Need DAC/Streaming Advice


I currently own a Bryston BDP-2 digital player that I run through a Bryston DAC.  As far as playing high resolution files via a thumb drive or other external drive, the BDP-2 sounds great.  The streaming part leaves a lot to be desired.  I can stream Tidal but it is extremely slow and the IPad controller is pretty lousy.  I can listen to Sonos through the DAC into my main system but obviously there is no hi-Rez via Sonos. I would like to find a better solution and am willing to start over (I can move the Bryston components to my secondary system).  What I would like to find is a higher end streamer for my main system that would allow me to stream Tidal, Spotify and Deezer if possible while also playing digital files via thumb drive etc. I have no idea if that can be done in a one box solution or if I would need a separate streamer and DAC.  I would very much appreciate any and all thoughts.  Thanks in advance.
puppyt

Showing 2 responses by johnkay74

Like mahler123 above, I I also encountered significant problems with Bluesound and ended up returning. I initially purchased the older Node 2 and Puse 2 about a year ago. Used them for 3 months and then sold as I could not deal with the bugs I encountered. More recently I purchased a Pulse mini 2i and a Node 2i. Different bugs and not a good experience with customer service (similar to mahler). Ended up returning as I was in the window. I think that a lot of problems occur when multiple units are installed and used as a multiroom system.
Jonkay
sorry to hear about your Bluesound problems. Did you try a different streamer?
mahler123, I have gone back and forth with a number of solutions:
- Sonos connect (with external dac + amp)
- Naim Nova
- Allo Digi One with Volumio (feeding the above external dac + amp)

The Nova sounded great but it is super expensive and it needs careful partnering with speakers (a bit bass heavy). The Naim app was occasionally buggy.

The Allo Digi One used with Roon is (to my ears) the best sounding and also the cheapest. Unfortunately, scaling this to include additional units (RPi3 based) is not easy and it involves a lot of hassle.

I have resigned to using a single Allo Digi One feeding my main system for critical listening and then a Sonos Connect + Sonos One units for multiroom around the house.

The combination allows for listening options but it results in multiple boxes, cables and switching. Not a problem for me but my family will not go near the system...