ARCHIVED FORUM -- March 2012 to February 2022READ ONLY FORUM
This is the second Archived Forum which was active between 1st March 2012 and 23rd February 2022
quick question, as most everyone on here knows much more about the inner workings of the BO products. Is there an audible advantage to streaming with the Core vs streaming to my Harmony? i just BT my spotify to the harmony and it sounds pretty damn great and the harmony offers a LOT of adjustments. Just wondering if i was trading off sound quality by using the TV as the streaming source. Does anyone have any insight? thanks!!
New: Beovision Harmony, Beolab 50's, Beolab 28's, Beolab 18's, Beolab 17's, Beosound Stage & LG, Beosound 2, Beoplay M3, Beoplay A1, Beoplay Portal, Beoplay H4 gen 2, Beoplay E8 3.0
Mikipedia on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/Mikipedia
Mikipedi4 on Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/mikipedi4
Mikipedia on Intagram: https://www.instagram.com/mikipedi4/
Old: Beosound 9000 mk3, Beolab 3's, Beovision Eclipse, Beolab 1's, Beolab 2, Beovision 10-46, Overture 2300, beolab 8000's, Beolab 4000's, Beovision avant 32" etc. etc.
Don’t waste your time speculating about possible differences there......it is basicly the same.
But - as Miki wrote - stop using BT as the main way of streaming.....the other options are way better.
MM
There is a tv - and there is a BV
Core comes with embedded DAC, pretty good one, and Spotify Connect embedded. BT or WiFi streaming lowers the quality so, based on my experience, the Core will offer a sensible quality improvement.
GLOP: Core comes with embedded DAC, pretty good one, and Spotify Connect embedded. BT or WiFi streaming lowers the quality so, based on my experience, the Core will offer a sensible quality improvement.
So, and where would the essencial differences between how the BV Harmony and how the BS Core works be.....when it comes to sound (apart from the fact that the Harmony has builtin speakers and handles sound from HDMI inputs.
Why would the Core be ‘a sensible quality improvement’?
And why does ‘WiFi streaming lower the quality’....in the Harmony and not with the Core?
Hey all! Thx for the replies. Sorry, when I said BT I meant I use airplay. And when it’s just me listening, I only use the 50s. Occasionally the jazz groove station on tune in sounds great in surround.
Millemissen: GLOP: Core comes with embedded DAC, pretty good one, and Spotify Connect embedded. BT or WiFi streaming lowers the quality so, based on my experience, the Core will offer a sensible quality improvement. So, and where would the essencial differences between how the BV Harmony and how the BS Core works be.....when it comes to sound (apart from the fact that the Harmony has builtin speakers and handles sound from HDMI inputs. Why would the Core be ‘a sensible quality improvement’? And why does ‘WiFi streaming lower the quality’....in the Harmony and not with the Core? MM
Well, I assume you understand the difference between streaming by Bluetooth from a mobile device to any speaker (or Casting AirPlay if you like) and playing musing from an hard-wired source.
When using BeoSound Core Spotify Connect Engine converts music using it's internal DAC which is better than BT stream or AirPlay or ChromeCast.
If you want numbers google is full of it, there you'll check that BT supports 44.1 Khz and 16bit, Airplay 48Khz and 16 bit and BeoSound Core DAC plays natively 96Khz and 24bit.
So Spotify (or any other source connected which support high spec codec) should sound better than casting the same source wireless.
hope this helps.
G.
Btw do you know the model of the DAC inside the Core?
BT simply doesn't have the bandwith to steam more than 1Mb/s... only the very latest BT 5.1 allows for more than 1Mbit... but then the receiving end also has to have the same BT 5.1... where as Wifi has plenty of bandwith... So.. depending on the quality of the source file/streaming service AirPlay or ChromeCast will be better than BT.
Karel.
It it funny how the original question about ‘an audible advantage to streaming with the Core vs streaming to my Harmony’ has turned into a question about whether BT is par or worse than AP, Cast etc.
