Is it my streamer or does Audirvana sounds better?

@analoguefan,

I only use Audirvana Studio since that is the version I have on my streamer. 

The Infio Audio IS-1 streamer "can operate as an Audirvana Server, Roon Endpoint, HQPlayer Network Audio Adapter or Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) music endpoint, which covers 99% of music players in the market. The Cryogen version can also be a Roon Core".  

You log into the streamer from your computer and select the source you need.   I am currently using UPnP and Mconnect until Infigo Audio updates Audirvana to release 3.0 (next week).

Thank you all for your input. I may give Matrix or Sonore a shot because I can use up np with audirvana. I am a type of consumer who hate keep buying and returning products but when it comes to streamers, there is no any other way I guess and that’s why I am asking for help and recommendations.

If your using Audirvana on a laptop, then it’s running off of the battery, which could potentially make an improvement. Also, much depends on how your DAC was designed. In other words, the filtering within your DAC has a lot to do with the sound that your getting, despite what brand of renderer you happen to be using. And finally, Audirvana is a very good sounding software. I started using Audirvana when it first became available and continued using it for close to ten years. Some companies are now incorporating Audirvana into their streamers.

I’m always surprised that people can spend tens of thousands on a tt setup, amps, preamps, etc, then spend a few hundred $$$ on digital and complain why this digital setup doesn’t sound very good. If you buy a $1000 amp and compare it to your McIntosh 452 amp, I’m sure you will find there is a difference too. 
The 2 streamers you listed are entry level pieces. But I also think aurender stuff doesn’t sound as good as others so it’s not just money that determines what sounds good

rbstehno

I’m always surprised that people can spend tens of thousands on a tt setup, amps, preamps, etc, then spend a few hundred $$$ on digital and complain why this digital setup doesn’t sound very good.

That’s a common scenario but it doesn’t surprise me at all. There are plenty of folks (such as the ASR crowd) that trumpet "bits are bits" and that everything digital is error corrected and perfect. It’s not difficult to accept the "logic" in that belief ... until you hear for yourself that it’s nonsense.