I think people can get confused sometimes between the difference with things like this vs AirPlay and Bluetooth where the information is coming from your device. That seems to be the spirit behind his question.
I have a dcs rossini apex with the clock and always felt like I was missing something by using my iPhone instead of my iPad. So happy to finally have this explained to me by someone I trust. Thanks Paul.
As a computer geek, I easily understand this. I can appreciate how confusing digital playback is to normal people. That said, it would be useful to play around with Linux with MPD/ALSA to gain an understanding of how this all hangs together. Linux is easy to download and run from a usb stick on any old laptop. Then the advanced step will be to run it on a headless single board computer like the Rasberry Pi controlled by an app on your phone or another computer. With a couple other parts, now you have an Airlens.
Of course, one exception is Apple Music to Airplay or directly connected via USB or Lightning to USB. But, if you keep the volume at max on the phone or computer and control it from the amp, you cannot tell any difference. After all, a phone or computer are both highly advanced devices, capable of streaming a 4K video with Atmos let alone a simple lossless audio file.
It’s already so amazing and we’ve just barely gotten started with 20 years of this technology, (GPS, Smartphones, streaming, etc). I can’t even begin to imagine what the world will be like in a couple of hundred years.
I have Spotify. I connect one device into my stereo and use another to control it. It's used as background music mainly for when I'm writing. Or to check out an album before purchase. Otherwise it's live radio or vinyl.
Curious observation. Whatever those stacked components are in the foreground, they look three feet wide! I presume that’s visual compression resulting from shooting through a telephoto??
There is a difference on my system. I typically que 5 to 7 albums and listen through them one after another, if I use my chrome book or mobile phone (Android) after about two and a half albums they both decide they're being ignored and stop playing ,but if I use my laptop it will play through them all regardless of how many albums I have in the que.
Hi Paul, quick question. But if the phone has music downloaded in it and there is a basic (average)speaker being played using bluetooth, then what will be better phone or laptop as long as the bit rate and Bluetooth version are same. Does the bluetooth hardware matter or works same as long version is supported.
Just a quick whatabout… Yes, it is like a remote. Any pocket or bigger computer is same. But, the UI of the app does matter and can make for a better experience as a way for analog humans to find and play streaming music. Affordance of the device is important too. I hate some remotes, often screen UI but mostly old style in hand, with terrible affordance.
Yup… your laptop will be a graphic user interface that controls what you want to play and let you see your audio library and what else is available from your streaming service but does not have anything to do with the actual signal that you will be hearing as music.
Except that when the gentlemen, writing the letter with the question, starts using Roon, your story is a bit different. With Roon, the music streams through the computer that has Roon server running. How big is the impact of the computer on Roon? Negligible. The RAAT protocol used by Roon has a bigger impact.
@@Paulmcgowanpsaudio That I understand it right ,it don't make any sound difference if I stream the music from let's say a Astell & Kern SP 3000 or from a Smartphone to active speakers??? Thank you already in advance for an answer 👍
Not really. If the streamer electronics are built into the DAC, speaker, or whatever, the smart phone only connects the streaming server with the streaming receiver. The signal (data) never go through the smart phone. Think of your smart phone, when used as a controller, as a remote control. You wouldn't worry about the quality of your remote on your TV, right?@@stephannordmann5346
iOS will do 24/192 via USB. But that is silly. 24/96 is enough. Even 24/48 is nice. Apple TV and HomePods do that. I mostly listen via Airplay (1) at 16/44 since most recordings are that and most ears top out at that. The gear and room matter more, as Paul says, than these often very silly numbers.
I think people can get confused sometimes between the difference with things like this vs AirPlay and Bluetooth where the information is coming from your device. That seems to be the spirit behind his question.
I have a dcs rossini apex with the clock and always felt like I was missing something by using my iPhone instead of my iPad. So happy to finally have this explained to me by someone I trust. Thanks Paul.
As a computer geek, I easily understand this. I can appreciate how confusing digital playback is to normal people.
