There is something else! -Optimize a hi-fi streaming chain

Recently I was contacted by our valued customer and friend Thomas Paszti invited to a listening session at home. We wanted different DACs and headphone amplifiers in your chain and of course enjoy music.

It was one of those personal get-togethers that I value and love so much, where you can exchange ideas with other music lovers about our greatest hobby and simply have a good time.

When I arrived at Thomas's, I was warmly welcomed by him and his wife, and over a cup of fine coffee, we chatted briefly about our passions, hi-fi and photography—Thomas' wife is an avid landscape photographer.

Afterwards, we climbed the stairs to Thomas's "man cave," or music room, where he pursues his hobby.

Recently Thomas had a Ferrum Hypsos (Intelligent Power Supply), which has its Burson Conductor 3XR to new heights. After Thomas at home, the new and award-winning Ferrum OOR headphone amplifier, it will now power his headphones. A suitable R2R DAC (Holo May KTE) has now been added.

Then Thomas showed me all the other optimizations he had made in his "chain" over the last few years and I must say I was impressed by what could be achieved with some small measures how much sound can be extracted!

So I asked Thomas to share his wealth of knowledge with other users and post it on our blog. So, here we go! 🙌

Optimizing a hi-fi streaming chain

Initial situation

A few years ago I made the step from a speaker hi-fi system to headphones, a wonderful Final Audio D8000, plus a Burson Conductor 3XR DAC headphone amplifier.

I wanted to play music on my laptop and so my dealer offered me the service Qobuz (https://www.qobuz.com/ch-de/discover) recommended. That was the beginning of my excursion down the computer audio rabbit hole.

Because I didn't have an Ethernet internet connection in my music room, I simply received the music signal on my smartphone and transferred it to my Apple laptop via a Wi-Fi hotspot. The Qobuz app was installed on my laptop, and I passed the music signal from the laptop to the DAC (digital-to-analog converter) of my DAC headphone amplifier via a USB cable.

This was my original system, and I was quite happy to be able to enjoy Qobuz's extensive music collection in good quality.

Image caption: Sending the Qobuz signal via 5G from the mobile phone to the laptop via a Wi-Fi hotspot has not yet unleashed the system's full potential.

But there was something that still wasn't quite right. When my friend brought his portable music player with CD-ripped data (16-bit/44.1 kHz) and connected it to my DAC, the streaming via Qobuz always sounded a bit worse in comparison. Even when I streamed a 24-bit/96 kHz recording, which should actually be superior to CD quality with 16-bit/44.1 kHz.

There wasn't much high-resolution music to be heard back then, and my boyfriend kept insisting that wired signal transmission was always the better choice. I always smiled and said that in the digital world, everything is just zeros and ones, so the signal transmission method was flawless and couldn't affect the music quality.Far from it!

But I had to experience it for myself, and that's what this summary of my journey is about: optimizing the audio quality of music streaming - from the wall socket to the DAC.

I would like to emphasize, however, that not everything I describe here as optimization is based on my own discoveries. I've tried many things myself, but I've also researched a lot of knowledge and experience online, from specialist articles, and from audiophile reviews in online forums.

Some of the optimizations were subtle, almost imperceptible, or barely noticeable; some were so clear that you were amazed after just the first few bars. Therefore, I don't want to describe every change in its sonic impact in detail, using flowery terms like "holographic spatial imaging," etc.

These changes can have different effects depending on the chain and the quality of the components. I would like to encourage more people to implement some of these measures themselves, to experiment, and to trust their own ears. But I can guarantee you one thing: You will make worthwhile progress, and you will get more out of your streaming playback chain than you can imagine.

Wi-Fi versus Ethernet connection

With my boyfriend's warnings ringing in my ears, I moved my headphone chain down to the living room and, instead of using Wi-Fi via my phone, took the signal from the router and fed it to my laptop via an RJ45 Ethernet cable. And lo and behold, there was an immediately audible improvement in sound quality. That was the beginning of the end of using my smartphone as a modem.

Image caption: Using a router with a network cable to the PC produced noticeably better results.

The Internet router

The internet router is the first component in the chain to the DAC, and also one of the most important, but often overlooked. This small mini-computer converts your telecom provider's DSL/ADSL signal into a network signal (Ethernet). However, any digital signal processing generates "noise" that is imperceptible to the ear. u.aHigh-frequency interference is distributed throughout the network, disrupting other devices and, in the worst case, passing all the way to the DAC. This "noise" needs to be minimized, and optimization therefore begins with the router.

