Improving on the stream of a combined streamer dac

@cbowie88 I went through a few DACs in the last few years. I can always recommend the Schiit Yggi+ OG DAC that is no longer available but can be found used (also known as the A2 model). This DAC can be obtained for under $2k and as good as DACs I have owned up to $15k. I recently sold it and knew I was giving up a gem.

I have not heard this DAC, but I will get it shipped to me next week. It is my old Schiit Yggi+ MIB DAC upgraded to the new Schiit Byggy (or Singular). It is supposedly the best DAC Schiit has done. Mike Moffet the DAC designer at Schiit is someone with a great history in digital. However, once I test out the functionality of the Byggy it will be sold. 

My next recommendation is for a DAC at ANY price. It is the new Imersiv D-1 DAC. which is astonishingly good. Measures better than any DAC ever made. A description like that sounds fatiguing but it is not, not tube wet like an Allnic but I like it even better. I have been listening to this thing at least 12 hours a day since the beginning of December.

Check out these comments by people more knowledgeable than me.

User Comments - Imersiv

User Comments 2 - Imersiv

User Comments 3 - Imersiv

It is ridiculous how good this is compared to other DACs and the biggest jump my system ever took.

Note: the D-1 should go direct into an amp, otherwise, it is a bit of a waste.

What @audphile1 said. I suspect the streamer/dac combo. 

@audphile1 

The main differences appear to be the clarity of the bass response and the presence of drums.  Also, vocals are more forward on the digital files to the point that they seemed a bit veiled on the stream.  Interestingly the differences are not as notable on jazz recordings.  I plan to try another ethernet cable ( I have an old wire world ) but my recollection is that the Luna was a richer more musical sounding cable.  You should read a bit online about Luna; its a very well reviewed cable line; just not well known in the US.  I would not be so quick to dismiss them as the root cause of the sonic issues I have encountered. 

@cbowie88 If you get a new DAC and use the A6 just as a streamer ensure that the new DAC has async USB.  You will then get the full benefits of your new, higher quality DAC's clock and buffering.

I have expressed this elsewhere, but I am convinced, on technical grounds, that a great DAC with USB from an OK source component will beat a combo where the $$ were divided equally between the components.  My own digital setup is extreme, my DAC cost about 20x the source streamer/server.

Asynchronous USB ensures that the strobing of data into the DAC chip(s) is done by the DAC's clock. The source is just sending data, when requested, that is loaded into the DAC's FIFO buffer.  Any decent USB cable will work well as all it has to do is send data, NO timing is dependent on the USB transfer. My usual USB is a Cardas Clear (it sort of matches my Cardas Clear Reflection interconnects) but I switched it out for a 3 meter wire that (I think) came with an Epson printer.  Zero difference in SQ.  My system is very highly resolving (Esoteric K-01XDSE, LA4, XA 25, Rockport Atria II).it shows any differences very easily.

I²S is a totally different story, the cable is critical.

@rivinyl thanks so it sounds like the streaming is more of a smeared type of sound. Could be due to your network setup or the built in streamer.

Please try this - 

Figure out a demo track or two. Get a baseline with your current configuration. Then: Replace Luna from router to switch with old wireworld and use Purist from Router to streamer. The switch purist and wireworld to see what it sounds like with purist into switch and WW into streamer. This should give you a general direction as to what’s going. 
 

I used Purist CAT7 Luminist Edition into a streamer for quiet some time. It’s a decent cable. It does push the presence region forward slightly but has good clear presentation overall.
After auditioning Audience Hidden Treasure Ethernet cable I sold the Purist. I then bought thr Nucleus One and the two Wireword Starlight 10 Ethernet cables to connect EERO 6e Pro and Nucleus to switch. The new Starlight cables are really good. Not sure about the older series but I don’t think they will suck. 
 

Reason I dismiss Luna is like I said…tinned copper. That’s never an advantage in a high end system because it reduces conductivity - zero advantages in an audio application and especially with Ethernet where the signal is tiny.