When I first read about Orchard Audio's PecanPi Streamer, it intrigued me because it was very much what I was looking for to ultimately replace (and improve on) a couple of old Squeezeboxes I've been using as Roon endpoints in my home. In a single small box, the PecanPi Streamer functions as a Roon endpoint, a high quality DAC, a headphone amp and can operate via ethernet or wireless.
Well, after 10 days of listening, I was quite impressed. Based on the excellent PecanPi DAC specs, I was pretty confident that it would prove a good bit better than my Squeezebox Touch and it did. No contest. Throughout my listening, the PecanPi presentation was laden with immense detail, clarity and depth of soundstage. It’s also nice to know that there is a top-quality Squeezebox replacement in a single box. (For me, Roon replaced LMS over 3 years ago when Roon started supporting Squeezeboxen as endpoints).
I’ve also used a couple more upscale approaches to streaming Roon via their RAAT protocol to improve sound quality whether it be to headphones or speakers in my office. To do so included a Roon endpoint - a Sonore microRendu - along with either an iFi Micro iDSD DAC/Amp or a Schiit Bifrost Multibit DAC . The PecanPi Streamer stood up to these amazingly well, and, often nudged ahead sonically. (caveat: my music, my gear, my 66+ year-old ears
But being able to do so at this pricepoint all within a single box makes the PecanPi a uniquely compelling product IMHO (even moreso if you go the DIY kit way).
The iFi Micro iDSD has been my go-to kit for headphone listening over the last couple years. Generally, I use it via a Sonore microRendu Roon endpoint, but I also just use it with my iPhone for portability. Perhaps these combos are not top-of-the-line, but to these ears, it provides an immersive soundstage with dead quiet background and excellent separation between voices and instruments - a sound quality I’ve come to know and love. The PecanPi proved to be equally engaging yet with a few notable differences… Foremost, the PecanPi conveyed greater detail & clarity with a highly neutral tonal presentation. The iFi iDSD leaned a bit to the warmer, richer side and that works well with my Tin Audio T3 IEMs (IEMs known for their neutrality), but the PecanPi was a wonderful match for my Senn HD650 headphones - not surprising given that the HD650s tend to lean a bit toward the warmer side while enabling all the detail and clarity provided by the PecanPi to shine through. Often, the PecanPi seemed to be revealing more of what was going on in the music - fingers on bass strings, piano note decay, hall ambience, etc… With good recordings, this proved quite mesmerizing, but on lesser quality recordings, not surprisingly, it could turn edgy. The price of detail, clarity and neutrality... not all recordings are created equal.
Comparing the Schiit Bifrost Multibit DAC was a bit of apples to oranges since I used an external headphone amp as well when not listening via powered speakers. I also did some of my listening with the Bifrost fed via USB from my computer as well as via the microRendu. But in all cases, the results were similar - the Schiit, like the iFi, presented a more relaxed yet engaging presentation whereas the PecanPi conveyed a more neutral, highly detailed soundstage that, with well recorded music, was an engaging and immersive musical treat.
Bottom line, I really enjoyed time with the PecanPi Streamer. The exceptional sound quality is all about the high quality of the PecanPi DAC, no doubt. If you love clarity and detail, this seems a no-brainer. The ability to have a top-quality DAC and Roon endpoint in one small box, the ability to use wireless, and a high-quality volume control all make the Streamer a pretty awesome bang-for-the-buck product.