[Emil]

Looking to dip my toe in the ocean of streaming music so I'm asking for some help please.
This is what i understand so far:
1) I can use my laptop to access Tidal or any other streaming service.
2) I will need a server such as an Auralic Aries or Bluesound Node. Both are roughly $500
3) Need a USB cable to connect the server to my DAC and voila!. I have music
4) Missing anything?

If the above is correct, I have a couple of other questions please.

1) If streaming is all I want to do, would I get better sound from a more expensive server?

2) I understand I can hardwire my laptop directly to the DAC with a USB cable. Correct? Wouldnt that be the ideal?
If so, I would need a good 12-15 feet of it to reach my listening position. What does a good USB cable cost per foot? Are there sonic differences? I can use the $500 allotted for the server to pay for the USB cable.

3) Is Tidal Hi Rez as good as Redbook?


Thanks for your patience and help

[garyalex]

1) Yes.  Tidal requires an account.  It's not free.
2) The Auralic Aries costs around $1500.  The Mini is around $500. 
3) Yes, assuming everything has been set up properly.

1) If all you're doing is streaming from the internet you don't need a server at all. 

2) I don't know the average price per foot but here's one example of what I consider to be a good USB cable:
https://www.madisoundspeakerstore.com/wire/cable/supra-high-speed-usb-2.0-a-b/

3) Yes

[Wind Chaser]

1) If all you're doing is streaming from the internet you don't need a server at all. 

What would a server do / allow beyond streaming?

[richidoo]

What would a server do / allow beyond streaming?

Reduce jitter (PC has high jitter)
host a cool remote control app
silent operation
positioned close to the system for short cables
keep microsoft (the hell) out of the music system

Streaming mp3s like Pandora, spotify, radio doesn't matter if there's some jitter from the digital source. But streaming Tidal hirez will benefit from very low jitter source. The newest server devices reclock samples to <1pS jitter. You can hear it in the ease and "analogishness."

Emil, you may want to try Roon at some point. Check it out and if you are roon-curious choose a streamer powerful enough to run it.

The local guys here in NC are going to Sonore microRendu streamer/server/whatever it is, it's good! 

[jarcher]

1) Yes.  Tidal requires an account.  It's not free.
2) The Auralic Aries costs around $1500.  The Mini is around $500. 
3) Yes, assuming everything has been set up properly.

1) If all you're doing is streaming from the internet you don't need a server at all. 

2) I don't know the average price per foot but here's one example of what I consider to be a good USB cable:
https://www.madisoundspeakerstore.com/wire/cable/supra-high-speed-usb-2.0-a-b/

3) Yes

Concur mostly with all of the above. If you have an Aries, Aries Mini, or Bluesound Node you don't need a laptop. The Node 2 is actually a pretty good server and DAC. If money is tight I would start with one of those, then add a good external DAC if money allows. If you already have a good DAC and want a higher end server, I suggest an Aurender N100H. Higher end servers do sound better as they are among other things lower noise. Aurrender units are particularly good sounding with Tidal in part because they put the whole track into memory, which is not only more reliable but sounds better as well. CDs and Tidal hifi are both "redbook" (i.e. 16/44 resolution). Some people seem to feel that with the same song from a ripped cd (wav / FLAC etc) sounds better than Tidal. I think more likely the issue is mostly that the streaming device they are using is not placing and playing the whole track into memory (instead streaming the track real time with all the problems that creates). Lastly, Tidal will sometimes have a newly remastered version and this is definetly going to sound better than the original CD.

Lastly USB cables do sound different, but you don't have to go crazy on them. There are very good choices between $100 - $200 for 1M. I personally like Wireworld Starlight 7 and XLO Ultraplus at those price points. More than that your more likely to get more improvements spending that same money on the DAC or server.

Hope that helps. One you go the route of computer audio w/ a smart phone or table remote and Tidal, you'll never want to mess with CDs again. Fortunately there are better, cheaper and easier to use options than ever before.