Firstly Mikipedi already adviced not to use BT (if you have other options) and I fully second that.....there is not much more to say to that.
As I already posted as an answer to the op, what goes on inside the BV Harmony is basicly what goes on inside a BS Core.
And no, I don’t know which DAC is inside the Core (or for that matter in the Sound Center) - I really don’t care much, since that is just one element of what the Core and the Harmony offers.
You can however say, that the Harmony/the Sound Center has a lot more options to tweak the sound, especially if you have external speakers connected. But overall there is the same processesing of the sound going on in both. And both have support for the same services and streaming options.
Assuming the room is the same, the result is essentially determined by the speakers connected to the system. Since BV Harmony has builtin speakers, speakers that you can not connect to a BS Core, it means that it will be hard to decide if one is ‘a sensible improvement’ compared to the other.
pastaj: Is there an audible advantage to streaming with the Core vs streaming to my Harmony? i just BT my spotify to the harmony and it sounds pretty damn great and the harmony offers a LOT of adjustments.
Is there an audible advantage to streaming with the Core vs streaming to my Harmony? i just BT my spotify to the harmony and it sounds pretty damn great and the harmony offers a LOT of adjustments.
To me it looks crystal clear, the answer is YES and discussion never turned on off topic...
sending to the Harmony by BT (and first advise was to go for something better with no extra effort like AirPlay or ChromeCast) is worse than streaming with the Core (so Core is the source, isn't it?).
I just put a reason on top, and the reason is technical specs. Even if the harmony had a better DAC it would not be capable of streaming better than the Core since the signal goes through whatever wireless wave we pick. Even more spotify which is embedded in the Core DAC with the service Connect, so nothing is streamed but the source is the core itself.
Hope this helped.
Beolab 50, Beolab 8000 x 2, Beolab 4000 x 2, BeoSound Core, BeoSound 9000, BeoSound Century, BeoLit 15, BeoPlay A1, BeoPlay P2, BeoPlay H9 3rd Gen, BeoPlay H6, EarSet 3i, BeoVision Eclipse Gen 2 55", BeoPlay V1-40, BeoCom 6000 and so much else :)
Michael:Using a core in tandem with Beolab 50 or 90 will produce far better results than through a soundcenter or BV as they then use their built in superior DAC and full sound processing. Sadly no Beovision or Soundcenter today allows digital signals to these speakers so for full quality experience please use a core or any other streaming device with a digital output (which then sends a completely unaltered signal to the speakers - meaning even a 50 dollar streamer is better than any DAC you out before them.)
Sadly no Beovision or Soundcenter today allows digital signals to these speakers so for full quality experience please use a core or any other streaming device with a digital output (which then sends a completely unaltered signal to the speakers - meaning even a 50 dollar streamer is better than any DAC you out before them.)
That might be the case - however pataj did not write anything about which speakers should be connected to the Core (if that is what he had in mind) - he just mentioned his BV Harmony.Also he mentioned in the second post, that he occasionally uses ‘surround for music listening.
Without further participation from pastaj this thread seem to go in a rather academic direction - discussing all sorts of possibilities is totally ok, but might not help the him to answer his original question.
Millemissen:That might be the case - however pataj did not write anything about which speakers should be connected to the Core (if that is what he had in mind) - he just mentioned his BV Harmony. Also he mentioned in the second post, that he occasionally uses ‘surround for music listening. Without further participation from pastaj this thread seem to go in a rather academic direction - discussing all sorts of possibilities is totally ok, but might not help the him to answer his original question. MM There is a tv - and there is a BV.
