I think much of it comes down to poor mastering for digital and poor implementation techniques in digital sources/DAC's.
Devialet AIR from an off the shelf computer should already outperform a Sqeezebox. A Mutec MC-3+ USB re-clocker/USB converter behind the Sqeezebox will outperform the Sqeezebox on its own, and you can feed it a 10M atomic clock signal if you'd want to. Great, extremely low phase noise clocks can be bought from $1000. No absolute need for the massively overpriced dCS stuff here.
Mutec will also release a -140dB@10Hz one soon but it'll cost around €3k.
I've had an optimized PC using many specialist parts and software outputting into Devialets USB input that outperformed AIR and it itself is significantly outperformed by a relatively cheap Sonore microRendu and this same Mutec. Using a high quality Paul Hynes linear PSU feeding the microRendu improved it even further. Some claim the microRendu outperforms all the Aurenders including the massively overpriced W20.
Bits are bits but there's a lot more to it. For USB for example asynchronous data transfers plus buffering in the DAC is not the silver bullet. There's also the need for proper isolation of different power domains/ground planes, high quality clocks, high quality, low noise power, high signal integrity (e.g. through proper impedance control) both in the source as in the DAC. I have to keep my reply short now, sorry about that, (typing on an iPad and time to go to bed) and a lot is already written on these matters on this forum and many others. Personally I've also kept a log of my "travels through computer audio country" in my system topic (see link in my signature) for those interested. I'm an EE but work in IT now and I've had to admit that a lot of my preconceptions/things in computer science I thought were absolutely true and applicable to digital/computer audio have been wrong. Network and USB cables, hell even an audiophile SATA cable inside my computer made a difference as did powering the SSD from a separate power source. (just some examples) and of course these have been workarounds for the real issues in both the source as Devialet.
Devialet AIR from an off the shelf computer should already outperform a Sqeezebox. A Mutec MC-3+ USB re-clocker/USB converter behind the Sqeezebox will outperform the Sqeezebox on its own, and you can feed it a 10M atomic clock signal if you'd want to. Great, extremely low phase noise clocks can be bought from $1000. No absolute need for the massively overpriced dCS stuff here.
Mutec will also release a -140dB@10Hz one soon but it'll cost around €3k.I've had an optimized PC using many specialist parts and software outputting into Devialets USB input that outperformed AIR and it itself is significantly outperformed by a relatively cheap Sonore microRendu and this same Mutec. Using a high quality Paul Hynes linear PSU feeding the microRendu improved it even further. Some claim the microRendu outperforms all the Aurenders including the massively overpriced W20.
Bits are bits but there's a lot more to it. For USB for example asynchronous data transfers plus buffering in the DAC is not the silver bullet. There's also the need for proper isolation of different power domains/ground planes, high quality clocks, high quality, low noise power, high signal integrity (e.g. through proper impedance control) both in the source as in the DAC. I have to keep my reply short now, sorry about that, (typing on an iPad and time to go to bed) and a lot is already written on these matters on this forum and many others. Personally I've also kept a log of my "travels through computer audio country" in my system topic (see link in my signature) for those interested. I'm an EE but work in IT now and I've had to admit that a lot of my preconceptions/things in computer science I thought were absolutely true and applicable to digital/computer audio have been wrong. Network and USB cables, hell even an audiophile SATA cable inside my computer made a difference as did powering the SSD from a separate power source. (just some examples) and of course these have been workarounds for the real issues in both the source as Devialet.
PS Audio P3, Shunyata ΞTRON Alpha Digital and HC/Furutech power cables, Paul Hynes SR7EHD-MR4, DIY Roon Server & Roon Endpoint running AudioLinux Headless, Phasure Lush^2 USB cable, Audioquest Diamond RJ/E ethernet, Uptone Audio etherREGEN, Mutec MC-3+ USB, Shunyata ΞTRON Anaconda Digital XLR AES/EBU, Devialet Expert 250 Pro CI, Nordost Tyr Reference LS cables, Von Schweikert VR-5 SE Anniversary Edition, Anti-Mode Dual Core 2.0, JL Audio Fathom F112. More detail here.
The Netherlands
The Netherlands
