Does the media source matter?

[Deleted member 20875]

When connecting to the same unit as an input - which is of these is preferable and why?

• External portable HDD
• External portable SSD
• USB stick
• NAS via WiFi
• NAS via Cable (any cable?)
• DLNA streaming

Can the quality of the sound differ?

Thanks.

 

[BillG]

It can make a difference if, and only if, one or more of the supporting subsystems/circuits is subpar.

My preferred method is WiFi at the moment. However, we've got very fast and reliable service at my home. I do use hardlines as well, but more for the simple convenience of plug-and-play, not sound quality as I've noticed no difference there.

 

[BDWoody]

When connecting to the same unit as an input - which is of these is preferable and why?

• External portable HDD
• External portable SSD
• USB stick
• NAS via WiFi
• NAS via Cable (any cable?)
• DLNA streaming

Can the quality of the sound differ?

Thanks.

Assuming basic competence in your components and cables, no hierarchy of quality there. All should give the same result.

 

[Jimbob54]

In the bad old days I experienced ridiculously slow iTunes performance with my music files on a NAS (wired or wireless) which negatively impacted my overall experience but not the sound quality specifically.

 

[Kal Rubinson]

When connecting to the same unit as an input - which is of these is preferable and why?

• External portable HDD
• External portable SSD
• USB stick
• NAS via WiFi
• NAS via Cable (any cable?)
• DLNA streaming

Can the quality of the sound differ?

Thanks.

DLNA streaming sticks out as different from the others in that it is a protocol with defined parameters while the others are hardware/communications devices. One can (and does) run DLNA over some of them but it is not required.

 

[Sukie]

When connecting to the same unit as an input - which is of these is preferable and why?

• External portable HDD
• External portable SSD
• USB stick
• NAS via WiFi
• NAS via Cable (any cable?)
• DLNA streaming

Can the quality of the sound differ?

Thanks.

At the level of media source you need to differentiate between SQ and functionality.

Basically if sources works properly (functionality) and the actual recorded format is the same then there won't be a SQ difference.

Functionality and SQ are often conflated on other sites and this leads to the perpetuation of myths. An example of this might be usb vs spdif audio. Because there are instances where usb audio doesn't work properly (and, in those instances, spdif does) this has lead to the misplaced belief that spdif can somehow improve SQ. This is the conflation of functionality and SQ.

To summarise -if it works, it works. And once it works - enjoy!

 

[Deleted member 20875]

At the level of media source you need to differentiate between SQ and functionality.

Basically if sources works properly (functionality) and the actual recorded format is the same then there won't be a SQ difference.

Functionality and SQ are often conflated on other sites and this leads to the perpetuation of myths. An example of this might be usb vs spdif audio. Because there are instances where usb audio doesn't work properly (and, in those instances, spdif does) this has lead to the misplaced belief that spdif can somehow improve SQ. This is the conflation of functionality and SQ.

To summarise -if it works, it works. And once it works - enjoy!

Well, good to hear (and to know), thanks.