Streamers make a difference in my experience. I upgraded from a Blusound Node N130 in my main system to an Innuos Zen MK3 and I noticed a difference in streaming music with my Holo Audio Cyan 2 DAC. The source matters in a high end system.
Do streamers make a difference?
Just added the Nagra Streamer and I can wholeheartedly say yes, it does. Without buttons, remote control or a screen, it is elegant in its simplicity. On the other hand, its music selection is anything but simple as it accommodates Qobuz Connect, Tidal Connect, and Spotify Connect. It is Roon ready/Roon Tested, JPLAY Certified, and plays with Audirvāna, Airplay 2, UPnP/dlna for local files and vTuner for radio access.
It is a wonderful device and I hear more music and I hear the music more clearly. But in the interest of full disclosure, is it the streamer or the result of removing a USB connection?
My previous system used a Roon Nucleus Plus as server and streamer and was fed via an AudioQuest Vodka RJ/E ethernet cable from an Xfinity XB7-T modem/router. The Nucleus was then connected via an AudioQuest Dragon USB cable to a Playback Designs USB-X4 interface, which connected to a Playback Designs MPD-8 DAC using their proprietary high-bandwidth fiberoptic cable. In addition to the fiberoptic connection providing galvanic isolation, the USB-X4 also reduces jitter with a clock that is identical to the clock in the MPD-8.
The new system has the Nucleus and the Nagra Streamer each connected via Vodka ethernet cables to the Xfinity XB7-T. Nagra and Playback Designs share design technology and the Nagra Streamer connects to the MPD-8 with the same proprietary fiberoptic connection as the USB-X4 and also incorporates the identical clock, yielding the same sonic benefits in terms of noise and jitter reduction.
There is definite improvement in terms of detail and space. There is simply more to the music. I venture that the streamer contributes the lion’s share but acknowledge that I have removed a USB connection from the flow, which may also contribute to the difference.
While I believe it is a great addition to my system, the Nagra is not for everybody since its connectivity is limited to only two outputs, the second being an S/PDIF. The USB port is an input for hard and flash drives.
The matching Nagra Compact PSU almost doubles the purchase price so I have ordered a Teddy Pardo LPS to replace the included SMPS.
I do not use a network switch since I have only the two ethernet connections and see no reason to isolate one from the other. I also believe clocking is not an issue, but I am interested in what others think on both fronts.
Of note, EMM employ a similar proprietary fiberoptic cable set-up but utilize a different format that is not compatible with Nagra and Playback Designs.
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I read an interview with Andreas Koch of Playback Designs and he said that he sells the 3rd best boards he makes to Nagra. He keeps the best for his Dream DAC. I am guessing the Nagra streamer at $6k is the same one as the $3k PBD one. I owned the previous low end PDB streamer, the STREAM-IF. That was a great streamer. I sold it to someone who paired it with the Dream DAC. Streamers do make a difference. When my now old Sonore OpticalRendu dies I will get the latest OpticalRendu which is supposed to sound even better. the other streamer that I would consider is the Lumin U2x. It is similar to the Lumin X1 DAC/Streamer. The streamer on that was great. I had the OpticalRendu, STREAM-IF, and the X1 all at the same time. They sounded different and I liked all 3. Top end streamers. I only have an OpticalRendu left.
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Is this saying that they make a difference or that improving a streamer will make as much difference as other components? Part of the challenge of this hobby is where and how much time, money, and effort should be focused on improving this or that aspect in a system. |
This is the key part. No, even the best DAC's on the planet do not remove all the noise and buffer the signal well enough. I read an analogy years ago from Antipodes describing how streaming is similar to cleaning or prepping a nice automobile, and I thought it was kinda ridiculous at the time, but the more I think about it the more it makes sense. You can do a wash/wax in one step, and it will "work", but if you want a quality car show result it takes multiple steps: foam wash, hand wash, contaminate remover, claybar, polish in multiple steps, then finally wax/ceramic coat. The difference in the end product is "not subtle". Beautiful components and system by the way @tcutter I lust after those sources. |
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