Does anyone have a digital system that is as involving as their analogue front end?
I have a good analogue front end. Not stratuspherically good but good enough for this comparison. VPI Prime Signature 21 turntable, Pass Labs XP-25 pono preamp, Pass Labs XP-30 preamp and Hovland Radia amp. It has a lovely, very involving sound. On the right recording, I just drop everythng and am drawn in to listen.
My streamer, on the other hand, is decent but not spectacular. It is better than my CD player, but it is not jaw-dropping like my analogue front-end. My question is this: does anyone have a high-end, tier-one streamer (dCS Bartok Apex, Lumin X2, or something like them) that can rival a good analogue system?
Streamer and DAC separate, but I can’t swap it because it’s an Exakt system. In any case, I am in process of repurposing the Roon NUC for a cut down version of Windows so I want to see how that works out. That’s been interrupted by holidays. The functionality of Roon and jPlay is nice to have, but I am happy enough with the Linn App provided I’m getting the best sound quality. |
I am a manufacturer. Besides that I am an audiophile. Everything I design and build is for myself first. It is to satisfy my taste and curiosity. I have Triangle Art signature turntable, Tri Planar 12" tonearm and Dynavector XV-1t cartridge. I guess this is a pretty good vinyl gear. It was again to satisfy my listening taste. 3 years ago I completed a long project which became a product - Audio Mirror WAVE tube DAC. It sounded way better (musicality, analog sounding, resolution, dynamics, soundstage, airy easy floating sound) than any vinyl I listened so far. Of course it's not the DAC only contributing to this sound. It is the streamer and clean network delivering internet. For last 2 tears I played vinyl only a few times only when I had audiophiles at my place who didn't believe me how good/better digital can sound. This is not intended as advertising. This is my honest opinion as audiophile. |
@audio-b-dog I totally agree with your logic. Buy the iFi LAN iPurifier Pro on Amazon, try it for 30 days and if no tangible benefits, just return it. You have nothing to lose and something to gain. Plus I think iFi makes some great products. I use an iFi AC iPurifier and some of their power supplies. Remember that any cable including LAN cables function as antennas and yours at 35ft it is picking up some radio frequencies. Shielded LAN cables help, but don’t eliminate the problem. Using the same 30 day Amazon trial logic. I would suggest you also try a TP-Link TL-WR902AC for $30 USD. It can connect to your ATT fiber hub router via Wifi. You connect your streamer or the new Meitner via a very short LAN cable to the TP-Link and you are done. TP-Link details To improve it further, you can replace the switching power wall wart for a linear power supply and you will be very happy with the additional improvement. The goal is to minimize as much as possible all noise on the connected data network as audiomirror comments above. I believe the audio journey is about keeping an open mind and to be willing to make experiments. If the experiments work, you win, if not you try something else. Good luck! |
And everybody else. Two things I'm having trouble believing. First, that my 35 feet of decent ethernet cable will affect the sound of my system. I have not done A/B tests, but the ethernet cable plugged directly into the fiber hub sounds better than when I had a meter of Kimber ethernet plugged into a mesh. According to chatgpt, 35 feet of ethernet cable is a short run. People run ethernet cable for hundreds of feet. Plus, when you read the about the MA3i, it does what the isolators mentioned here do. The Meitner's isolation is excellent at garbage and sound isolation. Second, it sinmply makes no sense to me that whatever interface app. you use on your iPad will make a difference in the sound of the Meitner MA3i or any other DAC/streamer. There is a difference between Qobuz and Tidal because Qobuz sends PCM files and Tidal sends FLAC files. But the interface simply tells the streamer what to play. It does not affect the files themselves. My bottom line in regards to what changes to make to my stereo: If I cannot tell the difference between the A and B options after leaving the room for a while and coming back, it's not worth the investment. |
@audio-b-dog I was not aware kimber made Ethernet cables. 2. As to what app you’re using it’s not the app that makes a sonic difference. But rather what method is used to deliver the stream to your streamer. |
