DDC Sound Improvements???

One of the biggest improvements in my system was when I added DENAFRIPS Hermes via I2S to DENAFRIPS Pontus II 12th. My streamer at the time was Eversolo DMP-A6 Master with TP SE power supply. The TP power supply made a noticeable improvement but adding Hermes took it to a level I wouldn’t have even thought possible…

FWIW I have Bluesound Icon with Gustard U18 DDC going I2S to Gustard X18 in a second system. Magnificent! I won’t ever go without a DDC in any system. 

@stillbuyingtoys ,

In my humble opinion, you are limiting your sound reproduction by using the Bluesound as a DAC. 

The Matrix NT-1, looks like a very nice streamer, but you need to give it good information in order to get quality sound. I can understand not wanting to spend a fortune, but adding a Gustard, in my opinion, would be adding another element of distortion to the signal.

Have you looked into other DAC's? The Ayre Codex is pretty inexpensive, and has a very good sound. The Ayre QB-9 is another move. I owned the Schiit Gungnir and liked it, too. The worst part of this obsession, is that it takes a lot of money to achieve sonic Nirvana. You can try to add things that reviewers say are great-like the Gustard, but when it comes down to it, you are just spending money that could be better applied to equipment that does the job it was designed for. 

Bob

Have you tried the internal streamer in the x30? roon has a free trial, I think hqplayer also has a free trial. might be worth a try, wouldn’t cost anything but time.

I used a Singxer DDC for a while, with decent equipment, and improvement was noticeable. My guess is that the synergy between the Gustard DDC and DAC would be good and you would realize some gains. And the resale on the DDC is probably decent. Meanwhile, save up and ditch the Bluesound long term.

I can share some generalized thoughts based on my experiences owning the Hermes and the Singxer SU-6 (currently), and with streaming Tidal, Qobuz, and stored files using Roon in my system:

• Assuming the server is powerful enough to competently process Roon Core, I have not heard any sonic differences between servers.
• Streamers (aka. Roon endpoints) have resulted in a more significant impact on the sound of my systems.
• A DDC provides isolation, reclocking, and format conversion (e.g., multiple outputs), but since a competent DAC also provides isolation, so the better the streamer and DAC, the less influence a DDC should have on the sound of an audio system to the point where the user may not "hear" a recognizable difference in the sound of their system when using a DDC.
• One benefit a DDC does provide is that, in converting the streamer’s digital output format so that multiple formats can be selected, the DAC’s optimal digital input format may be used.
• I2S may work fine with some components but, in general, is over-rated as a connection protocol between two audio components and is not likely to significantly change the overall sonic presentation of most DACs compared to an optimized S/PDIF or USB connection (IME).