Oh, and here's the effort people put into replying:
Streamers or LAPTOP
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SiR
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What is the need of a Streamer when we can connect Laptop to a DAC through USB and use the internal Hard disk of the Laptop or an External HDD to play our music collections we have and play the Music Streaming services like Apple Music, Spotify etc., from the laptop itself ?
What place do a Streamer have here to convince one to go for it ?
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mags65
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Small form-factor, silent, specialized solution with relevant inputs/outputs meant for audio directly integrated with streaming services through made-for-purpose app, often with additional features such as PEQ built in.
Your question should really be the other way around given streamer functionality in 2024.
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SiR said:
What place do a Streamer have here to convince one to go for it ?
To be able to put your laptop anywhere and still play music. No need to lug a USB cable around. A laptop is a portable device, adding a cabled accessory defeats the purpose. And a streamer means you don't even need a laptop at all. It can stay closed, off, or disconnected. Now, if you use it on a desktop and only listen to music there, a streamer is for little value. It really depends on your use case.
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dan_uk
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If USB from laptop to DAC, you might need a usb isolator, like the DSD Tech SH-G01L... Not sure if most people do or not, but certainly I got a hum / grounding noise when I went from PC to DAC.
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Purité Audio
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Convenience, but the price you pay is perhaps limited playback options, having said that you with the number of connectivity options offered by contemporary streamers that is less and less of an issue.
Keith
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SiR
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mags65 said:
Small form-factor, silent, specialized solution with relevant inputs/outputs meant for audio directly integrated with streaming services through made-for-purpose app, often with additional features such as PEQ built in.
Your question should really be the other way around given streamer functionality in 2024.
Your response is right on the use case if one depend on the streaming services alone for listening to music but I have a large collection of songs in WAV and flac format stored in internal hdd of a laptop and external hdd
Listening from the Streaming services is an additional preference for me
Hence, I wished to have a clarification from the experienced members to know their feedback on the usage of laptop instead of a streamer
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SiR
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dan_uk said:
If USB from laptop to DAC, you might need a usb isolator, like the DSD Tech SH-G01L... Not sure if most people do or not, but certainly I got a hum / grounding noise when I went from PC to DAC.
I usually see the other way from various users of Laptop or PC connected to a DAC through USB
Input to a DAC through the USB is the best, effective way to listen to music
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Purité Audio
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No difference in SQ, just purely depends which is more convenient for you.
I used my old macbook pro as my reference for years into the same dac it sounded identical to everything else even the two ‘audio’ computers I commissioned.
Keith
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mags65
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SiR said:
Your response is right on the use case if one depend on the streaming services alone for listening to music but I have a large collection of songs in WAV and flac format stored in internal hdd of a laptop and external hdd
Listening from the Streaming services is an additional preference for me
Hence, I wished to have a clarification from the experienced members to know their feedback on the usage of laptop instead of a streamer
Most decent modern streamers cater for this, too. You can either hook up a HDD or SSD with your files via USB (e.g. Wiim Ultra, Eversolo DMPs) or they have the ability to install an SSD themselves (e.g. Eversolo DMPs). For instance, my cabin system (see signature) has a 2TB SSD in the Eversolo with around 1000 of my CDs ripped to FLAC.
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MaxwellsEq
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SiR said:
Your response is right on the use case if one depend on the streaming services alone for listening to music but I have a large collection of songs in WAV and flac format stored in internal hdd of a laptop and external hdd
Listening from the Streaming services is an additional preference for me
Hence, I wished to have a clarification from the experienced members to know their feedback on the usage of laptop instead of a streamer
1) Lots of people these days have a "desktop playback" solution but more legacy setups are in family rooms with speakers and HiFi in line of sight. In my "legacy" room setup,
I would NOT get away with a laptop open and permanently on show! A single box streamer just "disappears" as another box in the stack!
2) I have a NAS with all of my FLAC and ripped CDs on. My single box streamer reads those over the LAN. I would NOT solely rely on the files in a laptop or PC hard drive because of a lack of hardware redundancy (I also backup the NAS of course).
BSc Electronics. Studio engineering. Large copper/fiber IP and media networks. Cybersecurity. Corporate risk and resilience. Technology strategy.
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