Spending 1500 euro on a streamer transport?

[PolarisPrime]

Hi all.
I have a Topping D90 Discrete-> A90 Discrete
Beginning to think I did not need the DAC when I look at the more expensive streamers.

The following streamers look really nice. But does it even make sense to have an expensive streamer if you already have a DAC and Headphone amp?
I basicly use it as a transport. So what parts are then redundant. The DaC obviously, but also the clock, etc.

GORGEOUS streamers
Gustard S26
matrix element S
Eversolo dmp A6 v2

KInd regards
Mark

 

[staticV3]

Streamers with fully transparent DACs can be had for $200-300:

WiiM Pro Plus Streamer Review

This is a review and detailed measurements of the WiiM Pro Plus streamer, DAC and preamplifier with Bluetooth support. It was sent to me by the company and costs US $219. While the case is plastic, it still "looks the part" as the Brits would say relative to other more famous brands of...

www.audiosciencereview.com

WiiM Ultra Streamer Preamp Review

This is a review and detailed measurements of the WiiM Ultra network streamer, DAC, phono stage and preamplifier. It was sent to me by the company and costs US $329. Physical attribute are modern and attractive enough. Alas, I can't say the same thing about the graphical interface. Icons seem...

www.audiosciencereview.com

Meanwhile, fully transparent streamer transports for pairing with your existing DAC and Amp can be had for <$100:

WiiM Mini Review (Streamer)

This is a review and detailed measurements of the WiiM Mini Wifi/Bluetooth streamer. It is on kind loan from a member and is on sale on Amazon for US $89. As you can see the former factor is a "hockey puck." An included phone charger needs to be used to power the unit over USB-C. It did not...

www.audiosciencereview.com

Review of NanoPi NEO2: World's Smallest Audio Streamer

This is a review and detailed measurements of NanoPi NEO2 tiny single board computer acting as an audio streamer. It was purchased and drop shipped to me by a kind member. It costs just US $19.99 although for some reason it is listed for $60 to $75 on Amazon. The NanoPi NEO2 is one of the...

www.audiosciencereview.com

RPi + CamillaDSP Tutorial

As of May 22, 2024, this tutorial has been migrated to GitHub to allow for better revision management and a more universal location, please see link below. https://github.com/mdsimon2/RPi-CamillaDSP In general the GitHub tutorial is the same as previous ASR tutorial but now covers the RPi5...

www.audiosciencereview.com

You can spend more to get better design, features, warranty, pride of ownership, but the underlying sound quality will not improve.

 

[VintageFlanker]

But does it even make sense to have an expensive streamer if you already have a DAC and Headphone amp?

No, it does not.

Not every streamers are equal, still: you need to pick the one that suits your needs : aesthetics, software, support, features. Sound quality shouldn't be one of them.

 

[dedobot]

This Gustard S26 is interesting device ..backbone Ryzen 5 5600U, RAM 8GB, 1TB SSD ...plenty of I/O..not bad for 1500usd.

 

[PolarisPrime]

Streamers with fully transparent DACs can be had for $200-300:

WiiM Pro Plus Streamer Review

This is a review and detailed measurements of the WiiM Pro Plus streamer, DAC and preamplifier with Bluetooth support. It was sent to me by the company and costs US $219. While the case is plastic, it still "looks the part" as the Brits would say relative to other more famous brands of...

www.audiosciencereview.com

WiiM Ultra Streamer Preamp Review

This is a review and detailed measurements of the WiiM Ultra network streamer, DAC, phono stage and preamplifier. It was sent to me by the company and costs US $329. Physical attribute are modern and attractive enough. Alas, I can't say the same thing about the graphical interface. Icons seem...

www.audiosciencereview.com

Meanwhile, fully transparent streamer transports for pairing with your existing DAC and Amp can be had for <$100:

WiiM Mini Review (Streamer)

This is a review and detailed measurements of the WiiM Mini Wifi/Bluetooth streamer. It is on kind loan from a member and is on sale on Amazon for US $89. As you can see the former factor is a "hockey puck." An included phone charger needs to be used to power the unit over USB-C. It did not...

www.audiosciencereview.com

Review of NanoPi NEO2: World's Smallest Audio Streamer

This is a review and detailed measurements of NanoPi NEO2 tiny single board computer acting as an audio streamer. It was purchased and drop shipped to me by a kind member. It costs just US $19.99 although for some reason it is listed for $60 to $75 on Amazon. The NanoPi NEO2 is one of the...

www.audiosciencereview.com

RPi + CamillaDSP Tutorial

As of May 22, 2024, this tutorial has been migrated to GitHub to allow for better revision management and a more universal location, please see link below. https://github.com/mdsimon2/RPi-CamillaDSP In general the GitHub tutorial is the same as previous ASR tutorial but now covers the RPi5...

www.audiosciencereview.com

You can spend more to get better design, features, warranty, pride of ownership, but the underlying sound quality will not improve.

No Pi for me. Not that much time to dive in that rabit hole to figure out if something went wrong or needs fixing.

Currently stuck in rabbit hole on USB vs optical regarding sound from technical point of view and how much it does.

 

[PolarisPrime]

@staticV3 @dedobot @VintageFlanker
Did some soul searching. Basicly I want reassurance that bluesound n132->optical->topping D90 discrete-XLR->A90 Discrete->balanced cable->headphone -> Streaming tidal, gives from technically point of view great sound.
And that I am not missing out in uncovering some musical veils (at those price points). That seems to be eternal chase.

Did give me comfort that in the bluOS app you can toggle "use as transport" which I did not see in the ultra (did not trust that using optical it did automaticly).
BlueOS is missing plexamp sadly and will never come, but do not hope it will improve sound if you have your files offline versus Streaming tidal

 

[staticV3]

Basicly I want reassurance that bluesound n132->optical->topping D90 discrete-XLR->A90 Discrete->balanced cable->headphone -> Streaming tidal, gives from technically point of view great sound.

The N132 digital output is perfect as long as you don't touch the bass tone control:

Bluesound Node N132 Streamer review

This is a review and detailed measurements of the 2024 Bluesound Node N132 . I purchased mine new from a reseller. Price was around 500€. Note that this is the 2024 model. You may find the previous model (2021) much cheaper. Amir reviewed this one here. The Bluesound Node combines a...

www.audiosciencereview.com

Besides that, you can use a Hifime UR23 and free software Room EQ Wizard or Pkane Deltawave to test your N132's sound quality yourself.

Nothing is more reassuring than confirming it yourself.

 

[MaxwellsEq]

Currently stuck in rabbit hole on USB vs optical regarding sound from technical point of view and how much it does.

Properly implemented, there is no audible difference between optical up to 96kHz sampling (often 192kHz works as well) and USB. The latter allows sampling rates above 192kHz. Optical is especially useful for eliminating ground loops.

 

[Snoopy]

For 1500€ you could get a M4 Mac mini , a roon lifetime license.

 

[Esprit]

Roon is not essential.