Hi.
I've put together a simple audio system consisting of a Raspberry Pi with volumio, going to a topping dac and then to an entry level marantz receiver, with a pair of decent speakers and a sub. With special attention paid to cables and placement of things it sounds good - clear vocals, no (audible) noise, rich and present.
Then I decided to test out airplay going from an iPhone straight to the receiver. And it sounds really different. I can't quite tell if it's better or worse (some tracks are better and other are worse). But airplay has less bass, but more clarity and texture (instrument separation) in mid-highs. Like it reveals aspects of music that simply aren't there when the same track is played through my main setup. Other times it's the opposite - when the recording has more details in the lower frequencies, airplay misses it. (for comparison I used local good quality flac files).
I guess what I'm trying to see is if there's a way to 'combine' the best aspects - find the golden middle and lock it in somehow.
Thoughts?
I've put together a simple audio system consisting of a Raspberry Pi with volumio, going to a topping dac and then to an entry level marantz receiver, with a pair of decent speakers and a sub. With special attention paid to cables and placement of things it sounds good - clear vocals, no (audible) noise, rich and present.
Then I decided to test out airplay going from an iPhone straight to the receiver. And it sounds really different. I can't quite tell if it's better or worse (some tracks are better and other are worse). But airplay has less bass, but more clarity and texture (instrument separation) in mid-highs. Like it reveals aspects of music that simply aren't there when the same track is played through my main setup. Other times it's the opposite - when the recording has more details in the lower frequencies, airplay misses it. (for comparison I used local good quality flac files).
I guess what I'm trying to see is if there's a way to 'combine' the best aspects - find the golden middle and lock it in somehow.
Thoughts?