Do Streamers Really Matter?

[Poppyhome]

Has anybody blind tested A/B'ing inputs in the same DAC and heard a noticeable sound difference among streamers?

[Masterlu]

Originally Posted by Poppyhome

Has anybody blind tested A/B'ing inputs in the same DAC and heard a noticeable sound difference among streamers?

Most definitely; I have tried no less than 8 different brands.

[Poppyhome]

Originally Posted by Masterlu

Most definitely; I have tried no less than 8 different brands.

Can you please expand further the sonic improvements one can expect when instantaneously A/B'ing different streamers with the same DAC.
Also, what price category are you referring to?

[Puma Cat]

Originally Posted by Poppyhome

Has anybody blind tested A/B'ing inputs in the same DAC and heard a noticeable sound difference among streamers?

Yes, they matter and sometimes, considerably. The digital cable connecting them to the DAC also matters, as does their mechanical grounding to the shelf (i.e., the footers) they are resting on, as they are very sensitive to vibration.

Also, "grounding" them is important, so connecting them to an Altaira hub, for example, really makes for a quite an inprovement. I've found that many "digital-domain only" devices, e.g. music server computers, routers, Ethernet switches, network bridges, and streamers are very susceptible to ground-plane noise.

I'm confident Ivan has observed this as well. Here you can see a grounding connection with an Delta ground cable for a Lumin U2 streamer (superb streamer, BTW) to my Lumin P1's Altaira (as well as the P1's ground cable, below).


Something I really like about Lumin is they put a proper chassis ground terminal on their products.

[Poppyhome]

That's my dilemma, I’ve auditioned and A/B’d three streamers at the same time and have not heard any discernable difference with the Benchmark DAC3 B changing inputs.
Using an — Oppo 205 Coaxial output, Eversolo DMP-A6 USB output, PS Audio AirLens Coaxial output as streamers.

[Masterlu]

Originally Posted by Poppyhome

That's my dilemma, I’ve auditioned and A/B’d three streamers at the same time and have not heard any discernable difference with the Benchmark DAC3 B changing inputs.
Using an — Oppo 205 Coaxial output, Eversolo DMP-A6 USB output, PS Audio AirLens Coaxial output as streamers.

I’ll be happy to; all of mine tried are considerably more expensive than the ones you mentioned above.

[Poppyhome]

I reached out to Benchmark and here's what they said—

"Actually any streamer should do as long as you are using the DAC3 for the D/A conversion. They should all sound the same."

Maybe their engineering techniques implement the digital signal better.

[Puma Cat]

Originally Posted by Poppyhome

I reached out to Benchmark and here's what they said—

"Actually any streamer should do as long as you are using the DAC3 for the D/A conversion. They should all sound the same."

They don't, in my experience.

[Masterlu]

Originally Posted by Poppyhome

I reached out to Benchmark and here's what they said—

"Actually any streamer should do as long as you are using the DAC3 for the D/A conversion. They should all sound the same."

Maybe their engineering techniques implement the digital signal better.

I’m a Benchmark owner/dealer; that’s the furthest thing from the truth.

[Poppyhome]

I can’t understand why Benchmark would lie.

So did anyone actually A/B different streamers with the Benchmark DAC3?