Expensive vs Cheap Music Streamers. My Experience...

I compare the Wiim Ultra to the Cambridge Audio CXN100 and the EXN 100. I was kind of surprised.

[bsail]

I'm a little disappointed that this was a dac comparison rather than a streamer comparison. Most of us realize dacs make a substantial differance.
I'd really like a comparison of all 3 streamers hooked up to a good external dac with an unaltered (no eq) digital signal.

[gronthomson]

I've watched this video at least 6 times in the last week. I've also watched every Youtube video, article, and forum discussion that I could find featuring the Cambridge Audio EXN 100. Your video is THE BEST and MOST DETAILED regarding the Cambridge Audio EXN 100. I clicked on your affiliate link above to Crutchfield and ordered one yesterday. Can't wait to get it connected and start listening to my TIDAL collection!

I've had a Cambridge Audio Azur 851n in the past and loved it. Unfortunately, lost it during Hurricane Ian flooding. Have since purchased a Blue Sound Node, but have had nothing but irritating connection issues with it. Very happy to be returning to a Cambridge Audio streamer again.

[holgerokorn]

Regarding sound quality, I still assume that the speakers are primarily responsible for that. With a streamer, the most important thing for me is how easily I can get music from my phone, network, laptop, internet radio.

[Wised]

One thing missing on the cheaper streamer is the the balanced connectors. A balanced connection always sounds better than an RCA one! Although stereo interconnectors are not very long balanced connectors are basically absolutely quiet and thus always have better S/N than an unbalanced one! A balanced connection also carries twice the voltage!

[jimx]

I appreciate that Cambridge has the inputs labeled upside-down to make it easier to make the connections correctly. Also fun to see the Schiit Kara in your stack. I swapped out a Freya S for Kara and I appreciate the difference in SQ. Some might still prefer the Freya which is cool.
So back to the topic. Ease of use should be at the top of the list when shopping for a streamer. A friend just bought a cheap streamer that he HATES because of the user interface.
Thanks for the review!

[jaynunes]

We are really just comparing the DACs here. You could drop down to the WIIM plus and dump $500 into a fantastic DAC and still save a boatload of money over either of the Cambridge soundwork streamers. What am I getting for my extra $1300 besides a better DAC?

[Surreyg]

I think you will find that Chromecast streams direct from the internet once you have chosen the content on your device and ‘cast’ that content. I.e. once Chromecast knows what you want to hear it goes direct from your router to the Chromecast device NOT through your phone. So it is very different from Bluetooth and has a higher sound quality.

[mikecampbell]

I'm so happy with my Wiim Mini and my Schiit Modi 3+ DACS. I can control my Mini with my Alexa and Amazon Music and just do a playlist. No stress, no trying to get the last tiny bit of audio detail. Just listening to music.

[upperfootball_]

Would love to see a blind test comparing the sound with and without the “re-clocker”. That would be a really cool video to see.

[Shadepariah]

I put volumio on a raspberry pi zero and put it in developer mode and side-loaded a jellyfin plugin. Put an audio hat on the pi and hooked it up to my receiver. Now I can just play music with my phone as my remote. Total of like $75 with a case.

[johnbeckmeyer]

Chromecast does not "pass through your phone". Your phone controls the stream between Google's content distribution servers and the Chromecast receiver. Don't believe me? Start a chromecast stream with you phone and then turn your phone off. The stream continues. 😯

[danmarjenka]

Very you hear it, that's the problem. Once you hear it, you want to hear it all of the time." Hif-Fi is like everything else in life. A person gets spoiled.

[arturomartinez]

My question is if the differences in quality are result of the DAC and not the "pure" streaming function. Some of your audience (I am quite sure), have already very good DACs. So having a streaming without DAC, is a more interesting option.

[rubi]

Great timing. I've been looking into these options just this week. Even these exact models!

[JayGradyAustin]

I grabbed a Marantz ND8006 CD/Streamer combo a few years ago and it’s been great. Best of both worlds.

[dannypellerin]

at 4:16, you mentionned "the more you pay, the better it sounds". I guess this is for the analog portion. But what about the digital ones? The fact the DAC is outside the streamer for those connection, does "the price" of the streamer have any impact on the quality of the sounds also? THX for your videos BTW. Lovin it

[scotthanson]

I don’t care what DAC may or may not be in a streamer as I’m using a Denafrips Pontus 15th for DAC duties. I recently upgraded from a Bluesound Node to a PS Audio Airlens for streaming duties and EVERY aspect of sound quality improved remarkably. Yes, as long as your system is capable of revealing the differences, streamer performance is definitely a thing.

[stephenscharf]

Most respectfully, Randy, I’ve found that pretty much _everything_ matters when listening to an audio system, including the barometric pressure in the room. The factors I’ve found that consistently have the most influence are: 1) room acoustics 2) power distribution and 3) component ground-plane (both chassis ground and signal ground) noise reduction. Address these three foundational factors first, and users will obtain _significantly improved, _ more consistent, and more enjoyable audio performance with whatever system they are using.

[chrismuller]

I wish you would've compared the three hooked up digitally through the SMSL reclocker each through the same external DAC. I"d like to know if there's any noticeable difference between them in that setup.

[Nefty_]

I agree that the difference in clocking is really audible, the streaming part of your system, before the DAC, matters a lot.