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Improving on the stream of a combined streamer dac

I recently (foolishly) compared the streamed sound of my Electrocompanient

ECM 1 Mk II to internally stored digital downloads on the same ( ie not stored in my Small Green Computer server).  I was surprised how much better the downloaded files sounded.  Perhaps, I was naive to think otherwise.  So, I started looking at old audiogon threads to see if I could figure a quick and easy fix to up the sound of the streamer but found little that made sense or was affordable.  My question is whether I should continue to search, or if I should take it for what its worth and just listen to the music.  The rest of my digital front end:  Small Green computer server,  a Trendnet unmanaged switch and the ECM.  I use a Luna Orange ethernet cable from switch to ECM and a Purist Audio cable to the SGC.  Thanks for your advice and happy holidays to all.

rivinyl
classic8
113 posts
 

@audioman58 Which one do you recommend?

 

audphile1's avatar
audphile1
7,885 posts
 

Not sure why no one has mentioned this, but the culprit may be Roon.  Many have said that the same stream through Tidal connect vs Roon, the non Roon stream sounded better
 

that may definitely be true in some cases. Roon performance level depends on a quality of roon core. Provided your streamer is high quality.
You can also downgrade the performance of Roon by using bad quality cables on both roon core and streamer.
There’s no network filter, switch, linear power supply or whatever other tweak you want to throw at it that can fix it if you didn’t get the basics right. 

mapman's avatar
mapman
23,600 posts
 

My suggestion for those who do not like how their streaming sounds is get out and listen to other setups as much as possible.  When you find one you like do that.  

rivinyl OP
213 posts
 

"quality of the roon core...."

what are some good quality roon core?

My Roon Nucleus was a piece of junk.....

audphile1's avatar
audphile1
7,885 posts
 

I had Roon Core on two different generations of mac mini. Currently have Roon Nucleus One. It’s been great. Both sonically and functionally. It responds well to better Ethernet cables. 
Your SGC should be fine.
Can you describe the attributes of streaming that factored into your conclusion of it sounding inferior than the local files? What characteristics set one apart from another?

I’ve experienced the same exact issue and resolved it by upgrading the streamer. But my cables were in order. Yours aren’t. 

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