GLOP: pastaj:Is there an audible advantage to streaming with the Core vs streaming to my Harmony? i just BT my spotify to the harmony and it sounds pretty damn great and the harmony offers a LOT of adjustments. To me it looks crystal clear, the answer is YES and discussion never turned on off topic... sending to the Harmony by BT (and first advise was to go for something better with no extra effort like AirPlay or ChromeCast) is worse than streaming with the Core (so Core is the source, isn't it?). I just put a reason on top, and the reason is technical specs. Even if the harmony had a better DAC it would not be capable of streaming better than the Core since the signal goes through whatever wireless wave we pick. Even more spotify which is embedded in the Core DAC with the service Connect, so nothing is streamed but the source is the core itself. Hope this helped. G.
pastaj:Is there an audible advantage to streaming with the Core vs streaming to my Harmony? i just BT my spotify to the harmony and it sounds pretty damn great and the harmony offers a LOT of adjustments.
If this would be the preferable way to stream or could he even get a better streaming quality is another, interesting and much discussed question over here.
Michael:Using a core in tandem with Beolab 50 or 90 will produce far better results than through a soundcenter or BV as they then use their built in superior DAC and full sound processing. Sadly no Beovision or Soundcenter today allows digital signals to these speakers so for full quality experience please use a core or any other streaming device with a digital output (which then sends a completely unaltered signal to the speakers - meaning even a 50 dollar streamer is better than any DAC you out before them.) Beolab 50, Beolab 8000 x 2, Beolab 4000 x 2, BeoSound Core, BeoSound 9000, BeoSound Century, BeoLit 15, BeoPlay A1, BeoPlay P2, BeoPlay H9 3rd Gen, BeoPlay H6, EarSet 3i, BeoVision Eclipse Gen 2 55", BeoPlay V1-40, BeoCom 6000 and so much else :)
Beolab 28s Beolab 9s Beolab 12-3s Beolab 1s Beolab 6000s 2 pairs Beolab 4000s Beovision 7-55 Beovision 10-40 Beoplay V1 32 inch Beovision Avant 32 inch Beosound 1 (CD player) Beosound 3000 Beosound 5 Core Essence MKII Beoplay M5
My advice would be to try out both combinations.....now that you will get the opportunity in the same room.
Don’t forget to level match the volume, when you make comparisons.
Mikipidia:If anyone wants my opinion, i personally think it’s kind of pointless. Just use the harmony/eclipse. The streaming guts inside are basically the same but i don’t know if they’re exactly the same. But it made next to no difference to my ears, output depending a little but that comes down to tuning and attenuation for the signal more than anything else. New: Beovision Harmony, Beolab 50's, Beolab 18's, Beolab 17's, Beolab 3's, Beosound 9000 mk3, Beosound Stage & LG, Beosound 2, Beoplay M3, Beoplay A1, Beoplay H4 gen 2, Beoplay E8 3.0 Mikipedia on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/Mikipedia mikipedi4 on Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/mikipedi4 Old: Beovision Eclipse, Beolab 1's, Beolab 2, Beovision 10-46, Overture 2300, beolab 8000's, Beolab 4000's, Beovision avant 32" etc. etc.
Carolpa:This not an answer to Pastaj question! He simply asks for the difference in streaming quality.
Well english seems to say something else, but most likely I'm wrong. Than sorry all.
GLOP: Than sorry all.
hi all, thanks for all the input! ended up going down the wormhole and educated myself on the topic and I've found that the answer is not all that straightfoward. Here's what i've surmised....
By BT, which i erroneously used, i actually meant using Airplay 2 from my phone to the Core/Harmony. Next, there may be actual differences between the two but i chose to go with the harmony instead of having another source such as the core. This isnt to say that its a better solution. From the sounds of it, there may be MUCH better but MUCH more expensive solutions to streaming HIRES audio but that wasnt really the point of my initial post so i wont open that can of worms....too much...
If the DAC in the core and harmony are identical, AND the cables or connections from said DAC to your speakers are the same, then there may not be much of a difference at all. BUT since the core and harmony are "connected" to the speakers differently, there may be some difference and that may be what i was hearing. BUT, what i seemed to be noticing as a difference was the perceived volume of the harmony vs the core as well as "depth" of the sound. This may have been further confounded by me streaming different sources and not realizing that spotify vs pandora vs tidal/qobuz are all different qualities of source material and i really was naive to this. I am now currently using qobuz after a short dabble with TIDAL but i was turned off to TIDAL and MQA after a lot of research into MQA and deciding that qobuz and the use of FLAC was the best option available to me currently for my needs.
