Which setup will sound better for lossless music playback? iPhone vs Network Streamer

[Hifi_Noob]

Hi everyone,

I’m trying to understand the real-world sound quality differences between two playback setups for lossless music, and I’d appreciate your inputs.

Setup 1:
> iPhone (Apple Music, Lossless/Hi-Res Lossless)
> Apple Lightning Camera Adapter with Adapter for power
> Connected directly to my integrated amplifier’s USB input

I have verified that the iPhone is sending bit-perfect output


Setup 2:
> Dedicated Network Streamer (Tidal / Qobuz)
> Connected to the same integrated amplifier


I’ve already tested the iPhone setup and it sounds very clean. But I’m curious if a proper network streamer would actually sound better, and if so — why?

For context, my goal is the best possible sound quality using lossless streaming.

If anyone has compared these two types of sources directly, I’d love to hear your experience. Does the network streamer bring a noticeable improvement, or is the iPhone USB output already good enough?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Amarendra]

Hi everyone,

I’m trying to understand the real-world sound quality differences between two playback setups for lossless music, and I’d appreciate your inputs.

Setup 1:
> iPhone (Apple Music, Lossless/Hi-Res Lossless)
> Apple Lightning Camera Adapter with Adapter for power
> Connected directly to my integrated amplifier’s USB input

I have verified that the iPhone is sending bit-perfect output


Setup 2:
> Dedicated Network Streamer (Tidal / Qobuz)
> Connected to the same integrated amplifier


I’ve already tested the iPhone setup and it sounds very clean. But I’m curious if a proper network streamer would actually sound better, and if so — why?

For context, my goal is the best possible sound quality using lossless streaming.

If anyone has compared these two types of sources directly, I’d love to hear your experience. Does the network streamer bring a noticeable improvement, or is the iPhone USB output already good enough?

Thanks in advance!

It will be impacted by the DAC used by your integrated amp vs the streamer. Unless you spend significantly either in external DAC or in the streamer (and thereby the DAC of the streamer ) it may not sound very different.

 

[chander]

My 2 cents -

Theoretically - I am not entirely sure - but I think all 3 - Qobuz, Tidal & iPhone have 24/192 as the highest bit rate available.
& as you have verified that iPhone is doing bit perfect audio - there should be no difference in any of the services. THEORETICALLY.

In practice -
1 - You will be listening to the little flavours put in by the EQ of the streaming service & it will depend which one you actually prefer, and yes they all sound different running through the same DAC (all sound great, just different). For Ex - I feel that Apple Music has a bit of a bass boost.
2 - Other than the EQ applied by streaming services, you will be listening to the DAC of the device you are using.
- So lets say if your DAC is the same for all 3 services regardless of the device you use (in this case your amplifier's inbuilt DAC) - you will ideally only hear the different EQ applied by the streaming services.
3 - If you however use a dedicated streamer with it's own DAC feeding the amplifier's analog input - then yes there will be differences. WHETHER you will prefer these differences over the Amplifier's built in DAC (or iPhone's SQ) - only you can tell.

In my personal use case - I find that apple devices do a great job as streamer transports & as verified do bit perfect audio. I would rather invest in a better DAC.

If anyone has compared these two types of sources directly, I’d love to hear your experience. Does the network streamer bring a noticeable improvement, or is the iPhone USB output already good enough?

To answer this - yes I am currently running 2 streamers, 2 apple devices as streamers & an android tablet as a streamer.

Now everyone's opinions here will be different - and perhaps heavily budget defined. So let me put it this way - In my opinion - for low to mid level budget (under 7L maybe)
1 - A streamer used as a "transport only", will add no value over an iPhone.
2 - A streamer used as an All in one device (streamer + DAC), will add it's own flavour - not necessarily for the better.
3 - iPhone's USB output is fantastic for most moderate setups and for most ears.

