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Top music streamer for 2019? Aurender N10’s?

I will shortly be purchasing a Gryphon Diablo 300 integrated with its internal DAC module.  I’m now wondering what to do about a music streamer, as I’m doubting that my current stock Mac Mini with Audirvana will do justice to the Gryphon.  My budget is < 10k.  After scanning forums this is what I’ve found consistently:  1) Aurender is frequently recommended, seemingly more so than other brands, 2) the Aurender N10 sounds much better than the much less expensive N100H, 3) Any higher end dedicated streamer will elevate sound significantly over my Mac Mini.

So it appears my best option is the Aurender N10 other than the price tag.  My questions are:  1) Do people agree with the statements above?  And, 2) How do the much less expensive Moon Mind 2 and Bluesound products compare with the Aurender N10?  Is the difference large?  And, 3) How big is the sound quality increase going to a N10 from a Mac Mini, and what specifically are the differences I should expect? 

Thanks

nyev

Showing 3 responses by jasonsim

jasonsim
54 posts
 
If you want to use the DAC built in to the Gryphon you might just look into a Auralic Aries mini or the now equivalent.  I used and still have my Aries Mini and it works great.  It can unfold MQA. The built in DAC of the Aries is rubbish. So expect to use a SPDif output. 
jasonsim
54 posts
 
On the other hand, if you want to move up I would recommend a PS Audio DirectStream DAC Junior ($4000) or the Senior ($6000) with the bridge II. These option will give you a world class DAC and streamer built in. They are Roon endpoints too. Makes things so easy. The best part is that these are FPGA DACs and can be upgraded via firmware. 

Jason
jasonsim
54 posts
 
I use my iMac as my Roon Core server. I leave it on all the time.

I thought Roon was some silly thing. But after having it for six months or so, I am hooked. The interface is great. And I like the radio feature. It is also great to have so much information so well organized.

I only use it for Tidal streaming, since I don’t have a digital downloaded library. Maybe it is just me, but I don’t see the benefit to ripping all my CDs. Most of which have MQA versions right on Tidal.

Another big big plus is that Roon presents a uniform interface across all my streamers. I have a PS Audio DirectStream Junior DAC (a Roon endpoint) in my main system and a Bluesound Node (Roon endpoint) in my second system. These typically have different interfaces to control them, but with Roon it all works and looks the same. If I want to continue playing an album from my main system to my second system it is easy. I just tell Roon to switch to any of the Roon endpoints.

I also like that that the Roon controller can be my iPad, iPhone, iMac, MacBook, or even my Windows 10 PC.

What I don’t like is the price. I better start saving my pennies and upgrade to the lifetime version. 😀
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