Advantages of MinimStreamer

[DavidHB]

We need to be careful. The important point with transcoding, as with pretty much anything in reproduced music, is to try it for yourself, and decide whether you like it. The technicalities may be interesting, but they won't give you that answer.

I long ago realised that the most unreliable (or at least the most unpredictable) component of any audio system is the one between the listener's ears. My own definition of a good listening session is one where I don't give a thought to the sound quality I am hearing or to how well the technology is working. There may need to be an element of self discipline there; it is all too easy to start listening for what is wrong with the system, rather than just listening to the music, which is what the system is actually there for.

There is nothing I can usefully add to Simon's advice on your networking issue. Whether that has, or can have, a bearing on sound quality in your system, I cannot say. The conventional wisdom is that either networking works or it doesn't; there isn't a process of progressive deterioration. I have an open mind myself as to whether things are really that simple. But I hope that following Simon's advice will enable you to resolve your particular problem.

David