Streamers ranked by sound quality

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On 3/17/2019 at 4:01 AM, jaaptina said:

I ranked by sound quality:

Yamaha wxc-50

Pioneer N-30 

Logitec Squeezebox

- big gap

Auralic Aries Mini with sbooster 

- big gap

Sonore microRendu with LPS-1

Sotm sms-200 with sbooster 

Auralic Aries femto with sbooster 

Sonore ultraRendu with LPS-1

 

I'm very happy with my Squeezebox Touch units, USB-enabled by edo. To me the DACs they're connected to make a larger difference to the sound, and amps have an even larger effect. That is the case for my Duet and PC-based endpoints as well.

 

Like you I've also tried I an ultraRendu, powered by an LPS-1.2, in the media room here. The 'Rendu is at the bottom of my list too, though that's because it was so unstable and unreliable (unlike my Sonicorbiter server) I was never able to fully evaluate it. I replaced it with a small fanless PC and an ISO REGEN powered by that same LPS-1.2.

 

So, my ranking is like this:

• Squeezebox Touch with edo
• Fanless PC, with ISO REGEN on LPS-1.2

• Laptop, with USB REGEN on stock PSU

• Squeezebox Duet via coax out

• ultraRendu on LPS-1.2

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5 hours ago, Summit said:

 

I believe jaaptina’s ranking is reversed and his/her best ranked streamer is listed last.   

 

Odd. Sorry. Regardless, my ultraRendu remains lowest-ranked in my list. It fails to work at the least convenient moments, like when guests are expecting music. It regularly loses contact with the DAC (I've tried two), fails to complete updates, and generally requires coddling and fiddling. In contrast my Sonicorbiter server, an SGC Microjukebox, is a rock solid set-and-forget dream.

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2 hours ago, Veovis said:

 

Do you connect the Touch to the dac via USB or S/Pdif? I have an edo-modded Touch and a 5v SBooster PSU that I haven't used for years.

 

USB of course. No reason to go through all that trouble otherwise. In fact I have three Touch units, connected to Schiit Modi 3 DACs.  No USB hubs or external power to the DACs required.

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10 minutes ago, jcbenten said:

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I have not traveled the route of upgrading the power supply.  That is a black hole I do not want to be pulled into...maybe if one of my other DACs makes a very noticeable difference.

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As the Touch has an internal switching power circuit, upgrading its adapter won't do much for you as long as the adapter is working within specs. Upgrading the power supplies for your DACs could make a difference, but yes that really is a black hole.

 

10 minutes ago, jcbenten said:

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I listen to ESPN radio, Radio Paradise, and my music which nowadays is everything but I limit the RAP (pretty much Eminem only), heavy Metal or old-style country .  Mostly Alternative, Rock, Classic Rock, female vocal, and classical piano.

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Three cheers for the Radio Paradise! Those folks do an amazing amount of work and produce high-quality programming, and in CD-quality FLAC too.

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23 minutes ago, barrows said:

Wow, that really is terrible...  I honestly wonder what the problem could be? 

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Same as all the problems you see on the ultraRendu support thread here, posted by many users. It sees the DAC, it doesn't see the DAC, it needs an update, it fails to update, over and over again. If yours is working well, be happy and don't touch it, but I am not interested in explaining to guests that they have to sit there while I reboot everything, check the DAC diagnostics, etc. etc.

 

15 minutes ago, Summit said:

 

Sorry to hear that it doesn’t work properly. Have you contact Jesus @vortecjr for help to resolve the contact problem?

 

Yes and he did make some improvements after our exchanges in the support thread, but in the end a better solution here was to change DACs.

 

But then one day it lost track of that DAC too. After trying everything else as recommended in many posts on the support thread, I ran an update but it hung on a file somewhere in the middle of that update several times.

 

Normally I enjoy working through technical problems just as much as I like music, but with guests waiting I gave up, moved my Sonicorbiter server into that spot for the day, then started planning a new configuration without the 'Rendu.

 

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31 minutes ago, Veovis said:

 

The edo mod brings more than usb out, hence the question. Like 24/192 through s/pdif. But I agree usb out is the biggie. The linear psu is not for the dac but for the Touch itself. Maybe I'll dig out the touch and hear how it compares with my current streamer just for fun. 

 

One of my criteria was avoiding external power to the DAC, so that's another reason for no S/PDIF. I'd be interested in hearing your impressions with and without the linear PSU though. The Touch has an internal switching power circuit, which as far as I know negates any benefits from upgrading the PSU (other than replacing the stock adapter if it was malfunctioning), but stranger things have happened.

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1 hour ago, Veovis said:

 

Enjoying the EDO Touch through USB right now. Best I've heard the USB input of the DAC and very, very good period. The Sbooster may or may not do anything but I have it so I use it. Found Squeezer for Android for control point. Are there better ones out there? Also, I get notified about newer versions of LMS (mac) but seem to remember upgrading forces an update of the Touch firmware with removal of the EDO mod. Any advice? 

 

We should probably move this discussion to its own thread, or over to slimdevices where there's a 255 page thread on edo. But the short answer is that LMS updates are good, you should at least be on 7.9 point something, and if edo gets removed it's trivial to reinstall it right from the Touch menu.

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Oh, and @Veovis the long answer should include this: Squeezer is fast and efficient, I use it all the time, but I get more enjoyment out of the LMS web app with the Material Skin plugin, which automatically adjusts to mobile or desktop as needed.

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51 minutes ago, soares said:

Sorry to hear that.

I never had a problem with my uR.

Best,

 

Jorge

 

 

Good to hear. But sadly, I'm not alone in this.