I’ve compared the HDMI output from my ROCK directly into my Marantz 8802A pre/pro, with a route via wifi through a Bluesound Node (2021). I definitely prefer the direct HDMI connection (more transparent sound) though I realize this is not recommended by Roon. I think that the ROON reasoning is that ‘electrical noise’ from the ROCK processor somehow degrades the HDMI signal. So better to have a separate streamer/DAC. My question, has this ‘electrical noise’ from the ROCK via HDMI been documented to interfere with a digital signal? This seems unlikely, to me.
Digital noise is a unicorn.
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I’ve had HDMI from NUC/ROCK to a Denon 8500 and OPPO 205 for almost 3 years and the sound has been very good. I do have a Roon Ready MC DAC connected via Ethernet that sounds better but that is due to the better quality components in the DAC.
With the HDMI connection Roon plays multi-channel hi-res but not DSD.
Thanks for standing with Ukraine, Marian. I live in Poland, close by…
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Yeah, Mike, one possibility is that the (top-of-the-line) Marantz has better dacs than Node, another is that the Marantz has much better analogue output…
Agreed, the 8500 is Denons top receiver with 13 channels/amps, and I think yours is also 13 channel. Maybe I’ll have one some day.
Actually, I doubt the difference is the DACs, between the Marantz and the Blusound Node. After all, the signal to noise on both is off the charts, e.g. not audible to human ears. The analogue output though could be very different between the beast (Marantz) and beauty (Node). I am curious though whether this ‘processor noise’, that ROON refers to, has been measured as interfering with the digital zeros and ones…