Quote:
Originally Posted by CheezWhiz
I would not sweat the wireless bogeyman too much with 1 caveat. As someone that built and shipped millions of high end enterprise wifi access point, I would have no worries that a good wifi implementation will not negatively impact sound quality.
There lies the rub. Wifi technology is always evolving, always in motion. There’s new major standards coming continuously, a wifi link can easily be faster than a 1G wired connection and with this magic comes complexity. If you are a vendor of hifi gear, what do you actually know about the wifi technology? Well, nothing. So you’ll buy the whole stack from a vendor and integrate this with the device OS, likely linux. There are many pitfalls there especially if the hifi vendor tries to cheapen out, which is likely in a product that sells for 500$, where the total part cost has to be around $100
To be clear I know nothing about the blusound wifi. For me I would keep the Mac and spend the 1K on a DAC. Good wifi first. But then i am of the unpopular opinion that fancy streamers is the last place to spend cash. In my setup I have a bricasti M3, a semi fancy DAC. I have the network interface so I can feed the DAC from a) Ethernet, b) Roon nucleus to USB c) a Naim ND5 XS2 through SPDIF. I can guaranteed that I have ears and there isn’t much difference at all between those 3 setups. Much much less than changing the filter in the DAC, or any other fiddling with components…
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A good reason to get a Lumin P1 or X1 and call it a day. Right now, I'm streaming via OM-1 spec fiber from my Mac Mini (via Sonore OM FMC) into a Lumin P1. No need for an Ethernet switch, no need for an LPS for the Ethernet switch, no need for a network bridge, no need for an LPS for the network bridge, no need for an Ethernet cable, and.. no need for a USB cable. Other nice things about fiber: no high-source impedance leakage current, no threshold jitter, and no common-mode noise on the Ethernet or the USB cables.
And, it sounds...fabulous. As in.... REALLY good. 
'Course, a Constellation integrated amp doesn't hurt one bit, either. 
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Lumin P1 streamer/DAC/preamp, Constellation Inspiration integrated TT: Michell Gyro SE MkII, SME V, Koetsu Urushi Vermilion, EAR324. Harbeth 30.2s, REL R-305, Shunyata Alpha V2 ICs, Alpha V2 SPs, Sigma XC, Sigma NRv2, Omega QR-s & Alpha NRv2 PCs, segmented Altaira SG stack w/ Alpha & Omega CGCs, Everest 8000 PD. Remote Server Room: Uptone EtherREGEN, AfterDark Master Clock & LPS, Alita, Battle Angel, (Akasa NUC Roon Core), iFi DC Purifiers (for SMPS used for Alita & router), Shunyata Gemini combo power distributor & Altaira-type CG GP-NR hub, Venom & Alpha CGCs, Shunyata NRv14 power cords for digital components.
Last edited by Puma Cat; 02-12-2022 at 03:37 PM.
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