Mytek Brooklyn+microRendu -or- PS Audio DS Junior?


I have a PS Audio Stellar Gain Cell DAC for beta testing. The outcome of that will either be to keep or return it. Should I decide to return it, the upgrade bug will not be vanquished. One deciding factor would be that my computer is accessible to my audio system only by Ethernet. I would need to transmogrify that to USB which entails additional cost. If I return the Stellar GC-DAC...

I'm interested in either the PS Audio Directstream Junior, which with their onboard network bridge will deal with the Ethernet issue, or the Mytek Brooklyn, which would still require an Ethernet to USB solution. THE DS Jr is slightly more expensive than the Brooklyn+microRendu, but I have a trade-in for the Jr that makes it negligible. At this point, MQA is a big question mark for me, but I do use Tidal, and buying something new that doesn't support it does make me a bit queasy (victim of Audiophilia Nervosa).

The end solution may be to audition both, retaining return rights, but that's a lot of fuss.

Q: Does anyone have experience with both and can share their impressions, opinions and recommendations? If you have other recommendations based on experience with either of the stated choices, I'm all ears.

Thanks! CV
cvalle
Well said @kendrick2 ! You are a wise man. Good to hear about those results, and not surprising. Cheers,
Spencer
I went with Bluesound Node to see if it was as good as advertised.
Though I have only used it for a few days, I am impressed. I bypass the Bluesound DAC and use my Schiit Dac's.
Bluesound can integrate with Tidal, so I have access to MQA, too.

I hate investing in a format that may not achieve the universal usage the developers envisioned. And, if it does, then the cost of ownership should come down, as well.


Bob, have you compared the RCA outs of the Node2 to your Dac. I’d be curious how big of a difference the internal BS Dac performs to an external one.
This is an older thread but I went with the PS Audio Directstream Junior instead of a Mytek Brooklyn Dac + a streamer. I contemplated the latter, since the Brooklyn includes a phono input. 

It sounds pretty great to me so far. Anyone else contemplate these two choices and went with the latter?
I’m going with the Brooklyn and a streamer. I’m not sure what streamer yet, but the Node2 is a possibility using the passthru feature. I’m wondering if a Digione USBridge would work since it’s even cheaper. I could go from a PC desktop but I want a remote app for control and volume. Any thoughts anyone?