High quality music

[eladeb]

Hi all,
Since having the phantom gold iv always stream via wifi musicvia deezer hifi/Spotify etc.
Looking for a more higher quality way of listening.
Please advice.

Regards,

[Dr.]

Hi all,
Since having the phantom gold iv always stream via wifi musicvia deezer hifi/Spotify etc.
Looking for a more higher quality way of listening.
Please advice.

Regards,

Are you looking for a high-quality streaming service or a way to play higher quality music to the Phantoms Golds? 

If it is streaming you can look at Tidal (HiFi) or Qobuz (Studio or Sublime)

If you want to send higher quality music to your Phantoms, you will need to provide some more details about your current setup.

Hope this helps.

[Jamington2004]

Also interested. I have the feeling that unless you believe in hearing the difference between high res and super high res then it doesn’t matter if streaming from phone or from a fancy hard drive / streaming device?

But would be interested if hardware / software can make any difference at all to streaming the same track at 24/96 for example?

Or is it the same argument as digital cables - and the song either arrives in one piece or it doesn’t?

[Dr.]

Hello Jamming2004

The source is very important and everything in your signal path (hardware, software, firmware...)

Let's say the 24/96 music file arrives intact (after error correction...) at your router and you have an iPhone you used to request the song from your streaming service.

Let's also assume you play to the Phantoms via Bluetooth
The iPhone then compress the file to a lossy format and pass it to the Phantoms.

In this case, you lost all the sound quality from 24/96 down to 44.1/16 and then it was compressed to +/- 256kbps and your original file was +/-4608kbps and even with FLAC or ALAC compression the size would still be +/-2500kbps

In this example, you can easily see the amount of information passed to the phantoms is significantly different.

This leaves the Phantoms with the task to guess the information it did not receive and play what it hopes is close to what the artist intended.

As for the hardware in the signal path, it also matters significantly.

Let's just look at a small example.

If you have a music file that is 24/96 then your hardware needs to recreate an analog signal by reconstructing the signal 24bit by 24bit 96000 times a second for each channel.

Let's just assume you have a clock in your DAC that has some jitter > 50ms then the reconstruction of the analog signal will not match the signal that the artist recorded.

So the file may arrive or not arrive in time or intact but what you do with the file makes a huge difference in your listening experience. (if the listening experience matters to you)

I hope this provides some clarity.

[Jamington2004]

Hi thanks. I should have said I stream Tidal hifi via Chromecast Audio into Phantom Gold optical socket - and let the Phantoms do the rest

Or could equally stream via WiFi direct to the dialogue, or airplay

So my question was more around the bit of getting the song to the Phantoms - does it matter if streaming from tidal on a phone, or from a hard drive containing the music file to some expensive streaming device and onto the Phantoms

If genuine noticeable differences could be heard I would be interested to try something as there’s not much else to tinker with now I have the Phantoms

Not sure how it can get much better than when I stream a decent recording to them from my iPhone

[Dr.]

Hello,

This is a very controversial subject.

I have not tried the CromeCast Audio(CCA). I can tell you that that passing on bit-perfect songs is very important, but the way you pass the information is just as important.

I have read that the CCA passes the music bit perfectly via optical (Toslink), but not sure how it passes the bits on and that can make a big difference.

I am in a massive upgrade phase and have experienced improvements in the phantoms every step of the way.

I am taking it slowly and going step by step to ensure the changes settle in before adding the next upgrade so I can tell if next addition or upgrade is worth the time and effort.

I leave +/- 14 days between changes by that time the equipment settled and I am used to the new sound of songs I like to listen to, some songs I've been listing to for 30 years, and I know them well.

My last stage will be to get the files to the phantoms in a higher quality format, (192/24)

But I am still trying to find a way to play 192/24 to the Phantoms via RJ/Ethernet from my Roon nucleus.

Currently trying to find out is the Sonore MicroRendu or the SOtM SMS-200Ultra Neo will able to do what I want.

Back to you Question (sorry for the diversion)

If the file format on both devices is at the lower bit rate that the iPhone uses to send the file to the Phantoms it will only make a small difference.

I have experienced some small improvement in the stereo imaging, clarity and it also sounded a bit fuller (on my other system). But my ears may perceive things slightly different than yours.

I believe this was due to the change in the way Airplay and Roon RAAT handles the music files. The differences are bigger once the file format on the hardware is higher than the iPhone passes on to your system.

I am enjoying the upgrade and every improvement I hear.

Hope this was helpful.

[ragwo]

But I am still trying to find a way to play 192/24 to the Phantoms via RJ/Ethernet from my Roon nucleus.

Currently trying to find out is the Sonore MicroRendu or the SOtM SMS-200Ultra Neo will able to do what I want.

The MicroRendu and the UPnP implementation of the Phantom/Dialog aren't compatible. Even with extensive help from Jesus Rodriguez, the founder of Sonore, there was no solution. This was two days ago.

[Snoopy8]

So my question was more around the bit of getting the song to the Phantoms - does it matter if streaming from tidal on a phone, or from a hard drive containing the music file to some expensive streaming device and onto the Phantoms

Am using UPnP to get music from NAS to a pair of Golds. 

• Minimserver to access library, apply convolution, running on an Intel NUC. 
  
• Using BubbleUPnP as control App
  
• Dialogue connected via Ethernet cable, UPnP enbled
  

The Golds are sitting on Triangle speaker stands as well as Isoacoustics Aperta speaker stands.

The end result is a superb stereo system with a wide and full sound stage with lots of detail and good resolution. Delighted with the sound stage where it is possible to tell each musician's "space". Instruments and voices sound natural with good tonal balance between the bass, mids and highs. While it is best in the main listening position, the Golds perform well off axis with the music filling the room. 

[eladeb]

Where r u getting all of those hi res audio files?
Seems like ages since i downloaded or search for ogg or lossless audio in the net.
Taking me year back to napster (:

My setup is 2 golds wifi to speakers deezer or tidal.
Sometimes i have the filling that i dont take the system to its full potential the comfort of stream music without get up from the couch .

So i wanted to try new ways to make this audio experience better.with the given fact that i dont own any other equipment like external dacs etc...phone&laptop.

[Snoopy8]

Sometimes i have the filling that i dont take the system to its full potential the comfort of stream music without get up from the couch .

Are the Golds on speaker stands and placed properly in the room, just like any high end stereo speaker?  Also, I have mine on Isoacoustic Aperta 100 stands, which reduces the smearing of instruments.