 

[Hifi_Noob]

My 2 cents -

Theoretically - I am not entirely sure - but I think all 3 - Qobuz, Tidal & iPhone have 24/192 as the highest bit rate available.
& as you have verified that iPhone is doing bit perfect audio - there should be no difference in any of the services. THEORETICALLY.

In practice -
1 - You will be listening to the little flavours put in by the EQ of the streaming service & it will depend which one you actually prefer, and yes they all sound different running through the same DAC (all sound great, just different). For Ex - I feel that Apple Music has a bit of a bass boost.
2 - Other than the EQ applied by streaming services, you will be listening to the DAC of the device you are using.
- So lets say if your DAC is the same for all 3 services regardless of the device you use (in this case your amplifier's inbuilt DAC) - you will ideally only hear the different EQ applied by the streaming services.
3 - If you however use a dedicated streamer with it's own DAC feeding the amplifier's analog input - then yes there will be differences. WHETHER you will prefer these differences over the Amplifier's built in DAC (or iPhone's SQ) - only you can tell.

In my personal use case - I find that apple devices do a great job as streamer transports & as verified do bit perfect audio. I would rather invest in a better DAC.


To answer this - yes I am currently running 2 streamers, 2 apple devices as streamers & an android tablet as a streamer.

Now everyone's opinions here will be different - and perhaps heavily budget defined. So let me put it this way - In my opinion - for low to mid level budget (under 7L maybe)
1 - A streamer used as a "transport only", will add no value over an iPhone.
2 - A streamer used as an All in one device (streamer + DAC), will add it's own flavour - not necessarily for the better.
3 - iPhone's USB output is fantastic for most moderate setups and for most ears.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts — really appreciate it!

Need a little bit more help please:

1. What exactly does the Lightning Camera Adapter do in my Setup 1? Is it acting as a DAC, or just passing the digital signal to my integrated amp? (Noting that iPhone volume control gets disabled when it’s connected.)


2. I’m using Audiolab 9000Q + 9000P. Since their DAC will be doing the conversion, will adding a streamer like the Audiolab 7000N and sending its analog output to the 9000Q/9000P actually sound better?

Thanks!

 

[mbhangui]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts — really appreciate it!

Need a little bit more help please:

1. What exactly does the Lightning Camera Adapter do in my Setup 1? Is it acting as a DAC, or just passing the digital signal to my integrated amp? (Noting that iPhone volume control gets disabled when it’s connected.)

The lightning camera adaptor is a simple housing in which it allows the device to access a usb device and also two wires to charge the device. It is a simple electrical connection. The red and black are the power lines and green and white wire are the data lines. It doesn't have any magic inside and neither any dac. If you are philanthropic you can buy it from apple. If you are a poor guy like me, then make it yourself and make it look good by covering the ugly bits inside a heat shrink tube. You also have the option to get a lightning to USB on amazon that will be a fraction of the apple's connector. If you are affected by placebo, then the apple's original connector will sound better.

 

[chander]

@Hifi_Noob - your 1st question has been answered by an expert.

For your second question however - there is no straight answer. It will be a subjective opinion based on experience.

On Paper -
- 7000N uses - ES9038Q2M DAC & the 9000Q uses ES9038PRO DAC, on paper the PRO is superior. People's opinions online are divided as they always are. Whether you will be able to hear a difference between the 2 and prefer one - only you can tell.

In practice -
- I am a bit of an Audiolab fanboy & I feel most of their products sound fairly similar. I would hazard a guess it will perhaps be close to indistinguishable between the two products (7000N & 9000q). So MAYBE you are wasting your money there. BUT - that is for you to decide.

My 2 cents - heavily subjective -
I like having streamers -
For the connect features with Spotify or Tidal connect. Convenience.
Their dedicated apps - could be great. If I remember correctly Lumin's app was a pleasure to look at, atleast I think it was lumin.
You can hide them away and no one ever has to see one.
Where having a separate DAC is not an option.
NO distractions - emails, calls, messages etc. (though it can be resolved easily with a used old - streamer only smart phone).

