What do I Need in Order to Stream digital content and Store & Play CD's ?

There is a huge variety of streamers, just like there is a huge variety of turntables, CD players and DAC’s. Some streamers simply function as a bridge between the source and the DAC. Some streamers function as both the source and the bridge to the DAC. Some streamers function as all three - the source, the bridge and the DAC. The last version probably has a digital-out to bypass the internal dac which allows connecting to an external DAC - just like a good CD player.

Some older streamers simply transmit a Redbook 16bit/44.1kHz signal - aka, PCM. Newer ones provide PCM and then up-scaling to 48kHz, 96kHz or 192kHz. Some streamers have a built-in Tidal app, some don’t. Additional features might include decoding for DSD and MQA. The DAC would need to be capable of processing DSD or MQA in order to benefit from a streamer with these features. Some audiophiles are very satisfied with the simplest 16/44.1 signal. Others want the latest and greatest offerings. YMMV

When a streamer gets more expensive, you’re paying for the many features that it has to offer. But, you’re also paying for better quality parts - better chips, better clocks, better power supply, better jitter control circuitry, etc. Jitter control and the power supply are huge factors in producing good sound quality. That’s why some streamers are much bigger than others. Some streamers even have a separate box with an umbilical cord for the power supply. This is a similar approach to a two-box preamp.

One of the main considerations for a streamer is whether it be hard-wired vs WiFi vs Bluetooth. The source of the music needs to connect to your rig either with a cable or wireless. WiFi is the most common and convenient. There is no quality loss - assuming you have good mbps speeds from your ISP and router. Some streamers have built-in WiFi and/or Bluetooth reception. If a laptop is being used as a source, then it probably has a WiFi built-in and there’s no need to buy a streamer with WiFi reception. The advantage of a streamer over a laptop is that it doesn’t have a noisy operating system (OS) that adds a lot of jitter. It helps to diagram a flow chart of how the signal goes from the router to the streamer to the DAC.

Streaming ripped CD files on a harddrive - in addition to streaming Tidal or Pandora is another consideration. That adds another level of complexity - which won’t be covered here. There’s plenty of info in the Audigon archives. After subscribing to Tidal, I haven’t purchased a CD in over a year. Tidal has over 40 million tracks and counting - all CD quality.

The following is just 5 brands of streamers. Other Audiogoners can offer more suggestions.

Salk Sound
Lumin Music
Auralic
Empircial Audio
Mytek Hifi

In addition to the above, another consideration is a remote control. When sitting at your listening chair, how do you peruse a menu of music selections? Tidal allows you to find new artists, new music very easily. Yet, the Tidal menu page needs to be displayed on a screen by your chair. Each streamer does that differently. Some have smart phone or tablet apps, some don’t. Just more stuff to figure out when buying a streamer.

My streaming is a simple 16/44.1 - just like my CD transport/dac combo. My streamer is the ’bridge’ variety. Streaming is done via a dedicated Windows laptop as the source - hardwired to a streamer via a USB cable - which connects to the DAC via S/Pdif cable. The laptop, streamer and DAC sit on the equipment rack with the rest of the gear. By my listening chair, I use a Windows Surface RT tablet to control the laptop via the built-in Windows Remote Desktop App. It works great! It remotely controls everything - without ever getting up.

If I were to start all over again, I’d probably purchase one of the 5 brands above for the simplicity of a one-box solution. But, it would be much more expensive to achieve the same sound quality that I have.

BlueSound Vault2.  Real simple and it does Tidal HiFi and Tidal Masters MQA.