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RE: iPurifier3 or Intona USB isolator or Uptone Regen

Posted by mike1127 (A) on April 7, 2024 at 18:39:25

In Reply to: iPurifier3 or Intona USB isolator or Uptone Regen posted by mike1127 on April 6, 2024 at 23:18:58:

I'm pretty inexperienced with computer audio or network streamers/transports. I've been using Windows NUC, set up with the help of a friend (with a 19V LPS and Fidelizer software). I just starting listening with no other fussing, so in a way I don't really know that much about PC Audio.

I've been asking questions over on the PC Audio forum. A lot of them use computers, particularly Raspberry Pis running some flavor of stripped-down LINUX. Some of them use Windows 10/11 machines. My Windows NUC has less complexity inside than a desktop which probably helps. A lot of people in the PC Audio forum love Foobar including its filter plugins and use a Windows PC for that reason.

I would be curious for your opinion on Raspberry Pis. Because many people have presented them to me as a much better option than a Windows PC given that the OS is very lightweight and fast, leading to less jitter. My concern is that the hardware is cheap. The RPi enthusiasts often promote how inexpensive they are, but I have a $1000 to 1500 budget for improving my transport (i.e. PC, network stream) (I'm keeping my DAC) and I'm just concerned with how cheap the hardware is on a Pi, like the voltage regulation, USB ports, etc.

I just recently purchased an iFi Zen Stream from Amazon (convenient for returns if I end up not using it) and I'm listening to it. This is probably the kind of device you're talking about. I'm using a very h.q. 12V LPS to power it. Unfortunately I don't have the option to use wired Ethernet (I'm up the stairs and two rooms over from the router, in a roommate situation), so I've tried streaming to it over WiFi. The Zen has at least three modes in DLNA operation. Method #1: I can run JRiver on my MacBook and see the Zen as a "zone." Method #2: I can go into the Zen Web UI and see my music library on my MacBook as a network drive, and go into the library and select an album to play. Method #3: the Zen actually has an extra USB port where I can attach a hard drive, and I can browse its folders from the Zen Web UI.

Method #3 sounds way better than my NUC and is the best method. Method #2 isn't quite as good, and Method #1 is the least good (although still has some qualities that surpass the NUC).

I would think that any streamer/transport is a computer at the heart of it. For example, the Zen Stream uses a quad-core ARM chip. It's just that the Zen is optimized in a lot of other ways, like noise canceling circuitry, voltage regulation quality, and the most stripped-down OS of all.

I told the folks over at Audiophile Style about my experiments and one suggested an Aurender music server. It has the disks attached (i.e. would be equivalent to my Method 3) and has all that PS goodness and optimized hardware for a good quality USB output. I found a used N100H for $1300 with 2 TB of storage already installed so I bought that. Will arrive in a few days. I may resell it if it's not good, but it's a start. I would be interested in your opinion on the idea of "server" as opposed to a "streamer/transport". I think a "server" is just a streamer/transport with hard drives attached and some kind of iOS or Android remote control, right?

So if I understand right, you would suggest that I don't need a USB regen/isolator if my source USB is already high quality and optimized?

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