Does anyone have a digital system that is as involving as their analogue front end?

@audphile1 @audphile1 I have both MA3i and XDS1v4 with DA2i dac, and the differences are meaningful, especially in terms of tonal weight, space, bass, and increased microdynamics. However, I agree it will likely be a long time before anything in the $10k range that will be better than the MA3i. I personally preferred the MA3i over the original DA2 as an overall dac. The last time the company had this large jump in quality was from DCC2 to DAC2x (and the Meitner version MA1). I think we will be fine for at least 5 years, if not longer. Meaningful R&D at the high end takes a long time. 

@newton_john in my experience…

if we’re looking for consistency in performance, in digital, it is CD and SACD. I’m talking physical media played back using a cd/sacd player or transport, not ripped files residing on a storage device and played via network. 
Just as consistent are the ripped files that reside on a drive that’s mounted inside a streamer that’s connected to a DAC, using the streamer’s native app to playback the files (i.e. Aurender streamers that allow SSD to be mounted inside the unit). Similarly a drive connected to a streamer via usb cable should be as consistent as the internal drive. Although sound quality might be impacted depending on implementation of that USB interface. 

Files played bavk via local network are also a good option but now we’re introducing variables…network speed, router noise, etc.

Vinyl can also be inconsistent in that it wears out with each play, has different levels of static due to humidity changes in your room that will impact playback, room temperature that affects cartridge performance , dirty records, etc.

There’s no perfect format :)

I think we will be fine for at least 5 years, if not longer. Meaningful R&D at the high end takes a long time. 
 

@chesebert agreed

I just returned from a week holiday and am streaming Miles Davis "Kind of Blue" through the Meitner MA3. I have the vinyl album in excellent shape, but I''m kind of wiped out and it was easier to stream. The MA3 sounds very good. If I weren't comparing the sound to my memory of the album, it would be as if nothing was missing. 

We must remember how good our stereos sounded three years ago or ten years ago or when we were thirty. They probably sounded full and complete. Despite that, due to my audiophilia-nervosa, I will upgrade the Meitner MA3 at some time in the furutre. 

@audphile1 

In the past couple of days, I’ve finally got my streaming setup sounding the way I want. The final piece of the jigsaw was taking out my Roon ROCK NUC and replacing it with a Windows NUC running dBpoweramp Asset, a UPnP server. In many ways that should have been a backwards step, yet it seems have given me the digital sound I’ve been craving for the past few years. Some of the difficult albums that sounded most harsh in places now sound great all the way through. Albums that I’d been underwhelmed by are now enjoyable. 

Two years ago, I returned to vinyl because I was so dissatisfied with streaming. Then earlier this year, I discovered that moving my NUC and its switch away from a Sky Q satellite TV box gave significant improvement in sound. That set me off on an obsessive quest to try to get the best from streaming.

I have made whole series of tweaks in cabling, position of components, linear power supplies, etc. I had some success, but disappointingly the digital nasties that spoilt my listening always returned. It got better though the nasties were never quite eliminated completely - mitigation but not a solution. Yet now I have bitten the bullet and gone back to a simpler UPnP server and ditched Roon, I seem to have cracked the problem.

What I’ve done so far is little more than a proof of concept, using an inferior NUC and data from a backup ReadyNAS in the garage. I have still to install Windows on my main NUC, reformat its internal SSD and copy back the music files. I probably won’t get all this done before I go on holiday tomorrow. Hopefully, it will be even better when I’ve finished. Nevertheless, I am happy that I’m on the right track at last.

Sadly, notwithstanding its many advantages, it appears that Roon was holding my system back. Ironically, it has been an enforced rest from vinyl due to a faulty phono stage that prompted me to make the critical change. Also, I must thank Google Gemini for helping me to plan everything and providing clarity.