Is there any real advantage to having a dedicated streamer?

[Rocketfrogs]

For the last year or so I've been streaming Spotify from my smartphone straight into a linestage input on my amp.  I've been happy with the sound and convenience but now that little worm is whispering in my ear.  Is there any major sound quality improvement to be had by using a dedicated streamer or is it just a Spinal Tap thing.  (i.e it goes 'One' better)?

[alex87]

When you say linestage input are you using the digital to analogue converter (dac) in your amp or phone? If you are using the dac in your phone there may be some improvements with a streamer+dac me thinks… 

[Andythiing]

1 hour ago, Rocketfrogs said:

For the last year or so I've been streaming Spotify from my smartphone straight into a linestage input on my amp.  I've been happy with the sound and convenience but now that little worm is whispering in my ear.  Is there any major sound quality improvement to be had by using a dedicated streamer or is it just a Spinal Tap thing.  (i.e it goes 'One' better)?

I suspect the answer is “depends”

- what amp, speakers etc do you have and will

they be able to be improved by a lift in resolution from your streaming source 

- will you stay with Spotify or change to qobuz etc?

- will you look to stream high res files from your home storage etc

 

no simple yes or no - but in general there is potential for improvement but may require other changes as well

[Hydrology]

As @Andythiing has said usually the answer to that question is YES, however how this relates to you, probably changes that definitive answer from a resounding YES to a IT DEPENDS.

 

 

[illbarto]

Why don't you try sending a better quality format through to your amp first ie. FLAC or Tidal first and see if you dig it

[POV]

I think the answer is that it depends on the options you are comparing to, the content you are streaming and your listening habits.   If wanting to critically listen utilising a better quality streaming service (Qobuz) and adding into a typical hi-fi system then the answer is probably a yes.  This is with the usual caveat that source is an order of magnitude less impactful to overall fidelity than the speaker-room interface.

 

For my part I  have compared extensively in my systems and have found that I get the best fidelity via streaming from combining streamer, DSP engine, and pre-amplifier into the same unit, but the types of units that do this well are in the $10k+ range so it depends on where in the market you are thinking.

[Rocketfrogs]

1 hour ago, POV said:

If wanting to critically listen utilising a better quality streaming service (Qobuz) and adding into a typical hi-fi system then the answer is probably a yes. 

 

I do all my 'critical' listening on my vinyl rig where I sit in an armchair and stroke my chin, (sad but true...).  I use the spotify/phone/amp mainly when I'm bufooning around and generally it feeds a pair of outdoor speakers at volume with the door open for the sub to have it's say.  I was just looking at the price of some of these streamers and was wondering would they really make the music sound that much better.

[Assisi]

23 minutes ago, Rocketfrogs said:

would they really make the music sound that much better

If done well, highly likely better and maybe even seriously better than your vinyl.  It all depends on the well and how far you want to go.  There are many advantages to streaming.  It seems to me that you need to put your toe in the water.

John

[stereo coffee]

Yes, but look up the features and specifications , and if you can the manufacturers intent of design effort,  to see them hopefully  express their confidence to you, when using their product. Within this too their warranty period and the product working with our countries voltages and plugs . A good resource for all of these,  is https://www.hifiengine.com/ 

Edited November 13, 2023 by stereo coffee

[Hydrology]

3 hours ago, Rocketfrogs said:

I use the spotify/phone/amp mainly when I'm bufooning around and generally it feeds a pair of outdoor speakers at volume with the door open for the sub to have it's say. 

 

Well, this statement of yours probably answers the question for you. I wouldnt bother unless the intent is to make streaming a more regular, active listening experience.

[doogie44]

Buffooning is an under-rated activity. 

 

I think that a short listen to a good streamer (inserted into your system) in your price range would answer any questions you have. At this 'lower' price point there is way too much tech talk about bitrates and such on this subject, IMO, and not enough about musical delivery. However, I have never been a fan of low res! Nor am I keen on 'noisy' computers, or dinky chips trying to perform the impossible on the head of a pin...

 

I note that there are now many value for money streamers available--especially second hand on SNA. Worth a punt? I recently bought my daughter an iFi setup and she hasn't looked back.

 

And if you can't hear the difference then you're ahead financially!

 

You must be close to moving from buffoonery to frolicking.

 

Just my 2c worth

[Skeptical]

23 hours ago, POV said:

For my part I  have compared extensively in my systems and have found that I get the best fidelity via streaming from combining streamer, DSP engine, and pre-amplifier into the same unit, but the types of units that do this well are in the $10k+ range so it depends on where in the market you are thinking.

My Auralic does all that. Purchased here for $2200. 

[rantan]

On 13/11/2023 at 2:19 PM, Rocketfrogs said:

Is there any major sound quality improvement to be had by using a dedicated streamer

 

Yes.

[awayward]

Yes, one box, one task.

[POV]

1 hour ago, Skeptical said:

My Auralic does all that. Purchased here for $2200. 

Yeah no it doesn’t, and note I said units that do this well.  I’m talking about a serious DSP engine, capable of full sub integration with time and frequency based EQ, HPF with variable slopes, room correction, audiophile digital and analogue domain preamplification, high grade DACs, and high performance streamer.

 

Not sure if it’s improved but my experience with Aurelic was that they didn’t even do streaming well, despite sounding great.  Clunky, slow, unreliable app drove me a bit mad.
 

