intramuscular fat Posted February 5, 2022 Posted February 5, 2022 HI all - i stream amazon music using my iPhone but plugged directly into a Gustard X16 DAC which tells me the bit rate of each track - usually 192kb. The DAC then feeds my amp and speakers. So as i understand it i am bypassing the DAC in the iPhone and using the Gustard DAC. Would a network streamer transport significantly improve my SQ? - thinking of Lumin U1 mini type of thing. I am not overly worried about the displays and apps.. thanks in advance
Lenidude Posted February 5, 2022 Posted February 5, 2022 Doubt it would be much of an upgrade. USB as a transport is solid and your phone has more then enough processing power to handle sending the data files to your DAC. 1
TerryO Posted February 5, 2022 Posted February 5, 2022 On 05/02/2022 at 7:33 AM, intramuscular fat said: HI all - i stream amazon music using my iPhone but plugged directly into a Gustard X16 DAC which tells me the bit rate of each track - usually 192kb. The DAC then feeds my amp and speakers. So as i understand it i am bypassing the DAC in the iPhone and using the Gustard DAC. Would a network streamer transport significantly improve my SQ? - thinking of Lumin U1 mini type of thing. I am not overly worried about the displays and apps.. thanks in advance Expand The simple answer is yes, a decent quality Streamer combined with your DAC will deliver a superior sq than you will get from using an iPhone as the source. If you are after a Lumin X1 why not contact Cameron at Krispy Audio. cheers Terry https://krispyaudio.com.au/lumin/ 2
Stereophilus Posted February 5, 2022 Posted February 5, 2022 On 05/02/2022 at 7:33 AM, intramuscular fat said: HI all - i stream amazon music using my iPhone but plugged directly into a Gustard X16 DAC which tells me the bit rate of each track - usually 192kb. The DAC then feeds my amp and speakers. So as i understand it i am bypassing the DAC in the iPhone and using the Gustard DAC. Would a network streamer transport significantly improve my SQ? - thinking of Lumin U1 mini type of thing. I am not overly worried about the displays and apps.. thanks in advance Expand If you consider that 16/44 “redbook” CD quality has a bit rate of 1,411kb/sec there is potential room for improvement in your system. Will you hear that difference? That’s up to you to find out. Lumin is a great choice, but there are also cheaper options like RasberryPi’s and Sonore MicroRendu to check out for minimal outlay if you are sceptical. 3
maximus Posted February 6, 2022 Posted February 6, 2022 @TerryOIf you are after a Lumin X1 why not contact Cameron at Krispy Audio. *I think he means Lumin U1. 1
TerryO Posted February 6, 2022 Posted February 6, 2022 On 06/02/2022 at 2:01 AM, maximus said: @TerryOIf you are after a Lumin X1 why not contact Cameron at Krispy Audio. *I think he means Lumin U1. Expand My bad, Cam sells the U1 as well anyway. cheers, Terry
Frank Prowse Hi-Fi Posted February 6, 2022 Posted February 6, 2022 (edited) Will a network streamer improve my setup? Well, yes and no. There's no doubting that there are differences in performance across the streamer landscape, and the general assumption will be of course that the more you spend, the better you should get. Be mindful that at some point the Gustard becomes the bottleneck, so you are probably correct in looking at a U1 Mini from Lumin. So, why did I say no above? Everything is subjective and you may have very high expectations of improvements, so I would encourage you to seek out your local dealer for assistance in maybe a loaner unit to try, or if easier, bring your phone and DAC to the dealer to try numerous options. As an aside, even within one brand such as Lumin there can be huge differences as you move up the food chain. We've recently compared the U1 Mini, T2 and X1 and the difference across each unit is staggering! Edited February 6, 2022 by Frank Prowse Hi-Fi 4
Grizaudio Posted February 6, 2022 Posted February 6, 2022 (edited) Out of curiosity I tired usb out of my iPhone using the camera cable into my RME adi 2 dac fs. It sounded noticeably inferior to my RPI4 via either usb or SPDIF/AES (HAT) So I would say yes. But don’t spend thousands on a new streamer. Plenty of amazing RPI hats would easily keep up with the base Lumin U1 etc. Edited February 6, 2022 by Grizaudio 1
GregWormald Posted February 8, 2022 Posted February 8, 2022 Your (and everybody's) system performance is limited by the weakest link. Different deficiencies can have very different causes. How sure are you that investing in new streamer will give the best results for the money and for the improvement you want? How are the speakers, amp, and room?
cdave Posted February 8, 2022 Posted February 8, 2022 Are you are happy to buy used? You can try it for yourself to answer your question. If you're unhappy with the result you can on sell it to recover most, if not all your investment. For what its worth, this is what I did and the streamer's still here 1
intramuscular fat Posted February 17, 2022 Author Posted February 17, 2022 thanks to all -i have dusted off my airport express as my "streamer" and have upgraded my dac to Gustard X26 Pro (arrives soon) this to me seemed like the way to go. By the way i run an integrated amp (vincent SV-700 with NOS valves, incl NOS raytheon 5751 windmill getters) driving Harbeth Compact 7s. Fingers crossed i will be happy. May look at a second hand streamer transport in the future.
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