How to properly stream TIDAL, Qobuz, Deezer, et cetera?

So I've been meaning to ask if there's an optimal way to stream these streaming service, if you know what I mean..., like some players which directly support TIDAL or Qobuz or Amazon Music and stuff, but what if I stream TIDAL through Roon, would the sound quality get better? and why?
I know that Roon does a lot of signal purification jobs during the whole transmitting process, still, I'm very much confused hahaha, since the cloud service is the original place of the music files, no? how come during the transmission the sound could be optimized!?

If that's a true fact that it's possible to level up the sound quality better than the original, so the theory can also be applying on the hardware parts I presume, like I can buy an real nice hi-end router to upgrade the network quality from the beginning, then the DC power supply, audio grade network switch, specialized cables, all the way to speakers, is that right?

Best,

March 1, 2022 - 6:53am

Kal Rubinson

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Last seen: 20 hours 24 min ago

Joined: Sep 1 2005 - 9:34am

preston8452 wrote:

preston8452 wrote:

If that's a true fact that it's possible to level up the sound quality better than the original, so the theory can also be applying on the hardware parts I presume, like I can buy an real nice hi-end router to upgrade the network quality from the beginning, then the DC power supply, audio grade network switch, specialized cables, all the way to speakers, is that right?

How can you make the sound quality better than the original? All you can do is minimize any loss or corruption in the processing. A hi-end router, DC power supply, audio grade switch, specialized cables are unlikely to make any useful difference unless you have unusual noise, interference or bandwidth issues in your current home network.

May 21, 2022 - 8:46am

Mr. Widget

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Last seen: 1 year 2 months ago

Joined: May 15 2022 - 11:50am

Better than Real!

Kal Rubinson wrote:

preston8452 wrote:

If that's a true fact that it's possible to level up the sound quality better than the original, so the theory can also be applying on the hardware parts I presume, like I can buy an real nice hi-end router to upgrade the network quality from the beginning, then the DC power supply, audio grade network switch, specialized cables, all the way to speakers, is that right?

How can you make the sound quality better than the original? All you can do is minimize any loss or corruption in the processing. A hi-end router, DC power supply, audio grade switch, specialized cables are unlikely to make any useful difference unless you have unusual noise, interference or bandwidth issues in your current home network.

Thank you for that! Magical thinking is rampant in our hobby.

In answer to the original question, a quality DAC with integrated streaming capability is probably the easiest way to access streaming content at an elevated level and will likely sound better than a computer alone or even one connected to a Dragonfly or similar USB DAC. That said, there are so many variables and the resolving ability of the rest of the playback system and listening environment will also determine to what extent you will enjoy the potential benefits of higher end streaming.

As for Roon; I use it and love it, but if you are not using its DSP feature, it is just an excellent navigation tool integrating Tidal, Qobuz, and your stored digital library.

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