[Wind Chaser]

Reduce jitter (PC has high jitter)

Is that because of the HD? And if so, does having a SSD make a difference?

[JLM]

As I write this I'm using a MacBook Air via a 3 meter (10 foot) USB cable to my DAC and listening near-field.  My cable is a $74 Straightwire that thanks to the nice folks there and problems I had with their fancier cable I got for free.  Look up my 2015 review of 9 USB cables in the Critics Circle.  A $3, 15 foot Blue Jean Cable was nearly as good.  Have a $7000 system in a dedicated room, look up under profiles, but I'm an old school "speaker guy" and easily dismiss much of what peaks the interest of others here. 

I also use an iMac in the same system/room via a $6, 35 foot optical cable with no problems and can't tell the difference between the two (I have heard nice improvements between a $2 cap and a $60 cap on my ambience tweeters, so maybe I'm not entirely deaf).  Purists of course poo poo my sources/cables: "displays are noisy", long cables are "bad", "a 35 foot optical cable shouldn't even work", "a non-dedicated computer (versus a purpose built server) are way less than ideal", "power supplies are all important for digital", etc.  But wifey bought the MacBook for my retirement/move into consulting and I didn't want to buy another iDevice plus a server.

Anyway, with a server you will need a DAC.  But Aurelic has just introduced the Altair (server/DAC with built-in storage drive) for $1800 USD.  Of course the Blue Node is cheaper, but as in most cases you get what you pay for.

A friend talked me into trying Amarra (extra software for music playback) but it makes very little sonic difference to me on either computer and stopped working with the latest El Capitan update.  (I'm a computer caveman.)  Roon is another playback software that also integrates your various sources, perhaps the ultimate lazy audiophile product.

Tidal is $20/month and with it you can just about forget about ever buying another CD.  But one of the advantages of computer audio is gaining the ability to add hi-resolution files (beyond CD quality). 

[wilsynet]

If you want to get started, all you need is your laptop, a 16 foot USB cable, and  a USB capable DAC.  If you want streaming, get Tidal for redbook quality.  If you want the best audio quality your laptop can offer, also get Audirvana Plus.

If you want a superior music browsing experience, get Roon.  If you want a server or NAS instead of your laptop, buy a server or NAS and pair it with a Roon ready device like the Sonore micro Rendu or an Auralic Aries.

But to get started, I'd get Tidal, Audirvana Plus, a DAC and a USB cable.  Don't spend a lot of money on the USB cable, seriously, just get something from Amazon.

[richidoo]

Is that because of the HD? And if so, does having a SSD make a difference?

Plenty of people say the PC part does matter. Memory players, JPlay, etc. But there are several data busses clocked at different speeds inside a PC that the audio data travels before being clocked to audio sample rate. There can be no "jitter" as data moves between these different speed busses because there is no analog conversion. USB is just another PC buss, and the audio sample rate clocking must happen after the USB hop. In my view jitter is created at the time of analog conversion, not before. So I don't know what they're hearing, if anything, between SSD v HD, or putting PC into zombie mode while playing music from RAM v storage. If there is only data and its jitter to consider then the PC should have no influence. But some say it does. I'm not ready to believe that. If I could hear a difference when using a very good jitter reducing DAC like Vega or exa then I'd have to rethink. I still like to believe digital audio has only two aspects, the samples and their tempo. The more precise the sample value and the faster and steadier the beat all make it better. Nothing else matters. Bit depth, bit rate and jitter. But wouldn't be the first time I was wrong... we'll all know in 10 years, right? 

[Vincent Kars]

I still like to believe digital audio has only two aspects, the samples and their tempo

In theory you have only this 2 aspects. In practice you have noise as well. Computer can be a source of noise e.g. RFI/EMI/ripple on the ground plane.
If this ripple enters the DAC it might modulate the analog out.
Some examples can be found on my website.

http://www.thewelltemperedcomputer.com/Intro/SQ/GalvanicIsolation.htm