I read in a technical article that the Fritzbox router is particularly well-suited for hi-fi applications, partly because it offers a wide range of software configuration options. The slightly more than 230 Swiss francs were well worth it; out of the box, the Fritzbox was a step ahead of the Sunrise router.

Image: Fritzbox 7590 Router

We then moved on to the Fritzbox settings. It's best to use the Fritzbox router as a dedicated router, meaning its sole purpose is to provide you with the best possible audio signal. The key is to slow things down, remove or disable tasks like Wi-Fi, reduce the data transfer rate from Gbit to Mbit (streaming music requires very little bandwidth), maximize stability at the expense of transfer speed, and disable packet acceleration (the most important setting).

Please note that every time you restart the router, packet acceleration will be re-enabled, but the remaining settings will remain.Keep in mind that the Fritzbox can also be restarted externally by the operator, for example, after a software update. So, it's worth reading the email from Fritzbox and checking this setting from time to time.

Connecting to the wall socket: The Fritzbox does not have an RJ11 input, but rather an RJ45 socket, just like the network outputs. This means: Call an electrician, install a proper RJ45 wall socket, and connect the wall socket with a high-quality Connect an Ethernet cable to the Fritzbox (do not use the included cable). Here are a few screenshots to help you find the settings more quickly:

Legend: When streaming music, even 100 Mbit is enough.

Legend Interference immunity: Here too, the Fritzbox offers the possibility to slow down the router

legend Path Packet Acceleration: You can find packet acceleration under “Contents,” then at the end of the “FRITZ!Box Support” page.

Packet Acceleration Legend: Disabling packet acceleration is the only setting that will be reset after a router restart.

Linear power supplies vs. switching power supplies

While optimizing my streaming chain, there were a total of three really big leaps forward (the other two will come later).

The first was to power the Fritzbox not with the included cheap 12-volt switching power supply, but with a "quiet" and stable linear power supply designed for hi-fi applications. So, I took the 12-volt linear power supply from my Belcanto preamplifier and connected it to the router. The difference was so noticeable that after a few seconds, my boyfriend took off his headphones and said, "I'm speechless."

I was equally astonished, and after this impressive experience, I suddenly realized why cheap switching power supplies, while they do their job, are simply unsuitable for audio. Manufacturers of high-quality audio components sometimes invest enormous effort in the power supply of their devices, and with good reason. The topic of linear power supplies will therefore continue to be a focus of our future work.

The network switch

First of all, using a switch designed or optimized for audio was the second big lightbulb moment when optimizing the streaming chain. The difference is enormous, and if the rest of your playback chain is good or sensitive enough, you'll immediately notice the improvement in sound quality and musicality.

Picture: SOtM sNH 10G Switch

Even if you do not need this switch to create a network with multiple devices, but only as a filter connected in series – i.e. Ethernet cable from the router in, a second cable out to the output device (z.B. Mac/PC or streamer).

Using a good linear power supply for the switch further amplifies this effect, albeit not quite as significantly. However, the basic principle here is to avoid switching power supplies if possible, as these not only transmit noise to the connected device but also affect the power strip, thus affecting all other connected devices.

Therefore, do not use the various outputs of the router, even if it can act as a switch with its four outputs to create a network.

This switch is of low quality, and as we learned above, we should also free the router from all unnecessary tasks. I came up with the idea of ​​using an "audiophile" switch through a Video of cool Dutch people, who hosted a livestream listening session of various switches. One key statement that caught my attention: "Any switch is better than no switch." Various specialist articles and listening experiences from audiophiles have clearly confirmed this.

The reason: Switches designed for audio have more precise clocks. Now it gets complicated, we have to “Jitter” (clock fluctuations/jitter in digital signals) talk, but because I only have a modest electrical engineering knowledge, I would like to share this with the experts left to.

You can find many explanations online explaining why jitter has a negative impact on audio quality. In addition to precise clocks, good switches also have components that galvanic isolation make possible (http://www.hifi-forum.de/viewthread-42-62.html), which helps to transmit only the signal and filter out interference (noise).

A device in the streaming chain therefore has less opportunity to negatively influence others with its noise, so the switch acts as a kind of filter. The internet also offers a variety of explanations on this fundamental topic for audio.

By the way, the worst and loudest "colleague" in your combo is the Mac/PC, because it is not designed for audio at all and, with its components (processor, voltage regulator, etc.) and the powerful internal switching power supply, creates noise, both on the network and, above all, via its USB output, which passes the audio signal directly to the sensitive DAC.

Image caption: The audiophile switch is one of the most important components in the streaming chain.

