Please teach me about streamers and DACs

[Deleted member 69358]

You probably have figured out that I am a non-audiophile old school GenX guy who expects audio equipment to be in 17"x17"x7" box with a Pioneer or Onkyo label and the more connections on the back the better. My GenZ kid(not kid anymore but always a kid to me), scoffs my AVR and "big" speaker setup. I told her these speakers were small compared to the ones I had when I was her age. She said it was stupid. She actually says everything I did as a kid was stupid, LOL.

I am having a hard time understanding DACs and streamers. I presume this functionality is already built into most AVR's produced in the past 10 years. But do not understand why they need to be separate and how do they handle multi channel processing, can they do DD or DTS?

I have tried buying a mini stereo off Amazon, figured my random pick of Fosi awhile back worked so why not try another. I returned that within minutes of plugging in, what a piece of junk.

Is it better to buy a separate DAC/streamer and a non Bluetooth class d mini amp or get a Fosi with Bluetooth and remote. Not really a fan of the anyone can connect and play with the Fosi stuff. I currently have the Fosi BT30D Pro for her but that has no remote and the extra passive subwoofer functionality is a waste.

I have looked at:

Fosi Audio BL20A
PROZOR https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B093B7VS31

Or

Use an existing Fosi TB10D and add a WiiM Pro AirPlay 2

 

[staticV3]

I am having a hard time understanding DACs and streamers.
I presume this functionality is already built into most AVR's produced in the past 10 years.

Correct.

But do not understand why they need to be separate

AVRs are usually quantity over quality. They try to squeeze as many features as possible in one convenient box.

By separating these features into their own, dedicated box, you can:
A: pay only for the features that you need
B: upgrade only the features that you need
C: have these separate features at a higher quality

Btw, you don't have to choose between everything in one box or everything in in its own box.

For example, the WiiM Pro Plus and Eversolo DMP-A6 are Streamers+DSP+DACs.
The WiiM Amp is Streamer+DSP+DAC+Amp.

and how do they handle multi channel processing, can they do DD or DTS?

The majority of streamers don't handle multichannel at all.

Is it better to buy a separate DAC/streamer and a non Bluetooth class d mini amp or get a Fosi with Bluetooth and remote.

You're trading tidiness with flexibility. There is no right answer.

Though in my opinion, the WiiM Amp strikes a particularly nice balance.