What sources/services do you want to support and how do you wish to control it?
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Cheap is not the necessary... I'd prefer it to be less; but I have a top of the line DAC, and set up so I don't want to cheapen the experience; just don't know what to look at. If there were a Mac Mini (Guide to using Mac Mini as a Music Server) I'd read it but Roon Nucleus+ looks good at $2400 as well. |
The BlueSound Node 2 is excellent and connected to a good DAC, can provide great sound quality. To the person who asked "Why should the OP pay for another DAC?" I would say "why not?". The BlueSound’s main purpose is to be a streamer. The DAC is a nice throw in, but the DAC in a $500 music streamer is likely to to be inferior to the $10,000 purpose built DAC the OP has. I have my BlueSound Node 2 connected to my Auralic Vega DAC and it sounds wonderful. |
Products in the Bryston BDP line are all great network transports. BDP-1 used well under $1000, though a bit long in the tooth. BDP-Pi is an interesting product. I use Raspberry Pis in some setups and they are great with the Allo Digione products, but require some messing around with Linux to get them up and running. |
A transport is the last thing I would personally invest in in todays world simply because it does not handle all the same digital file resolutions that a good streamer is (generally) designed to handle. A Node 2 is a very good steamer, with a pretty good interface and it handles many digital formats/resolutions. And once you invest in a NAS drive for it you simply park all your CD’s onto it and file the CD under "archive" I have a Node 2, a power Node 2 and a Pulse Mini speaker - which allows me to stream the music from that NAS drive to anywhere in and around my house Lately I have purchased digital downloads (as opposed to CD’s) - I think it’s the way digital music will go, but then, I still buy vinyl, so who knows where digital will end up. Other advantages of the streamer - you can create playlists of favourite tracks on your NAS to suit your mood. - you can play by artist/album/genre/playlists/composers/folders and favourites - you can stream all sorts of stuff from the web and/or streaming service by genre/artist/etc... One thing about transports - lots of moving parts, so they can experience "mechanical issues". Same can be said of a turntable, but Transports are more complex and often requires a technician for repairs. Belt drive turntables are pretty easy to fix - at least mine is. I think it’s a personal call - I prefer a streamer - others like loading CD’s. They both produce some exquisite music and the transport, like vinyl, can inspire a certain "mood" for the occasion (much like vinyl) - as opposed to sifting through songs in a library from your phone. Happy Listening - Steve |
Why do you need a streamer? Most people who buy a streamer have it in their audio room and hooked up to their dac using usb which is a terrible interface. I use a Mac mini with 26TB of RAID disks for my ripped and purchased hires music running Roon. I also use a 1G fiber internet connection for both speed and lack of noise when I stream Tidal MQA files. My Mac system is 2 floors away from my audio room and I use Ethernet to connect to my dac. Very simple and excellent SQ |
If you are starting out, I would recommend to avoid USB. Too many hoops to jump through to get good SQ and too much money spent. I use Ethernet with my Interchange DLNA renderer. This is functionally like a Sonos connect, but audio quality that is out of this world. 10psec of jitter and outputs include S/PDIF coax, AES/EBU, I2S on RJ-45 and I2S on HDMI. You can use it with any DAC: https://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=156409.0 I use freeware Linn Kinsky/Minimserver/BubbleUPnP on my old Mac mini, which I upgraded with SSD. You can also use Linn Kazoo for streaming. Best sound quality from digital in 22 years of designing digital audio products. 30-day money-back, less shipping. I compared Roon to Linn Kinsky/Minimserver and Linn wins hands-down. Steve N. Empirical Audio |