That said, it would be useful to play around with Linux with MPD/ALSA to gain an understanding of how this all hangs together. Linux is easy to download and run from a usb stick on any old laptop. Then the advanced step will be to run it on a headless single board computer like the Rasberry Pi controlled by an app on your phone or another computer. With a couple other parts, now you have an Airlens.
It's like the remote control of your cd player, the quality of the remote control has absolutely no effect on the sound quality of your cd player.
The questioner asked "Laptop or iPhone." So he's a not so aware Apple locked in person.
Great analogy!
Of course, one exception is Apple Music to Airplay or directly connected via USB or Lightning to USB. But, if you keep the volume at max on the phone or computer and control it from the amp, you cannot tell any difference. After all, a phone or computer are both highly advanced devices, capable of streaming a 4K video with Atmos let alone a simple lossless audio file.
2:13 ‘Dipsy Chips’.. 😂
It’s already so amazing and we’ve just barely gotten started with 20 years of this technology, (GPS, Smartphones, streaming, etc). I can’t even begin to imagine what the world will be like in a couple of hundred years.
I have Spotify. I connect one device into my stereo and use another to control it. It's used as background music mainly for when I'm writing. Or to check out an album before purchase. Otherwise it's live radio or vinyl.
Curious observation. Whatever those stacked components are in the foreground, they look three feet wide! I presume that’s visual compression resulting from shooting through a telephoto??
There is a difference on my system.
I typically que 5 to 7 albums and listen through them one after another, if I use my chrome book or mobile phone (Android) after about two and a half albums they both decide they're being ignored and stop playing ,but if I use my laptop it will play through them all regardless of how many albums I have in the que.
Hi Paul, quick question. But if the phone has music downloaded in it and there is a basic (average)speaker being played using bluetooth, then what will be better phone or laptop as long as the bit rate and Bluetooth version are same. Does the bluetooth hardware matter or works same as long version is supported.
The dac is on the receiving end, in this case the (average) speaker. That makes all the difference
Lossy BT kind of ruins all of it. Like Paul’s cooking music, BT is fine. But to get serious, skip it.
Just a quick whatabout… Yes, it is like a remote. Any pocket or bigger computer is same. But, the UI of the app does matter and can make for a better experience as a way for analog humans to find and play streaming music. Affordance of the device is important too. I hate some remotes, often screen UI but mostly old style in hand, with terrible affordance.
Yup… your laptop will be a graphic user interface that controls what you want to play and let you see your audio library and what else is available from your streaming service but does not have anything to do with the actual signal that you will be hearing as music.
Except that when the gentlemen, writing the letter with the question, starts using Roon, your story is a bit different. With Roon, the music streams through the computer that has Roon server running. How big is the impact of the computer on Roon? Negligible. The RAAT protocol used by Roon has a bigger impact.
Why streamers do no have HDMI output to use tv as monitor which i prefer ?
Thank you for this information but why you need a dac if you can go directly from your smartphone into a active loudspeaker like the Nubert XS 4000 🤔
You don't in that case. The DAC would be built into your active speaker.
@@Paulmcgowanpsaudio That I understand it right ,it don't make any sound difference if I stream the music from let's say a Astell & Kern SP 3000 or from a Smartphone to active speakers???
Thank you already in advance for an answer 👍
Not really. If the streamer electronics are built into the DAC, speaker, or whatever, the smart phone only connects the streaming server with the streaming receiver. The signal (data) never go through the smart phone. Think of your smart phone, when used as a controller, as a remote control. You wouldn't worry about the quality of your remote on your TV, right?@@stephannordmann5346
@@Paulmcgowanpsaudio Thank you so much you really helped me out and by the way I am really impressed by your work👍💯
Topping isolater can help?
Well....Paul, theoretically it is right and you are right. But actually, I hear the difference. Don't know why😅
But what about Andriod or iphone for sound quality? 😆
iOS will do 24/192 via USB. But that is silly. 24/96 is enough. Even 24/48 is nice. Apple TV and HomePods do that. I mostly listen via Airplay (1) at 16/44 since most recordings are that and most ears top out at that. The gear and room matter more, as Paul says, than these often very silly numbers.
I was unaware of the AirLens, just looked it up. Is this just a streamer?
If it is, at two grand you should be ashamed of yourself.