mink70

Every time I consider spending more time on this site, I spend a few minutes reading threads like this one, and get cured of the desire right quick.

Hey Chris, you know how you call them "private messages"? Doesn't that mean that they are, you know, private? And even if you've chosen to ban Michael, why would you publish a colleague's private message? To shame him? To publicly humiliate a business competitor? To draw attention to your awesome power? Stay classy, Chris.

Sorry for the lack of expertise here. Can someone kindly weigh in?

Thanks savjam! So a direct (non-router) connection is better sounding than an Airport Express? Or are they the same by virtue of relying on wi-fi?

Thanks Jesus. One last question. I don't have my router or ethernet in my listening room, so which of these scenarios would be prefereable sonically? MacBook Pro i7 running Roon > [thunderbolt ethernet adapter] > ethernet cable > MicroRendu > USB cable > Ayre Codex DAC or... MacBook Pro i7 running Roon > [thunderbolt ethernet adapter] > ethernet cable > Apple Airport Express in client mode > ethernet cable > MicroRendu > USB cable > Ayre Codex DAC Thanks so much! Alex

Jesus, is the direct connection as good sounding as the traditional router-based connection?

x2 on Buena Vista. Sounds amazing.

The classic Joni Mitchell catalog—particularly Hejira—sounds better to me than my HDTracks 24/192 version. Or, for that matter, my vinyl. Might be a different mix, admittedly, but I don't really care. Like you, I just want it to sound good.

Curious to hear your reaction.

You can hear it right now using the software "partial" decoding in the Tidal desktop app.

Why is that clearly not the case?

Thanks for pointing this out. I was wrong about this.

But MQA folding enables hi-rez to be streamed in the first place.

So are you comparing an MQA stream from the Tidal app vs. the same files served from local storage via HQPlayer?

Personally, I really appreciate the ability to stream super-high-quality files without relying on a powerful PC, a hard drive, etc. Because with streaming the files are served from, you know, space. Also, with the Tidal desktop app, compare a "pit-perfect" CD-quality HIFI stream with an MQA Master stream—of the same track. The improvement with MQA is so clear that it seem to be pretty obvious.