Music Streamer suggestions?

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41

Did you pick it up new ?

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Yes. It was a floor model. Itā€™s been running all night seems to be opening up. Maybe Iā€™m just crazy

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43

Give it at least a week 24/7 and that should do it but as it was the demo it could be less depending on how much the dealer actually played it.

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It was a floor display. Never hooked up. I have 30 days so I will try every configuration I can. Considering itā€™s wireless right now itā€™s pretty impressive.

45

Paul

Iā€™ve owned four Auralic streamers with three still in service and always wireless.

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46

Itā€™s great. And currently showing up used or refurbed or closeout deal for $400 or so. Not sure you really need to spend more if you have a decent DAC on hand.

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Are you using the internal Auralic dac or an external dac ?
My plan is when I purchase a streamer/transport I will use the PS Audio DSD dac.

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Iā€™m using a DirectStream Sr. Via a matrix Spdif. AQ Diamond USB coming out of Aries 2 AQ Diamond I2S coming out of matrix to DSD.

49

I have a dCS network bridge connected to my PS DSD via AES cable. The dCS network bridge is connected to the network via an Etheregen switch. To me it sounds better than the Bridge 2. The bass is tighter and overall the sound is smooth, open and detailed yet punchy. Iā€™m not sure that smooth and punchy go together in the same sentence but thatā€™s my impression. The soundstage is wide and deep with each instrument clearly defined within a black background. Iā€™m very impressed with the sound presentation from high to low. Thank you PS Audio, Uptone Audio and dCS for your amazing, quality products. Iā€™m not on commission, just a recovering Audiophile.

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50

Welcome to the forum @DavidPain
Thank you for your input, and it is good to know. What software do you use for streaming?

51

I use TIDAL and QOBUZ via ROON, although the dCS mosaic software is equally as good itā€™s difficult to tell the difference. I find that QOBUZ gives a very slightly deeper soundstage. I have tried to make myself like MQA but to me it sounds ā€œ Forcedā€. I have not tested other separate streamers maybe there is something better out there. I bought it blind, I just went by the reviews and the good name of dCS. I am so glad I did.

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There is a new / old stock dCS Bridge on sale. I wonder if newer units received any improvements / enhancements. Also, I am considering Aries G2.1 by Auralic.

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53

The Auralic Aries G2.1 seems to be a great streamer, it certainly has higher streaming rates, more features and can be combined with other Auralic products. I have read that the dCS bridge is the input stage from dCSā€™s other high end DAC/streamers. But does the Auralic sound better than the dCS network bridge, I donā€™t know. Anyone ?

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54

Just to add, to stream above 192 KHz the dCS bridge uses two AES cable connections, your DAC would require two AES inputs.

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I am aware of that, but again this is the same limitation of Bridge II.

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At least with the Auralic you will be in a position in the future to update to the PS DSD Mk 2 which I assume will be higher than 192KHz. If it has two AES inputs Iā€™ll certainly be purchasing it. Good Luck.

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For sure. Future proofing s important. And yes, it has a galvanically isolated AES

58

I have 6 streamers with the BluoS being my least favorite software.
All are less than $1500 each, all in.

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59

What specifically are your six streamers ?

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I am currently going between a SOtM Ultra Neo/sPS-500 and a Stack Audio Link II/Volt. I have owned many, many streamersā€¦and come to the conclusion that less is more.