Baffled and Frustrated: Streaming/DAC Sound Issues

My streaming system is Tidal thru Roon to an Anthem STR. I’ve found there are some files Tidal sends across (and Qobuz before) that just sound bad; often when the file label says it’s been remastered. Never a problem with the 1700 CDs I imported locally to stream thru Roon. 

Maybe you’re just getting mangled content sometimes?  Do the same tracks always sound bad?  Or do they sound good one day and bad then next?

@brewerslaw

I have experience with Auralic (Aries G1) and Roon

I would check the following -

1. make sure Device Setup in Roon has: Fixed volume; Sample rate that corresponds to your DAC; DSP disabled; Do not enable upsampling; Clock priority default
2. Auralic settings have: upsampling disabled; proper sampling rate set that corresponds to your DAC in the Auralic set up for DAC and streaming services n
3. no speaker placement/room correction in Auralic;
4. make sure your ethernet connection to Auralic is solid. Wifi or wired needs to be solid.

Also worth trying the Auralic’s Lightning DS without Roon.

If you continue to experience issues, swap to a different type of connection between Auralic and DAC. If issues persist your streamer or dac don’t gel or one or both of these components are faulty.

@tony1954 

Well, Tony after this thread has been up 3 days, it would appear no-one else understands these systems either.  Indeed others are saying they have the same kind of issues.

Hence my sage and practical advice.  Clear thinking.  If not from a master digital engineer, of which there seem to be none who can solve this.

@clearthinker 

"it would appear no-one else understands these systems either. "

No one said digital was easy. 

No one said that trying to solve someone's issues from across the country was easy.

What no one said was that because digital isn't super easy and because digital sometimes has problems, I am going to quit and go home.

That's not sage and practical advice, that's living in the past.

@clearthinker

To get an analog FE that equals the performance of this level of digital will probably cost north of $10,000. The price for a good pressing new vinyl is now about $30-$40 per on average. The used ones are an effort to get in mint condition and some cost thousands of dollars depending on album and pressing, Add record cleaning and all other accessories to this and it will add up quicklly.

For a price of 1 good new vinyl record you can have a month of both Qobuz and Tidal with hundreds of thousands of albums at your fingertips.

Please enlighten us how starting with vinyl from scratch is a practical advice?