Lastly, i noticed a nice improvement in sound using google/chromecast to cast to the harmony, where i can take advantage of 24/96. I am exploring options to further improve playback quality and i have been looking at the roon nucleus and more recently the PS Audio direct stream DAC but it is $$$$ and the only way i can see it connecting to my setup would be via RCA directly to the 50s. It has XLR outputs and im wondering if there is a conversion cable from XLR to PL. But then that raises the question of such an expensive DAC being used if the signal gets converted back to digital either when it connects to the harmony or if there is any conversion A-D and then D-A inside the 50s. anyways.....SO MUCH FUN STUFF. lol
So, long and short....I have qobuz and amazon HD (trial) that i cast to the harmony and it sounds good enough for now! hope that sheds some light as its been a fun time educating myself (plz, if anything i said is blatantly wrong please correct me)
CHEERS!
Btw....18s > 28s IMO ;-)
and sorry about being AWOL on this post, i unfortunately had a small moto accident and have been recovering and whatnot.
Looking back at some of the replies, i wanted to clarify my original question.
I noticed a difference in sound quality, whether it was just the volume of the source but what also seemed to be a less "dynamic" sound when i had the core connected to my 50s directly with a decent audioquest optical cable. I then switched back to using the skinny black PL cable that came with the core and it immediately sounded better. For those asking, this was using airplay 2 to "control" the spotify app on my phone and stream from the CORE directly to the 50s. Im not sure i ever used a "spotify app" within the core as what was mentioned earlier. I just open spotify on my phone and then select the airplay to core option.
Once i got the Harmony i assumed it basically had a core inside of it so what was the point of keeping the core. Whether im right or wrong i do not know but to save $1000 i opted to return the core. This was for 2 reasons, 1) the harmony was a simplier solution and i had less gear sitting out in my living room by returning the CORE. 2) if i really wanted to get HIRES audio or get the most out of streaming audio, there were more refined solutions out there for streaming for a slightly higher price than the core.
Then i went down the wormhole of HIRES and found MQA thinking it was the holy grail but quick research shows that it is still a lossy compression technique that seemed to be designed to transmit large files in a more economical way. Then i discovered DSD and thats where the PS Audio directstream DAC comes in. Even this still essentially "upconverts" source material so i just said forget it for now. I just went with finding the best source material i could but also keeping in mind ease of use. I still want to be able to just use my phone to play music so i recognize and accept the limitations of that.
Then, as was mentioned before, it seems the best solution for that now is casting my music as it has higher quality than airplay 2 (24/96 vs 24/44.1)
lastly, all of the above mumbo jumbo doesnt even factor in what i do not know...which is any or all processing that occurs once the signal reaches the 50s. And if signfiicant DSP occurs then its really all lost in the wash for me and thats where my interest and willingness to sink mental energy and $$$ into has stopped currently. I may revisit the topic later, but for now, im pretty happy with just casting qobuz to the harmony and then playing it with the 50s
hope that helps!
Cheers!