The music server/streaming PC

My laptop has since been replaced by a more powerful Mac mini, which now runs the Qobuz app. The Mac mini doesn't do anything other than music; it's a dedicated streaming PC that should be freed from as many tasks as possible (no Wi-Fi, no Bluetooth, Spotlight disabled). The Mac mini sounded a bit different than the laptop, but not better, just a little bit different.

On a rainy winter day, out of curiosity, I Audio all-round software “Roon” (https://roonlabs.com ) after I read that my streaming service Qobuz can also be used from Roon.

After the first few bars of music, I was so astonished by the improved audio quality via Roon that I started to wonder why Roon apparently has a better handle on "BitPerfect" than the Qobuz app. My friend also uses Qobuz, and when I passed on the tip to him, he said the next day, "Your tip saved me thousands of francs on hi-fi equipment."

Roon isn't free, but it's addictive and you'll convert the free trial into a subscription, I promise ;-) With its diverse options, including audio settings (DSP), it's a new rabbit hole where the learning curve isn't quite as steep.

Image: Roon

HQPlayer

HQPlayer is a paid software that installs on your Mac/PC and offers a variety of upsampling and downsampling algorithms, as well as matching filters. Roon is HQPlayer-ready, meaning you select HQPlayer for the output (Roon Endpoint) instead of the DAC.

If the NAA (more on Network Audio Adapter NAA in the next section) also supports or can receive HQPlayer, the HQPlayer simply runs in the background and you can continue to use the full functionality of Roon as usual.

Upsampling with HQPlayer transformed my DAC in terms of speed, precision, and stage size, but a tiny bit of musicality was lost. But not all DACs respond the same to upsampling, so experimentation is the key. You have a 30-day free trial version so you can test it out and experience it for yourself.

But: Your Mac/PC also needs a lot of horsepower under the hood, the processing load is enormous, and with computationally intensive filters, the fan starts up before you can count to three.

Picture: HQ Player

Network Audio Adapter (NAA)/Network Media Transport

The third and final major lightbulb moment regarding sound quality: using a Network Audio Adapter (NAA). While reading Roon's instructions, I noticed that they explicitly recommend using a Network Audio Adapter (NAA) instead of the USB output of the Mac/PC to connect to the DAC.

This means not using the noisy, poorly clocked and poorly powered USB 3 output of the Mac/PC to the DAC, but instead passing the music signal back to a Network Audio Adapter (NAA) via the Ethernet network.

The NAA is therefore purely an interface between the network and your DAC. This mini-computer with its own operating system does nothing more than convert the music signal from Roon over the Ethernet network into the best possible USB signal so that the DAC can perform its work optimally.

Here, too, the topic of power supply catches up with us: A good NAA equipped with a linear power supply not only supplies the cleanly clocked and filtered music signal to the DAC via the USB cable, but also provides first-class 5 volts of power to power the DAC's USB unit. Yes, the USB unit in the DAC is usually not powered by the DAC itself, but by the player, so care must be taken with the power supply here as well.

I chose a Sonore OpticalRendu as my NNA because it delivers a music signal via a fiber optic cable instead of a copper cable. The Ethernet network signal (copper cable) is first converted to a fiber optic signal (fiber optic cable) by a media converter after the switch, and only then is it fed to the OpticalRendu.

Picture: Sonore OpticalRendu

This has the advantage of complete galvanic isolation, meaning no electrical interference can be transmitted, only the signal itself in the form of light pulses. Thus, the NAA is completely electrically isolated from all previous devices.Of course, the NNA, like the media converter, is powered by a linear power supply with two outputs (7 and 9 volts), via good, shielded DC cables with hollow plugs.

Image caption: These components form the current end of my optimized streaming chain. Every device, except the Mac/PC and its monitor, is powered by linear power supplies and shielded DC cables.

Music streamer

Admittedly, there are quite a few devices, and the whole setup isn't exactly suitable for a married couple or a family. But if you're nerdy enough and, ideally, have a man's cave, it's not so bad. Hiding the tech is always possible, and various components have the distinct advantage that individual devices can be replaced with higher-quality ones later, thus still leaving room for subsequent optimizations or expansions.

You can also use a high-quality streamer as the source for the DAC; in this case, you don't need a Mac/PC or an audio network adapter. The streamer connects directly to the DAC, or it even has its own DAC. In this case, the signal goes directly from the streamer to the amplifier and then to the headphones/speakers.

