Yes. It gives bit-perfect high-rez digital output. Not much to improve other than features, and it's feature set is good too.
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Do network streamers need to be expensive?
- Thread starter alaios
- Start date
The difference is in the software.
Support for more streaming services, EQ, room correction, voice assistants, multi-room, nice apps and UI experience, update policy, easy of use, remote controllable, etc..
If you have no need for those features then you don't need to spend a lot of money
Support for more streaming services, EQ, room correction, voice assistants, multi-room, nice apps and UI experience, update policy, easy of use, remote controllable, etc..
If you have no need for those features then you don't need to spend a lot of money
100%
When WiiM gets Roon then you have everything including a monthly bill.
Streamers are more about features than audio quality. If it works well as an endpoint for your player, and has the right interface for your DAC, you are probably all set. For me, I want Roon, and Chromecast or Airplay, plus USB out. That's it. Raspberry Pi 3 or 4, ROPIEEXL, I'm done.
For volume control in roon - I have a Cambridge Audio streamer which does all of the above and then some.
For volume control in roon - I have a Cambridge Audio streamer which does all of the above and then some.
I have a regular original Chromecast, a Chromecast audio, and my NVidia shield has a built in Chromecast. Plus I have a Mele Quieter 3 which I control with a remote Logitech keyboard. I can't even conceive why I would ever need to buy another streamer, let alone pay thousands of dollars for it. Wouldn't even spend another dollar on a streamer if I won $2 billion in Powerball, and I'm pretty sure I'm missing out on absolutely nothing.
I love my Bluesound Node, especially its excellent (to my mind) user interface. I have no illusions that its audio output is any better than that of the Wiim products or other "cheap" streamers.
symphara
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I have those various Chromecast devices too. The Shield is a more complex thing, being an Android TV you can install stuff on it, we personally use it for AV and never just to play music but I'm not sure if Tidal Atmos worked on it.
One would be missing DSD playback (perhaps the Shield can do it, but certainly not the dongles). MQA too, for what is worth.
If you have an iPhone it's also less than ideal, I had some issues, not all streaming services work, I couldn't get gapless playback (I think this is an intrinsic Chromecast issue).
I've never tried it myself but I also have the feeling that Apple Music / Spatial Audio /Atmos (whatever they call their surround thing) might not work.
Steve Dallas
Major Contributor
I also have a Mele Quieter 3 as a streamer. It runs Amazon Music HD, Foobar2000, and Dirac Standalone. I control it with RDP on my Android tablet. Could not be happier. $200 for the hardware.
I was pretty much forced this direction by being an Amazon Music subscriber who demands DRC.
Not if you use a Raspberry PI
Right, unless you are a plug n play nontechnical guy like me.
Steve Dallas
Major Contributor
Is a 75" QLED big enough and of sufficient quality? What about the remote control on my integrated amp? Lots of different scenarios out there.
Yeah, I have some friends that only accept streamers with built in large screen and handy remote, the 1k type of streamers. I asked what's the point, as I am happy with Wiim Pro and the phone screen, but they are willing to pay for such devices to allow them to navigate their own FLACs on their server, directly on the streamer screen.
Steve Dallas
Major Contributor
Those people are weridos. I had a Cambridge CXNv2 for a few years. I disabled the volume control and found the tiny screen to be useless unless I was laying on the floor in front of it. Eventually, once I discovered Dirac, it turned into a USB DAC, which made it pointless. So, it was replaced with a $200 USB DAC, which I eventually fronted with a $200 silent PC. Works perfectly and supports RDP, a TV screen, keyboard and mouse if desired, any software I want to run, etc.
is there an echo in here?
Hey @BDWoody I think appliancechoices is an ad bot. inspect the links where it says "blogs"
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And you can use BubbleUPNP or equivalent to navigate your library anyway
Great discussion that all makes sense. I'm just starting to take streaming seriously and have been, of course, reading a ton of audio streamer reviews. Very confusing that there are claims that a streamer is adding things like 'sound stage', 'clarity' etc. Now, obviously, if the streamer is manipulating the digital bits (DSP?), then sure, there will be a difference. This thread confirms my understanding that as long as the digital file's journey (whether streamed from the internet or from NAS) doesn't encounter packet loss, the streamer should be able to pass those bits to an external DAC unaltered.
One of the claims I see regularly is that power supply or fan noise affects the output of bits to the DAC? Is there any validity to this claim? Is a usb connection susceptible to data corruption based on such electromagnetic noise?
One of the claims I see regularly is that power supply or fan noise affects the output of bits to the DAC? Is there any validity to this claim? Is a usb connection susceptible to data corruption based on such electromagnetic noise?
Intentionally confusing and dishonest, I'd say.
Not to the digital stream (that would show up as dropouts). I think @amirm covers it here:
Do Audiophile Network Switches Make a Difference (video)?
This is a video summary of two tests/reviews I have done in the past on audiophile Ethernet switches. It is more more of a tutorial of the technology than what was covered in the text reviews. It is a bit long at 35 minutes so feel free to speed it up (click on the gear icon in YouTube and...
www.audiosciencereview.com
Streaming access is one of the biggest improvements in my lifetime (I'm 59). When I was a kid, I used to go to a music library to explore, pulling records off the shelf and playing them in uncomfortable headphones. Now I sit in my living room, with my great-sounding (and cheap, apart from speakers) system and have everything at my finger tips in high quality. A musical omnivore's dream come true.
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