Check in: How quickly are streamers and servers evolving?

Just a small note here: None of the high-zoot hardware that folks are talking about will matter very much unless the source material has been created with the appropriate fidelity. "Garbage in, garbage out." It's analogous to television: What good is an 8K screen unless you have original source material recorded to take advantage of the end reproduction? Please note I'm not saying that today's recordings are crap. Far from it! But what good is having a "better than CD" DAC and/or streamer if CD is what you're going to feed it? So pay attention to what quality your source material is.
Happy listening.

..like I said....this showed up in my e/mail today....

https://shop.mashable.com/sales/audiowow-wireless-audio-studio-in-a-matchbox-size-for-mobile-phone?u...

How fast are things evolving?
Next time you listen to some 'fascinating' speakers, you can 'take notes', literally.... ;)

10% off if you're quick...

...wear the mics on your hat, and hold your head still....*L*

I just finished doing some testing with 3 streaming solutions I have in my office system.

STREAMERS
- microRendu with linear power supply (LPS) 
- opticalRendu  with linear power supply (LPS) (I have 2 of these)
- RJ45 streaming with 1 DAC 

DACS
- Benchmark DAC3B
- AudioMirror Tubadour III SE DAC
- KRELL K-300i integrated amp with internal DAC

My RJ45 streaming was to the internal DAC of my KRELL K-300i integrated (latest model). My network switch is a brand new $199 Ubiquiti Networks switch that has both RJ45 and 2 Fibre slots. I am using regular CAT5 Ethernet cable into the RJ45. The USB cables I used were either free from Benchmark or $25 from Schiit Audio. I am buying a $200 USB from WyWires that has not been shipped yet. I plan on using that one with the winner of this test. A fibre wire goes from the network switch to my opticalRendu and then by USB to one of the 3 DACs. My source of the streaming is a ROON Core on a very cheap server in another room. The musical bits (1's and 0's)  need to travel by PowerLine copper to my office. I use ROON client on cheap computer or iPhone.

For some reason I settled on Fleetwood Mac's Dreams from Rumors as the song I would compare with all the streaming types. There is a lot of percussion hits on this song that are a bit hot sounding but it was interesting to compare this with the 3 streamers.

The RJ45 and the microRendu were about the same on the KRELL. The percussion hits were noticeable and the music sounded good. 

I then flipped the USB cable from the microRendu to an opticalRendu and compared with the RJ45. A massive difference in sound and also volume. I did not need to compare any minor details. There was more of everything with the opticalRendu. The percussion hits seemed like they were happening in my room, so realistic. I also compared the microRendu and the opticalRendu on the KRELL and the same results as the RJ45 and the opticalRendu.

I then compared microRendu vs opticalRendu with a Benchmark DAC3B and also a Audio Mirror Tubadour III SE DAC (tube). In both instances the optical had a massive improvement in sound. I am going to be selling this microRendu and LPS now.

This test for me was to prove to myself whether fibre is really today's holy grail for streaming. I think it is. I do not plan on testing with a dedicated music server (instead of a cheap computer as my ROON Core). I just think the fibre functions as an expensive music server in that it lowers the noise on the network.