my only problem with that solution, and correct me if im wrong, is that the core was only able to stream (natively) spotify and deezer? i dont know if qobuz was supported. but either way, it doesnt overcome the issue of me "casting" my material which is immediately capped at 24/96, so optical transmission at 192 wouldnt ever happen. Am i correct? it just seemed that the core didnt seem to support the direction i was heading in, and for $1000, there were other options that would. I would love to get your input on this. right now, my understanding, and correct me if im wrong, is that by using googlecast im able to get 24/96 out of my audio streams
another question that comes up, which i understand sending the digital signal from the core and PL being analog, but lets say i use an optical to the main 50. what about the connection from the main to the secondary 50? its the same "cat 7" cable. Is that a digital signal being sent over that? if so, why doesnt BO just send the same signal from the harmony to the 50s. Why send analog from the harmony to the 50 with a cat 7 cable and then allow digital transmission from the primary to the secondary speaker? Is that what is happening? when i see an ethernet cable i just assume its digital signal being transmitted. some clarity here would help bc i agree with you and your statement about using optical to send the digital signal and only having the speaker do a single conversion from D to A
pastaj:another question that comes up, which i understand sending the digital signal from the core and PL being analog, but lets say i use an optical to the main 50. what about the connection from the main to the secondary 50? its the same "cat 7" cable. Is that a digital signal being sent over that? if so, why doesnt BO just send the same signal from the harmony to the 50s. Why send analog from the harmony to the 50 with a cat 7 cable and then allow digital transmission from the primary to the secondary speaker? Is that what is happening? when i see an ethernet cable i just assume its digital signal being transmitted. some clarity here would help bc i agree with you and your statement about using optical to send the digital signal and only having the speaker do a single conversion from D to A
ok, so could you confirm that my thought process is correct? here is my goal: get the best sound out of the 50s for listening in stereo...
First: Source: so far the only source i plan to use is streaming audio. So far, for my purposes, it seems Qobuz is the best option for loseless HIRES (24/192) streaming. Obviously this is accounting for the original source recording quality and im not talking about upconverting or anything. Qobuz seems to be the only loseless 24/192 out there, MQA is not loseless and has its own issues with the folding unfolding process, both with loss of data and added data.
Second: Connection from "source" to the 50s: the best option with as little back and forth from D-A A-D would be have a streaming unit such as a core or another manufacturer that is hardwired to the ethernet and has Qobuz or another HIRES app that it natively runs and therefore my phone is just "controlling" the functions of said app. Therefore i am not throttled by the limitations of googlecast which is 24/96. THEN, if i have a high quality streamer, connect that directly to the 50s via USB, which would support 24/192. (optical/TOSLINK is limited to 24/96 no? you mentioned 192 earlier but is that correct?)
Third: If i choose to just stick with casting my qobuz phone app to the harmony then i should be able to retain 24/96 to the harmony and then from there it converts to A via its own DAC and outputs that to the 50s over PL at 24/96. Then that signal reaches the 50s which converts it back to D via the DAC in the 50, does some fancy processing, and then outputs the sound. Am i following correct? And am i correct in my understanding that the Cat 7 cables that are connected from the PL out on the harmony to the PL in on the primary 50 carries that 24/96 signal in analog form? I just want to make sure i understand that the Cat 7 cable is carrying an analog signal of the original digital 24/96 source from Qobuz.
If this is all true then i may just save the money in my quest to achieve 24/192 given my current setup as it sounds like there is no way to output 192 to the 50s via the Harmony. I would have to have a digital streamer that can support that output and then directly wire it via USB or S/P DIF to the 50s to get that quality.
Sorry if this seems scatterbrained, its a torrid landscape up there. lol thanks for any and ALL input on this. im really trying to make sure i have a good handle on this topic as it seems to answer a lot of later questions when troubleshooting connections and trying to get the most out of these awesome speakers.
Your thinking seems about right, though I'm no expert at what a BV such as a Harmony sends down its Powerlink to the 50s
I'd also not worry much about 24/192 vs 24/96 etc - the amount of 24/192 music on Qobuz is very small (I use Qobuz myself).
I did get a separate streamer / DAC unit for direct connection to my 50s. In part that was because I wanted a Roon capable device into my 50s, in part I wanted some access to content above 16/44 (not that I'm obsessed by that), and in part because the analogue out from the DAC into the 50s (i.e not USB) sounds better than routing the Digital out from the streamer / DAC through my BV to the 50s.
So it was driven by 3 aspects.
If you find casting Q from your phone to the Harmony a fiddle, then sure - I;d just get a streamer with native support and connect direct to the 50s.
