Master matters a lot. But let’s set that aside for a minute - the 192/24 is clearly a different master. The Innuos Zenith Mk3 however should be able to at least be on par with SACD and possibly beat it.
It needs supporting elements to do it but it’s possible.
SACD vs. 24/192 stream
I recently acquired a Innuos ZENith Mk3 streamer, replacing my Bluesound Node. I've come to appreciate what the Mk3 adds--more low-level detail, clearer soundstaging, slightly better bass.
I repeated a comparison I did with the Node--comparing "The Priest" from Joni Mitchell's Ladies of the Canyon via MFSL SACD vs. Qobuz 24/192. The latter should provide higher resolution sound than an SACD, according to this article: https://www.mojo-audio.com/blog/dsd-vs-pcm-myth-vs-truth/. I played the SACD on my Cambridge Audio CXU universal disc player, which uses an HDMI cable to feed a Geerfab D.BOB that sends a DSD signal to my Denafrips Venus 15 DAC.
The result this time was similar to my previous comparison. The SACD revealed greater soundstage depth of Joni's guitar, and her vocal was more realistic (marvelously so) than the hi-res stream.
Given that I'm using a very good streamer and just a mid-level sort of disc player, I would conclude that I prefer the sound of DSD to PCM. The article I reference above suggested that an R2R DAC (like mine) should sound better with its native PCM than DSD, whereas Delta Sigma DACs sound better with DSD. I'm not so sure that's true with my system.
So this gives me reason to continue to use SACDs and keep an SACD player in my system. Generally, I find that high-res streaming is superior to Redbook CDs. That was evident even with the Node, which I think punches way above its price, especially when upgraded with a good linear power supply.
What have others of you found when comparing hi-res discs with hi-res streaming?
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- 20 posts total
- 20 posts total