In 2025 my favourite dedicated streamer transport is Wiim Pro.

BUT -
If I am running a DAC then I go with an Apple Device as a transport.
As I don't have a preference between SQ of different streamer transports (with same DAC) in any of my setups & I love that, no more confusion .
I think most smart devices look great as streamers - as they have brilliant sharp displays.
Apple smart devices specifically works great as streamers for their bit perfect audio, lossless option, security and for me personally - the face recognition is great.
BUT ALSO - an ipad as a streamer for apple music is not very convenient. You have to go and change things every time you want to. If you are running spotify though - that works fantastic as you can use the connect feature.

In 2025 - iPAD mini is my favourite streamer transport. I just keep these locked on Kiosk Mode with Spotify as the screen for everyone else's usage.

​

 

[Hifi_Noob]

The lightning camera adaptor is a simple housing in which it allows the device to access a usb device and also two wires to charge the device. It is a simple electrical connection. The red and black are the power lines and green and white wire are the data lines. It doesn't have any magic inside and neither any dac. If you are philanthropic you can buy it from apple. If you are a poor guy like me, then make it yourself and make it look good by covering the ugly bits inside a heat shrink tube. You also have the option to get a lightning to USB on amazon that will be a fraction of the apple's connector. If you are affected by placebo, then the apple's original connector will sound better.

View attachment 93924

Wow... Thank you for all the details man. You rock!

 

[Hifi_Noob]

@Hifi_Noob - your 1st question has been answered by an expert.

For your second question however - there is no straight answer. It will be a subjective opinion based on experience.

On Paper -
- 7000N uses - ES9038Q2M DAC & the 9000Q uses ES9038PRO DAC, on paper the PRO is superior. People's opinions online are divided as they always are. Whether you will be able to hear a difference between the 2 and prefer one - only you can tell.

In practice -
- I am a bit of an Audiolab fanboy & I feel most of their products sound fairly similar. I would hazard a guess it will perhaps be close to indistinguishable between the two products (7000N & 9000q). So MAYBE you are wasting your money there. BUT - that is for you to decide.

My 2 cents - heavily subjective -
I like having streamers -
For the connect features with Spotify or Tidal connect. Convenience.
Their dedicated apps - could be great. If I remember correctly Lumin's app was a pleasure to look at, atleast I think it was lumin.
You can hide them away and no one ever has to see one.
Where having a separate DAC is not an option.
NO distractions - emails, calls, messages etc. (though it can be resolved easily with a used old - streamer only smart phone).

In 2025 my favourite dedicated streamer transport is Wiim Pro.

BUT -
If I am running a DAC then I go with an Apple Device as a transport.
As I don't have a preference between SQ of different streamer transports (with same DAC) in any of my setups & I love that, no more confusion .
I think most smart devices look great as streamers - as they have brilliant sharp displays.
Apple smart devices specifically works great as streamers for their bit perfect audio, lossless option, security and for me personally - the face recognition is great.
BUT ALSO - an ipad as a streamer for apple music is not very convenient. You have to go and change things every time you want to. If you are running spotify though - that works fantastic as you can use the connect feature.

In 2025 - iPAD mini is my favourite streamer transport. I just keep these locked on Kiosk Mode with Spotify as the screen for everyone else's usage.

​

I have old spare iPhone that I am using as a Streamer. Only challange is to walk upto the phone to change the song.

After reading your comments atleast I am happy that this setup is as good as a dedicated streamer for which I don't have any budget now.

Again thankyou so much for answering my question.

 

[chander]

Yup - that seems to be the biggest challenge of an iOS device as an Apple Music streaming transport.

I wonder why apple won't give a feature to control apple music universally from within Apple Ecosystem atleast. That will make it immensely useful.

An iOS device in Kiosk Mode is still the most complete way to have apple music running without compromising on your security.