To me though, the biggest improvement in quality in my setup comes from feeding the 50s from an external DAC via analogue. The same streamer / DAC has a digital out - i.e not using the DAC part, and that digital out (through my BV) to the 50s sounds fine but appreciably worse using the DAC part.
But even when listening via this preferred method (analogue out from the DAC to 50s) - the difference between 24/96 and 24/192 content isn't appreciable.
So I would not sweat it, in my humble.
pastaj: ok, so could you confirm that my thought process is correct? here is my goal: get the best sound out of the 50s for listening in stereo... First: Source: so far the only source i plan to use is streaming audio. So far, for my purposes, it seems Qobuz is the best option for loseless HIRES (24/192) streaming. Obviously this is accounting for the original source recording quality and im not talking about upconverting or anything. Qobuz seems to be the only loseless 24/192 out there, MQA is not loseless and has its own issues with the folding unfolding process, both with loss of data and added data. Second: Connection from "source" to the 50s: the best option with as little back and forth from D-A A-D would be have a streaming unit such as a core or another manufacturer that is hardwired to the ethernet and has Qobuz or another HIRES app that it natively runs and therefore my phone is just "controlling" the functions of said app. Therefore i am not throttled by the limitations of googlecast which is 24/96. THEN, if i have a high quality streamer, connect that directly to the 50s via USB, which would support 24/192. (optical/TOSLINK is limited to 24/96 no? you mentioned 192 earlier but is that correct?) Third: If i choose to just stick with casting my qobuz phone app to the harmony then i should be able to retain 24/96 to the harmony and then from there it converts to A via its own DAC and outputs that to the 50s over PL at 24/96. Then that signal reaches the 50s which converts it back to D via the DAC in the 50, does some fancy processing, and then outputs the sound. Am i following correct? And am i correct in my understanding that the Cat 7 cables that are connected from the PL out on the harmony to the PL in on the primary 50 carries that 24/96 signal in analog form? I just want to make sure i understand that the Cat 7 cable is carrying an analog signal of the original digital 24/96 source from Qobuz. If this is all true then i may just save the money in my quest to achieve 24/192 given my current setup as it sounds like there is no way to output 192 to the 50s via the Harmony. I would have to have a digital streamer that can support that output and then directly wire it via USB or S/P DIF to the 50s to get that quality. Sorry if this seems scatterbrained, its a torrid landscape up there. lol thanks for any and ALL input on this. im really trying to make sure i have a good handle on this topic as it seems to answer a lot of later questions when troubleshooting connections and trying to get the most out of these awesome speakers.
thank you! your first sentence is what i was just going to post. SO, i was unaware but by directly cast Qobuz to the harmony, the harmony immediately converts it to 24/48 so all of the above points i mentioned seem MOOT. lol
It sounds like, according to the kind gentleman at my audio shop, I would get a streamer with a DAC such as a bluesound or similar and then transmit the HIRES analog signal to the harmony via the analog input that it apparently has. That should then bypass the Harmony downsampling it to 48 and output the signal to the 50s in 24/192 (obviously only if the source is 24/192). Either way, apparently what ive been listening to that sounds great is 24/48. so 24/96 should be a noticeable improvement. I was wondering if i set the 50s to connect via WISA to the harmony i could get 24/96 but apparently not bc any casted/airplay2 source to the harmony gets downsampled. Can someone out there confirm this?
oye! lol
One can stream 24bit 192kHz Qobuz music direct to a Harmony using Audirvana.
But then you have to PL connect the BL50 to the Harmony. If you choose WISA you will end with a 24bit 96kHz format in the BL50 or with traditional PL you will get the analoge format.
Will you hear the difference? I doubt it?
Yes,, I'd do the same i.e get either an external streamer unit, or an external streamer / DAC and connect direct to the 50s.
It has some nice flexibility as a setup - play some music and the unit will activate the 50s, leaving the Harmony asleep. After while if you want to watch the Harmony, the 50s will switch over to that. Switch off the Harmony, and the 50s will switch back to the music streamer output (as long as the 50s are setup priority wise that way). I like this arrangement myself.