This "all-in-one box" combines various functions simultaneously and connects directly to the switch, which then acts as a kind of filter. The streamer can stream music (Tidal, Qobuz) and also play your own music files from ripped CDs. A good music streamer is also optimized for audio and also passes a better USB signal to the DAC than a Mac/PC.

cabling

The topic of cables is highly controversial in the hi-fi community, and one should never believe that they can elevate an audio system to a whole new level—not even with outrageously expensive, exclusive products coated in snake oil. Nevertheless, in my experience, cables offer scope for shifting the sound in a desired direction, a small but perceptible amount of fine-tuning, so to speak.

At USB cables anyway: “Passion for Sound” has even documented these audible differences between USB cables can be proven by measurementI'm reluctant to make product recommendations, but I'd like to take this opportunity to mention the affordable Oyaide NEO d+ USB Class S. It impressed me greatly and made more expensive cables in my system look outdated.

I'm reluctant to make product recommendations, but I don't want to leave the affordable Oyaide NEO d+ USB Class S unmentioned at this point. It impressed me greatly and made more expensive cables in my system look outdated.

Image: Oyaide NEO d+ USB Class S

But aalso made for audio applications Ethernet network cable They liven things up a bit. I didn't want to believe it, but I was proven wrong by trying it myself (Audioquest Cinnamon). I don't know whether even more expensive Ethernet cables are worth it; I have no experience with them, but I'm rather skeptical.

Image: Supra CAT Ethernet cable

power cable: The power cabling of audio components also offers room for improvement.Trust your own ears and start testing with inexpensive, shielded cables for audio applications. Reputable dealers are even willing to loan you a cable for a weekend.

Start with one device, say the DAC, and if you hear improvements, continue. In my case, a Supra worked well (especially on the DAC). It's €20 per meter, solder the connectors on yourself, and you don't have to sell everything to get a decent setup.

Image: Supra LoRAd 2.5

However, the general principle for cables is: There is no such thing as the “best” (or most expensive) cable, only the one that suits you best to achieve the desired fine-tuning effect in the chain.

A cheaper cable can certainly achieve a better result than a more expensive one, depending on the characteristics of the system and the cable's interaction. So don't go too deep into this rabbit hole; other measures in your playback chain will offer more value for money.

And yet, every little measure counts, even if it's barely noticeable. The sum of all these small improvements will ultimately take you a significant step forward.

Conclusion

While optimizing my streaming chain, I noticed three factors that kept cropping up:

1. Avoid interference or noise by galvanically isolating the individual components of the chain.
2. Good clocks to avoid jitter.
3. A high-quality power supply for the components to ensure peace and to ensure stability.

And it is precisely with the latter attributes that your progress in
the sound quality well. However, these signal hygiene measures have an effect not affect all DACs equally. More expensive and higher quality DACs have filters and Good clocks are already built in and are therefore more resistant to noisy or poorly timed signals.

And yet, various owners report in online forums of expensive DACs of sound improvements after implementing individual mentioned here. Shortly before the publication of this article, my new R2R DAC arrived, a Holo May KTE, which is known for its insensitivity to poorer signal sources. And even this DAC has the Network Audio Adapter NAA (Sonor OpticalRendu) performs significantly better than via the USB output of the Mac mini.

Directly from a Mac/PC via USB cable to a DAC is apparently not the last word in wisdom The end. To perform its work optimally, it needs clean and stable Power, silence from noise and as little jitter as possible, therefore the whole described effort.

Checklist of measures

1. RJ45 Ethernet wall socket instead of the RJ11 connector
2. Good, shielded network/Ethernet cable from the wall socket to the router (do not use the cables supplied with the router)
3. Network switch made for audio
4. A powerful Mac/PC as a player/music server or Roon Core (server, central hub). Without upsampling via Roon or HQPlayer, a less powerful Mac/PC or laptop will also suffice.
5. Streaming (Qobuz or Tidal) not via their apps but via Roon
6. HQPlayer for upsampling is worth a try; the software runs with Roon on the same Mac/PC or on a second Mac/PC on the network.
7. Network Audio Adapter (NAA) as Roon Endpoint for USB output to DAC
8. Network/Ethernet cables made for audio from the router to the switch, from there to the Mac/PC and to the NAA or streamer
9. Good USB cable made for audio
10. Shielded DC cables for low-voltage power supply of routers, switches, and NAAs. A good choice for retrofitting www.ghentaudio.com
11. Shielded 230V power cables for all components
12. Good, audio-grade linear power supplies for all components

This list isn't exhaustive. If you have any other experiences optimizing your streaming chain, we'd love to hear your suggestions in the comments.

Thomas Paszti

I would like to take this opportunity to thank Thomas Paszti for the time and effort he has put into this blog and hope that many of our customers & readers can benefit from it. Thank you very much, Thomas! 🙌👍😊

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