your broadband connection is capable of. In one of our homes the Cable Company coaxial cable connection has a tough time delivering a 192kbps stream without drop-outs, so I usually choose 128kbps. OTOH, in our other home the Phone Company ran fiber optic cable right into our house to a MUX, and I can choose 320kbps with no drop-outs. Thankfully 128kbps sounds good for non-critical listening!

Having said this streaming is nowhere near CD quality, so a music server actually makes the most sense for critical listening.

These are some very bad Internet figures! How is that possible especially with fiber optic?

 

[watchnerd]

I'm at $15 as long as I don't run out of CCA's.

Mass Drop group buy

 

[Nicolaas]

I'm at $15 as long as I don't run out of CCA's.

I'm lost...Are you talking about your Internet connection?

 

[watchnerd]

I'm lost...

Top 5 secrets to streaming!

#4 will blow you away!

Hint...Chromecast!

 

[Chrispy]

I'm lost...Are you talking about your Internet connection?

Try this https://www.lifewire.com/chromecast-audio-4162032