Measurements and conclusion
Contents
We would have loved to have measured every streamer on the clock with the Wavecrest. Unfortunately, that turned out not to be possible. At least: not without opening up the entire streamer, with the risk of damage. So we did not do that. We did measure the Volumio easily, including the differences in jitter with the standard power supply and a nice linear power supply. That difference is not subtle.
What we were able to do on all streamers is a noise measurement on the Ethernet port as well as on the power supply. That also gives an impression of how ‘quiet’ the streamers are. Many more measurements are not possible because almost none of the streamers have a digital input (except bluetooth and ethernet). Analog inputs are also rare. In short: we had to stop here for a while. After all, we do want to treat all streamers equally and measure them equally. Apples and apples … you know.
Noise measurements
It is downright bizarre what the difference is between the Volumio Primo with standard power supply AND the Volumio with the Pura Dodo attached. We see the complete noise floor drop AND all the oscillations of the switching adapter disappear. Well… yes, it is expensive, but you do get something special! However, we do find the standard adapter really undersized and the effect very large. We are going to get some other streamers to see if the effect is always that drastic.
The other models are very close: the Audiolab scores well. The FIIO is a bit choppy (compactly made) and the Yamaha is again in between. Great product!
Volumio with Pura Dodo power supply
| Measurement | Standard | With Dodo |
| 1-Sigma jitter | 16.035 ps | 9.104 ps |
| Phase Noise | -29.931 dBc/Hz | -35.692 dBc/Hz |
| Acc Adj cycle Avrg RMS | 26.522 ps | 15.138 ps |
| Total Jitter | 200 ps (max value) | 127.263 ps |
| Low Freq 1-Sigma | 20.617 ps | 10.451 ps |
Like the drop in supply noise, we also find the drop in jittter quite shocking. Across the board, we see almost a halving of jitter. It is simply incredible. We can’t make it any clearer than this.
The Primo is interesting…I’ve been using a Pi2design Mercury (CM4 rpi based streamer) with Volumio to really good effect. The software has some adjustability via pluggins that can improve the sound further – particularly Sound shield which can quiet the cpu and lower its functions while playing music. Then also a lps (all the typical things like cabling etc that you guys have covered with great care). Crazy how small and well-placed tweaks can go a long way.
And now of course, that Eversolo DMP is looking to be yet another paradigm shift in this arena and similar price range. Would love your impressions of that one!
Hello John. It seems the Eversolo is the new WiiM. All of the internet is praising it. We’ll see if we can get a review sample (at some point).
Thank you Marrjin! That would be great. Yes, everyone is going kind of crazy over it. But I know you guys would render a very balanced comparo. So many out there now 🙏🏼
Pardon me, misspelled: Martijn
I have toes for thumbs 😂 🙏🏼
Very nice comparison, and I know you can’t compare all streamers in this price category. However I must admit I was a little disappointed to first see my streamer in the list to be tested (cambridge CXN v2) and then noticed it wasn’t present anymore when I sat down to listen to the shootout. Still curious how it would have compared, just like the Innuos ZENmini MK3 which I also have (or the more recent model the Innuos Pulsemini). Maybe in a future test after all you like doing mega tests :-). Like the recent excellent bookshelf speaker test. In any case succes in future shootouts!
Cambridge never send us the unit. Innuos doesnt have samples at the moment. But we get the Zen pretty soon!
Hey Rico!
You know you can switch languages with the language-flag in the menu? :-).
The Node n130 is somewhere in the middle, I think. The Volumio wins, we know for a fact. I don’t know the Node X yet. Maybe I will get a sample.
aaah ok i see the flag now.. thank you for the respons. I get the X in a few days and will compare it with the N130.
Hello Alpha
Would have like 2 see the bluesound node n130 between these streamers. Curious how it would compare.
I ordered the new node X, hopefully 🤞 it has the same powerboard, so I could change it and hook up the sBooster. Pretty interesting product, new DAC an pretty 🤩
Hoi Rico, ben benieuwd hoe de X bevalt en hoe deze zich verhoudt tot de N130? Mvg Guus
Dag Guus. Ik zie nu pas je bericht. Ik ben erg tevreden over de nieuwe node X. Helaas had ik de N130 al verkocht voordat ik de X binnen had. Maar dit is duidelijk beter. Heb wel gelijk een externe voeding aangesloten en alleen zo beluisterd via Roon.