Music Servers, Do They Matter?

@sns Have you tried Fibre before?

@I use FMC post server, just prior to Roon endpoint. Optical conversion substantial improvement to ethernet cable only setup.

@sns So the next question to you would be if  have you used a crappy  noisy computer as a music server and compared it to your (I am assuming) expensive music server. This would be after you had installed the Fibre Optic conversion in the last leg of streaming just before your DAC.

@yyzsantabarbara Yes, I'd say server is right up there with dac in importance. I'd rather have decent dac with quality server vs. general purpose computer with better dac. But really both need to be on general par to one another for best performance. Optical conversion is far better served to upgrade after dac and server optimized.

As a Roon endpoint which is better, an Oppo 205 or ultraRendu with LPS 1.2 and Ayre QB-9 DSD DAC, or does it matter? Unfortunately, I don’t see a way of using the Ayre DAC with the Oppo.

I’m using the Oppo 205 with a NAD M22 amp to drive KEF LS50s, but I preferred the sound of the ultraRendu complex with an Ayre A7Xe integrated. Is it server or amp? One channel of A7Xe is out and it has no provision for subs, so I plan to replace it with the Parasound JC2 preamp and JC 1 monoblocks I have.