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Streamer upgrade? follow up.

I posted the first part of this earlier in the week. There are a few other threads running concurrently here about this same subject.This is my personal experience with this situation.Ive been using a Aurender A100 streamer/dac which is they’re entry level unit, the SQ wasn’t horrible but I was pretty sure I could get it better.In a attempt to do that I purchased a Denafrips Pontus two and a DhLabs Mirage Usb cable to use with the A100 utilizing its Usb out.The two local hi fi dealers here in SO Cal both told me this would not produce much of an result and in my opinion after trying it they were both correct. So… as I stated in the first post I was coming from a “bit is bits” perspective which was I was convinced adding a better Dac would accomplish my goals, I just couldn’t believe that the zeros and ones  could possibly effect the quality of sound. But not being one to give up I decided in for penny in for a pound Id see for myself if there was anything to the other side of this conversation, I wanted a new toy for Xmas anyway.So I traded my A100 plus some cash to TMR ( nice people btw) for a shiny new Aurender N200 which arrived yesterday. Last night the moment of truth, I hooked up the new unit with the exact same everything as before in my system nothing different but the streamer.I let the tubes and everything else warm up for a few hours,picked a song I knew inside and out sat down and pressed play. Immediately within the first few notes of the Stones “ Wild Horses “ I knew I had made the right choice and that I was wrong believing  bits are bits “. I really don’t have adequate language to describe the difference in sound quality other than to say I feel like Im in someone else’s home listening to they’re far superior system, its that drastic.I can with complete confidence say this has got to be one of if not the most significant upgrades Ive made in my system, scouts honor!              PS. Grinin ear to ear here.                                                            

bikeboy52
bh123
14 posts
 

@lalitk 

Very interested to hear more about ethernet tinkering.  Not sure if that would be a new post or whether it makes sense to tag onto this discussion.  As you can see I don't post a lot...not that I'm not interested...simply that my experience is limited to 2 amps, 2 preamps, a handful of DAC's and 1 streamer. 

My situation is a pretty long run (maybe 30 ft) from my standard AT&T router to my streamer.  Using a no-name CAT 8 cable I bought from Amazon.  Runs under the house through the crawl space.  No fun down there..

Anyway, would be very interested in hearing yours and others experiences and recommendations as to what tweaks make the most sense/have the most bang for the buck and what sort of improvement each might bring.

Glad to initiate a new thread if that's the better way to go...

bikeboy52 OP
199 posts
 

@fthompson251 Sorry I forgot you asked about ac cables. Ac cables on both dac and streamer are entry level Nordost. I read your post the other day about your deciding to go new dac or streamer first. My personal experience has led me to the conclusion that a lot of people are looking at this backwards, this is clearly a case of the new streamer making my old dac sound far better, best of luck on your endeavor either way. 

lalitk's avatar
lalitk
6,180 posts
 

@bikeboy52 

Consider high quality OCC copper cables from Zavfino for your streamer and DAC. 
 

 

lalitk's avatar
lalitk
6,180 posts
 

@bh123

I would keep the ‘No name’ 30FT CAT8 LAN cable from router as is and insert ENO filter ahead of N200. ENO comes with no questions asked 30days return policy.

The other ways to improve N200 performance is by using a high quality OCC power cable and grounding the Earth/Ground Terminal.

And lastly, try different USB cable between N200 and DAC for the nth degree of improvements. The ENO USB III or Kimber KSUSB-HB are the finest USB cables I’ve tried in my system that are truly exemplary. I recommend making these changes incrementally so you can properly access the effectiveness of each upgrade.

If you haven’t picked up yet, I subscribe to ‘everything matters’ philosophy. My ‘Digital’ system is listed here for your reference.

bh123
14 posts
 

@lalitk 

Appreciate the advice.  Incremental changes sound like a sound path forward.  Since I got a nice bump recently with my N200 I'll wait a couple months and then start experimenting with ethernet and power.  Will definitely give the ENO a try and report back...may be a few months before that happens but it's on my list now.

So far in my limited experience I'd agree that everything matters.  Some things are pretty easy to understand...gear upgrades, speaker cables, interconnects...while others take more of a leap of faith.  I still haven't taken the leap when it comes to things outside the signal path (power cords, fuses, etc...).  But perhaps at some point I will...

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