A great idea and I, for one, am interested in your findings.
Please do check back in if you are having trouble finding the equivalent of your AIFF files on Roon and hopefully one of us can help you with sorting things out.
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It seems I cannot find any settings in Roon (the only player I’m using) to show multiple albums from different sources (from Qobuz and from library).
In the lower, right-hand corner of your Roon GUI you should see something like this:
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Right click on the icon for your device and DSP will be one of the menus that opens up.
Click on DSP and get familiar with the settings options. You will want to set them up so they are the same for any swapping back and forth you might be doing.
My default is no DSP, but others like to use the very useful processing power of the software to tailor the music to their kit and their rooms. If you use different devices to listen, just make sure each device is either not messing with the feed via DSP or using the same settings for the feed.
Here is a screen shot of my DS DAC “neutral” settings:
If you want to know more about DSP, you can click on the “Knowledge Base” link shown to the right in the above image.
Good luck.
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Thank you all, set up is ok DSP disabled and source path checked. Thanks to Carousel I found out the “version” tab that can show the album version too.
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Comparison between FLAC 196/24 on Quobuz vs AIFF 96/24 file on Mac Mini (downloaded from Qobuz).
The sound is richer playing files from library, is evident a better separation of instruments and a feeling of realism, for instance acoustic guitars. Dynamic range is more extended.
On the contrary playing Qobuz version the sound is a little bit flat, muddy absolutely less engaging and “digital”. It seems a veil is covering the overall image. Even bass less punchy and “dry”, less rounded.
Both of them with exactly the same player (Roon) and gear (Mac Mini > USB Diamond > Matrix > Dragon HDMI 48 > DS DAC.
Yes source path makes a difference!
Hope that the AirLens can fix the weak link of the chain, that I’m experiencing would be internet streaming vs downloaded files streaming. The SR Switch UEF plays a role to give a boost to internet but not as clear as files saved on the MacMini.
So a streamer has to fight some noise or issue if the aim is to clean the signal coming from internet. Does it make sense?
PS: thanks to Carousel’s support I was able to manage also a few DSD file to compare to others. Long story short: after 3 hours of listenings (my wife is going crazy repeating same music!!) the winner is… each file downloaded from Qobuz sounds better, at same or sometimes even at low resolution.
At the end of the day it’s a digital bridge that will say PS Audio on the front, host some streaming services and have the proprietary I2S connection. For many PS Audio customers that will be enough.
In the wider market, there are many devices doing much more for similar or less cost because they’ve been developing streaming hardware and software for 10 to 15 years. If someone’s already got a Lumin, Innuos or similar machine … From what I read, these days when people buy a decent streamer they tend to stick with it.
I listened to a few of the files that were downloaded from Qobuz this afternoon. You are right, the files still sound better than streaming. But the difference is much smaller than my previous Bridge2 time. Summus2 server and a few tweaks have narrowed the gap quite a bit.
If you have burning software and blank DVD+R or -R, you should try burning these files onto discs and play them on PST. I suspect the SQ will be even better.
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Hi Luca,
Which album did you use for this comparison?
That WOULD be an interesting experiment.
My current working hypothesis is that an isolated computer, hard drive, NAS or whatever, serving up downloaded files and ripped files of good recordings (regardless of their resolution) will tend to edge out disc spinners.
At least that has been my experience (although the DMP with I2S serving the DS DAC) has closed the gap somewhat).
I am also leaning more and more toward the position that folks tend to optimize one music “rendering” approach at the expense of others and that may explain the perceived “superiority” of one approach over the other more than the assumption there is a “better” way.
It’s all fun though, right?!
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I have implemented extreme galvanic isolation for my Ethernet connection with their own dedicated power supply.
That extra work and the 2 stage Antipodes narrows the gap between streaming and playing downloaded files.
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I agree with Al. Is the the Airlens a stellar or perfectwave product? I thought earlier on there was talk of a perfectwave product that was both a server and streamer. The Airlens will be competing against the Auralic Aries G1 and Innuous Zen and Innuous Mini. The option on the Airlens I do like is I2S output. The rumored price of $1999 makes it compete with most entry level streamers. The price point more than doubles when you move up to the next tier of streaming devices.
It may just come down to hardware, if I spend more money on server and tweaks, they will sound better than PST probably. If I have Al’s “alien ship” player, it will be on top again. 
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Interesting…but I would like to understand more about how you play your downloads and what you mean by streaming.
Heretofore, I have preferred “streaming” my files via JRMC over “streaming” them via Roon; and I have preferred “streaming” my files via JRMC and Roon over “streaming” files from the inter webs via Roon/Tidal and Roon/Qobuz.
Go figure.
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From my personal experience. Before the P20 the PST sounded better than my streamer. Plugged into a p20 the PST and Auralic Aries G2 are hard to tell apart. The P20 improved the performance on the Streamer but the PST’s performance did not change I’m not sure why this is but that’s what I heard.
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Now PST still sounds better than streaming and files playing through the server (the same recordings) in my system. My new streamer has improved over Bridge2 for sure, but I am sure I can improve more, and I am waiting for a new ethernet cable to start. As of now it is good enough for easy listening and a fantastic way to find new music.
Dire Straits Money For Nothing.
After my post also Communiqué and PF Wish You Were Here, same conclusions.