The DAC in the Bluesound may not (or may, though doubt it) give you an improvement over just feeding the digital out from the Bluesound to the 50s direct. In my case, my streamer / DAC is from Linn, and its DAC is extremely nice, and much preferable to its digital out into the 50s.
Depends on how much you want to spend really.
As for switching between 24/48 into 24/higher, I'd adjust your expectations a bit - again, introducing a better / different DAC into the chain has done a lot more to improve the sound than any switching from 48 to 96 to 192. And there is far too little 192 even on Qobuz to let that drive your setup.
pastaj: thank you! your first sentence is what i was just going to post. SO, i was unaware but by directly cast Qobuz to the harmony, the harmony immediately converts it to 24/48 so all of the above points i mentioned seem MOOT. lol It sounds like, according to the kind gentleman at my audio shop, I would get a streamer with a DAC such as a bluesound or similar and then transmit the HIRES analog signal to the harmony via the analog input that it apparently has. That should then bypass the Harmony downsampling it to 48 and output the signal to the 50s in 24/192 (obviously only if the source is 24/192). Either way, apparently what ive been listening to that sounds great is 24/48. so 24/96 should be a noticeable improvement. I was wondering if i set the 50s to connect via WISA to the harmony i could get 24/96 but apparently not bc any casted/airplay2 source to the harmony gets downsampled. Can someone out there confirm this? , oye! lol
,
i will look into this! i currently have my 50s plugged into the PL port on the back of the harmony
hot damn, ONLY $39,000, ILL TAKE TWO...
lol. what linn do you have. thats a LOT of cashola
Sandyb,
so if i hear you correctly, i stand to notice some improvement by just appreciating a higher sampling rate and the D-A conversion on the cheaper units isnt exactly a benefit. Just use them as a way to get the higher res sound to the 50s. Where the streamer/DAC like the Linn comes in is that not only does it have the ability to stream HIRES audio but it also converts the digital source internal and outputs a far more refined analog output to the 50s. That analog output, after the Linn special sauce is applied, will sound far better than just outputting the native 24/96 or 24/192 from a blue sound via either is digital OR analag output as its internal DAC just isnt that "nice/good"?
Carolpa,
how would this work, again, my understanding would be that you run this Audirvana on a computer and then output that to your Harmony. But how do you connect it? a high quality minijack? the issue, to my understanding, is that anything connected to the harmony via wires or googlecast/airplay2 is automatically downsampled by the harmony. So how does Audirvana bypass this and play at 192?
Well sort of.
An external DAC, especially a very good one, can introduce a qualitative difference to the sound - a different flavour or tonality if you like. Chosen sensibly / well, this will sound "better". This is what the DAC in my Linn unit achieves for me, and its quite apparent.
Much less apparent is the change between already decently high sample rates - and switching between 16/48 to 24/96 or 24/192 falls into the realm of having to listen carefully to see what differences there may be. In other words, much less apparent. Some of the 96 or 192 albums I listen to sound really lovely, but some dont sound much better / different.
Taken together, a well chosen DAC to me is where I'd focus my efforts.
There is no linear magic that happens when you suddenly select 96 or 192 albums as rule. Some sound a small amount fuller, some not. And there are so few I wouldn't let higher bit rates drive your setup.
pastaj: Sandyb, so if i hear you correctly, i stand to notice some improvement by just appreciating a higher sampling rate and the D-A conversion on the cheaper units isnt exactly a benefit. Just use them as a way to get the higher res sound to the 50s. Where the streamer/DAC like the Linn comes in is that not only does it have the ability to stream HIRES audio but it also converts the digital source internal and outputs a far more refined analog output to the 50s. That analog output, after the Linn special sauce is applied, will sound far better than just outputting the native 24/96 or 24/192 from a blue sound via either is digital OR analag output as its internal DAC just isnt that "nice/good"?
which Linn do you have?