Sorry, didn't see until now. It was a vague statement to start, and what "many" recommend, as mentioned, is the source of much audio nonsense. Unlikely adding a streamer would add anything but perhaps convenience and some different connectivity options....
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Why do people recommend using a streamer between the PC and the DAC?
- Thread starter guigui
- Start date
I use my laptop PC as a streamer (Amazon Music) connected to a DAC to active speakers. I never have had any noise issues. My DAC has a built-in headphone amp, and that system is also noiseless. Music sounds truly great with this setup
So I just don't understand why this You Tube and other DIY posts feature building elaborate, battery-powered streamers with fancy supercapacitors, re-clocking modules etc. to connect to a separate, standalone DAC. This thing is designed to run only on battery and is designed to switch off during battery charging. Can there be seriously any measurable differences with this sort of sophisticated feed to a DAC compared to PC to DAC?
Link:
So I just don't understand why this You Tube and other DIY posts feature building elaborate, battery-powered streamers with fancy supercapacitors, re-clocking modules etc. to connect to a separate, standalone DAC. This thing is designed to run only on battery and is designed to switch off during battery charging. Can there be seriously any measurable differences with this sort of sophisticated feed to a DAC compared to PC to DAC?
Link:
antcollinet
Grand Contributor
No. Unless there is a ground loop with the PC, which can be trivially solved by using a usb isolator, or a toslink connection to the DAC. Or balanced interconnect from DAC to amp.
IIUC that build. RPi3 (CM3) with suboptimal USB and ethernet. Very jittery I2S output (produced by fractional division of non-audio clock, e.g. https://www.diyaudio.com/community/threads/avoiding-rpi-master-i2s-fractional-jitter.376583/ ).
The jitter is removed by a FIFO with independent master clock. The FIFO introduces high latency and will over/underflow eventually as there is no feedback.
The clean I2S master carrying clock is blurred through a long I2S line to the DAC.
Whereas any PC (or RPI too) with USB async where the clock is right next to the DAC, playback rate controlled via feedback from the DAC, no issues with jitter.
The jitter is removed by a FIFO with independent master clock. The FIFO introduces high latency and will over/underflow eventually as there is no feedback.
The clean I2S master carrying clock is blurred through a long I2S line to the DAC.
Whereas any PC (or RPI too) with USB async where the clock is right next to the DAC, playback rate controlled via feedback from the DAC, no issues with jitter.
JoshK
Member
For me, like some others here, the need for an Ethernet based streamer is a strong desire to not have a PC source in the living/music room.
I use(d) my NAS as server with a huge library stored remotely and the streamers are my sources where I listen.
I code all day at work and really don't want to play with PCs much when relaxing. I like the simple interfaces. I have a tablet for control or sometimes my phone.
I use(d) my NAS as server with a huge library stored remotely and the streamers are my sources where I listen.
I code all day at work and really don't want to play with PCs much when relaxing. I like the simple interfaces. I have a tablet for control or sometimes my phone.
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