 

[tripitaka]

Last time I used Spotify the MP3 quality was unbearable (I changed to Tidal FLAC), point being that the difference was miles more than a dedicated streamer is going to make.

 

Enjoy either way, best

[frednork]

Considering its just for "buffooning" then @tripitaka is on the money I reckon. As an example I use a bluetooth connection in the car with a pretty average stereo. Qobuz is noticeably better than spotify. 

 

Streamer does make a difference but unlikely to be worthwhile for your buffooning setup

[Keith_W]

On 13/11/2023 at 2:49 PM, Rocketfrogs said:

For the last year or so I've been streaming Spotify from my smartphone straight into a linestage input on my amp.  I've been happy with the sound and convenience but now that little worm is whispering in my ear.  Is there any major sound quality improvement to be had by using a dedicated streamer or is it just a Spinal Tap thing.  (i.e it goes 'One' better)?

 

If you are happy with the sound and convenience then the best thing to do is to stay put and don't go down this rabbit hole! As the others have said, you can get an SQ upgrade by switching your streaming service. Spotify is by far the best when it comes to convenience and selection of music, but not when it comes to sound quality. The only catch is whether your taste in music is a bit more mainstream, or more niche. I have Tidal, and I can play about 95% of what my guests request, but not everything. I can usually find the missing songs on Spotify, but then I don't have a Spotify subscription - I use the free Spotify only, and that is very low bitrate MP3, sounds horrendous, and is full of ads. 

 

The downside of Tidal and Qobuz is more limited hardware support compared to Spotify, so before you purchase anything it is important to check that your app can connect to it, and whether it can do it in lossless format. 

 

There is some debate on SNA about network audio and whether one solution sounds better than another, or whether there is no difference. I will let you make up your own mind. For myself, I agree with @POV. The difference exists, but in the scale of things the difference is small, certainly when compared to the better masters used by Tidal/Qobuz compared to Spotify and lossless FLAC compared to MP3. 

[Chigurh]

IMO Bluesound products offer huge bang-for-buck especially if you buy one here second-hand in the classifieds. The BluOS is highly evolved and compatible with every streaming service you would ever need. The on-board DACs are absolutely fine but if you have a quality external DAC even better!

[Skeptical]

@Rocketfrogs You really don't need to spend $10k on a streamer. Those who do obviously are wealthy,  and need different things for their experience than many ordinary mortals. Find something at the price you want pay that has an interface that makes sense to you and sounds better than your phone to you. Technical specs can be helpful if you understand them, especially with some knowledge of where the perceptible limits are. I know I can buy gear that puts my gear to shame on paper, but I can't hear those differences so I keep the extra cash for life's other costs. Buy something here 2nd hand and the value proposition gets better.  Personally I  view any product that uses the audiophile word with suspicion. It's marketing hype. 

[Hydrology]

15 minutes ago, Skeptical said:

@Rocketfrogs You really don't need to spend $10k on a streamer. Those who do obviously are wealthy,  and need different things for their experience than many ordinary mortals. Find something at the price you want pay that has an interface that makes sense to you and sounds better than your phone to you. Technical specs can be helpful if you understand them, especially with some knowledge of where the perceptible limits are. I know I can buy gear that puts my gear to shame on paper, but I can't hear those differences so I keep the extra cash for life's other costs. Buy something here 2nd hand and the value proposition gets better.  Personally I  view any product that uses the audiophile word with suspicion. It's marketing hype. 

 

First of all wealth has nothing to do with it. I'm not remotely "wealthy" but I would happily drop 10, 20 or even 30K on a streamer if I had the money.

 

I would agree (and have backed this up already with previous comments in this thread), that if you cant hear the difference, don't spend the difference.

But don't have a go at the higher end of the market just because you're comfortable playing at the other end.

 

 

 

[Skeptical]

2 minutes ago, Hydrology said:

 

I'm not remotely "wealthy" but I would happily drop 10, 20 or even 30K on a streamer if I had the money.

 

 

 

I beg to differ. You sound rich to me. Some (too many) people go without food for want of $30.

[POV]

35 minutes ago, Skeptical said:

You really don't need to spend $10k on a streamer. Those who do obviously are wealthy,  and need different things for their experience than many ordinary mortals.

 

I think you may have misunderstood.  I wasn't talking about a streamer, I was talking about a fully integrated preamplifier,  digital front-end,  DSP engine with room correction,  and streamer built in.  When you think about getting high end performance in all of these areas simultaneously then $10k seems like a pretty damned good deal to me, plus you no longer have to worry about synergy, cables and a multitude of boxes.

[POV]

1 minute ago, Skeptical said:

I beg to differ. You sound rich to me. Some (too many) people go without food for want of $30.

 

Pretty confident that these people aren't on SNA pondering the value proposition of a dedicated streamer mate.

 

[Hydrology]

13 minutes ago, Skeptical said:

I beg to differ. You sound rich to me. Some (too many) people go without food for want of $30.

You're quite right - I lead a very rich life. Good family, good friends and plenty of good banter with the bulk of intelligent people on various communities.

Amazing that you deduce from a three sentence interaction that I sound "rich", yet can't tell the difference between cheap and expensive streamers. There's a market for that kind of intuition - you should bottle, sell it and name yer price, because you know...rich 'n' all...

 

Edited November 18, 2023 by Hydrology