Streamer to amp

[Nelis87]

What if I have an amp with an onboard dac and 2 optical connections. If I use a Chromecast Audio in 1 of them, and a more expensive (lets say Cambridge CXN) in the other, will they sound the same?

My actual question is if a more expensive streamer has a better sound quality than a Chromecast Audio and a good dac.

 

[insider9]

There may be a difference. Whether it's significant enough to you and on your system it's an entirely different matter.

 

[Vladimir]

The one that will be just a bit louder by chance of design will probably sound better to you, even though it really doesn't do anything better. Example anything made by Chord.

Don't be greedy. Keep it simple and focus on the music.

 

[Nelis87]

The one that will be just a bit louder by chance of design will probably sound better to you, even though it really doesn't do anything better. Example anything made by Chord.

Don't be greedy. Keep it simple and focus on the music.

I can't afford to get greedy, $$wise, so thats a plus. I dont do bluetooth, but all the different components make it hard to choose for me. Do I use a CCA with the optical on my Quad Vena? Do i use a Yamaha wxad-10 with the rca on my Vena? Do I add a another box and use my old Pioneer N50A with the rca on my Vena? The possibilities are kinda overwhelming.

 

[Vladimir]

The one that will be just a bit louder by chance of design will probably sound better to you, even though it really doesn't do anything better. Example anything made by Chord.

Don't be greedy. Keep it simple and focus on the music.

I can't afford to get greedy, $$wise, so thats a plus. I dont do bluetooth, but all the different components make it hard to choose for me. Do I use a CCA with the optical on my Quad Vena? Do i use a Yamaha wxad-10 with the rca on my Vena? Do I add a another box and use my old Pioneer N50A with the rca on my Vena? The possibilities are kinda overwhelming.

CCA to Quad sounds like a good way to do it. Less clutter, just tuck the CCA at the back, job done.

I use my CCA directly to the amp via RCA.

 

[davedotco]

They are functionally very different items, I'm not exactly sure what you would be comparing.

Streamers now are so multifunctional that it is often a question of what you want them to do and what your priorities are.

For example, I stream Spotify, my ultra budget streamer/dac/preamp supports Spotify Connect which works very well indeed, it also has Chromecast built in, so I could stream from my device, but why would I bother?

Mostly it is a function of what you want the unit to do that makes the difference, though I think the way the incoming data is managed and the way the Spdif data stream is constructed might make a difference. In theory, if this is carried out correctly, there should be no difference in the outputed Spdif data stream, but that does not mean that there are not other issues such as jitter or noise.

 

[newlash09]

Let me share something I've read. And please bear in mind that iam only sharing not endorsing anything 🙂

Digital is all 1's & 0's carried over electricity. So some exotic streamers come with dedicated circuitry to purify the electrical input, so that the output is pure.

Secondly , dedicated streamers have circuitry to suppress jitter in thier digital out.

These two above points are what I have mostly read.

I did a small experiment recently. I plugged in a audioquest jitterbug into the wallwart supplied with the CCA. And then used a audioquest cinnamon usb cable to power the CCA. I also used a audioquest mini toslink optical cable into my dac. And iam glad to report no differences between using the wallwart and supplied usb cable in place of a supposedly usb cable and the jitterbug.

Considering the above, you can try the dac in the quad and see wether you prefer the inbuilt dac of the CCA or the quad. All the best

 

[Nelis87]

Thanks guys. The only thing I want to achieve is stream Spotify Premium on my new system. I did it on my old system using a Pioneer N50A and it sounds good enough for me. That's why I think a CCA might be sufficient for me using my Vena dac.

I try to keep my amount of components to a minimum or as small as possible that's another reason I look at the CCA. I could also afford something like the wxc50 but I don't know if that is gonna make Spotify sound any better than the CCA in my setup.

 

[QuestForThe13thNote]

If your speakers are decent (your other stuff clearly is) I will say that using a cca will probably destroy sound quality.

what you tend to find is the people who own basic systems on here say there is no difference, the ones whose system doesn’t quite work (but are scratching around at achieving that) will be indifferent, but those who have very decent systems probably won’t even take part as using a £30 cca on even the most modest but decent system, doesn’t really register. Trying to get great sound from such a modest device. What the f—k.?

id strongly think it would make a difference to you. It makes a huge difference on mine, not that some on here would allow that in all their wisdom shall we say. But you can just buy one and trial it against something better. I did so out Curiosity of all the bs about it. It does do the job well in budget systems (like my iPod dock) and is great value and it’s going as a good Xmas present.

But people are realists and know your can’t get to the moon for £30. Right? Not some on here, they’d prefer you to think that you can do audiophile hi Fi on a real budget. Of course they would. Why might that be in the real world?

 

[drummerman]

If your speakers are decent (your other stuff clearly is) I will say that using a cca will probably destroy sound quality.

what you tend to find is the people who own basic systems on here say there is no difference, the ones whose system doesn’t quite work (but are scratching around at achieving that) will be indifferent, but those who have very decent systems probably won’t even take part as using a £30 cca on even the most modest but decent system, doesn’t really register. Trying to get great sound from such a modest device. What the f—k.?

id strongly think it would make a difference to you. It makes a huge difference on mine, not that some on here would allow that in all their wisdom shall we say. But you can just buy one and trial it against something better. I did so out Curiosity of all the bs about it. It does do the job well in budget systems (like my iPod dock) and is great value and it’s going as a good Xmas present.

But people are realists and know your can’t get to the moon for £30. Right? Not some on here, they’d prefer you to think that you can do audiophile hi Fi on a real budget. Of course they would. Why might that be in the real world? 

Mmmh ... I guess some valid points there.

I have never compared the CCA to a high end (priced) streamer.

I am sure better can be had if spending manifold more but as with most things digital the differences may not be that great.

Happy bunny with mine, used with or without external dac.

 

[newlash09]

You can buy the CCA and try it for what it's worth. If you don't like it, the next step in digital improvement is still under research, and you sadly have to wait.

 

[Lord Fluken]

I have a CCA and also a Squeezebox Touch, both fed into a Rega DAC (Arcam A80 amp and Mission 773e speakers) I had had some spotify issues with the SQBT as it would say 'not available in your region' on some albums when i could get them on my phone, I got the CCA as for the £20 (on offer) I paid for it was worth a punt. My view was, using Spotify on both, the CCA was flatter, not a full sound, slightly muffled, still sounded fine but was a difference. Still use the CCA as the Spotify app no longer works on SQBT.

So fed into the same DAC my view is there is a difference.