Favorite Streamer/DAC combo under 3k?

Here is a buy once cry once Offering. A couple nickels over your budget, but well worth the extra day of saving your nickels to get.

https://innuos.com/stream1/

eversolos are nicely designed, richly featured, pretty well made, thus representing excellent value for $ -- but support in the face of problems is iffy due to lack of us/north america onshore representation or customer care -- they have some usa retailers but it seems to me these are pretty much ’move the boxes’ outfits

on the offshore side, though, there do seem to be plenty of caring people at the home base company paying attention -- as there are many frequent firmware updates (actually a pretty astounding number of these...)

i have personal ownership experience with a couple eversolo pieces, and i would say that based on these data points this brand seems to subscribe to a cool, clear and incisive sound signature ...definitely uptilted with a slightly leaned out midrange and midbass... certain systems will benefit from this if there is synergy with this sonic profile, while detractors will complain it all sounds rather ’digital’

The Lumin D3 is right around $3k new and sounds great. I use it in a second system, it sounds like a junior version of my Lumin U1x (soon to upgrade to U2x). The Aurender A1000 is pretty nice as well. It sells for around $3500 but you should be able to find a dealer who will give a discount. 

If you are willing to buy second hand the options open up more. Various Lumin, Aurender, Auralic, Naim, Hifirose, and others. 

MOON 280D MIND2 by SIMAUDIO ….. highly recommended 

Bonus:

-  best in class 10 year warranty from new

- unparalleled upgrade investment recovery: 75% dealer trade-in value within 1st year; 50% trade-in-value within yr 2.

- made in Canada and top support 

Sample reviews: 

https://darko.audio/2021/07/refined-precision-moon-by-simaudios-280d-streaming-dac/

https://stereonet.com/reviews/simaudio-moon-280d-dac-review

https://www.extremehifi.com/product/moon-280d-558E

I should have added, I'd prefer one with a screen.

No one’s mentioning the difference DAC hardware architectures - there’s a lot of DAC’s with Delta-Sigma chips vs. DAC’s with R 2-R ladder hardware.  (There’s other types as well, but these are the two I’ll speak to.). You should dig-in a bit to find out if you like the transparency (albeit somewhat clinical) sound of the Delta-Sigma or the more ‘analog’ (musical sound) of the R 2-R.  I personally went for an Eversolo A6 with a Denafrips Pontus 15th (R 2-R ladder) which sounds pretty great to my ears.  Pretty damn close to vinyl in some instances.  Total Price was $2800.

NAIM 

I would highly recommend one of the Ayre Acoustics DAC/streaming DACs, new/used, that are within your price range.  Personally, I always buy pre-owned, as to maximize my budget, and to get the absolute most for my hard earned dollars.  Although lesser known, these DACs are just incredible and could end up being your last.  Over the years, I've owned a couple Ayre Acoustics DACs, and now use their top-of-the-line DAC as my end-game, reference streaming DAC.  Happy listening.   

I suggest a look at the Atoll MS120. About $1,600. 
I had one for about six months. Worked perfectly.  Sounded great. Has a nice screen. Very robust build quality. 
 

I would still have it, but I’m a McIntosh guy from way back. It just didn’t look right in my rack. (See my virtual system). 
I know. Dumb reason to spend a lot more money. But I Did. The Atoll dealer here is also the McIntosh dealer and he have me 100% trade value for the upgrade. Anyway, check out the Atoll. A great unit. 

I second the R-2R recommendation. I have a Denafrips Pontus 15 as well paired with a lowly Bluesound Node via coax and Chord Reference into a Naim Supernait 2, and cannot believe how warm yet crisp it sounds. I balked for years on what DAC to get, tried the Qutest, didn’t quite win me over and I took a chance with the Pontus and am still impressed after 2 years owning it. I may upgrade my streamer but am so satisfied by the current sound I’m in no rush. FYI I am not a true audiophile, I just like music and decent gear. 

Node Icon

Buy the new Eversolo T8 ($1,400), AND a used McIntosh D150 DAC (about $1,600).  You can thank me later.  Do not buy a Streamer/DAC combo as most combo DACs are not good.

Eversolo interface is the best, works 100% of the time, company keeps them updated.  Sound out of the T8 is far better than A6, better than A8.  I've had expensive combos and never liked them...

I’ve been really happy with my Gen 1 Eversolo DMP-A6 Master Edition with LPS as a streamer that feeds a Chord Qutest with sBooster. This combo allowed me to get back to focusing on the music and get off the streamer/DAC merry go round. The rest of the system is Luxman and Harbeth. Enjoy your search! 

I agree with the Eversolo T8 and McIntosh DAC combo recommendation. 

I'd get an Eversolo T8 + a Denefrips Ares or Pontus for the win.

I think I want one box just for the simplicity. I don’t see any used McIntosh DAC for sale… I do have a MA252 and JBL 100 Classics.

Hmmm maybe I’ll try the T8. I have a McIntosh C2800 with the DA2 DAC. 

I can also say the T8 is a great dedicated streamer for the price.  I'm using the I2S connection which provided better all around fidelity to the USB.  USB is no slouch it's just in my system I preferred the I2S better.

For an all in one there is no contest. Aurender A1000. I got a used one for $2500 and a new one for a hair under $3k. It has more detail and PRAT than any of my other setups. 

For separates and a more tubey sound then Denafrips Pontus 15th or Holo Audio Cyan 2 connected by I2S to either the Holo Audio Red or Denafrips Arce. That gets you in the $3k ballpark.

The Eversolo T8 is an adult toy with a pretty screen. Many other streamers sound better. Eversolo is totally overhyped if you actually listen to the sound and are not distracted by all the bells and whistles in my opinion.

@calieng have you heard the T8?

Gustard X30 DAC

No one has mentioned the OKTO Researc DAC 8 Stereo. In my experience nothing can touch it for the price. Rated class A+ by Stereophile. Okto Research https://share.google/RZe3gcswALu5xf8zn

@tubeguy76 

Yes I had the T8 for nearly 30 days and then returned it. I tested it in a lot of setups.

It is fine if you like the visuals and the pretty good sound but it looses a lot of micro-details in the music.

Lumin, Denafrips, Holo Audio all much better sounding streamers.

Generally Linux based streamers are better than Android based. Android is handicapped a bit in processing sound.

+1 for Eversolo.  The DMP A10 (new) may be above your price range but the DMP A8 at under $2K is a great performer.  There is an A10 for sale on Audiogon at $3,250.

I have an A8 in my 2nd system (feeding a fully upgraded Elekit TU-8600 into Harbeth P3ESRs) and it is an absolute pleasure to listen to.

I hooked up the A8 into my main system and the sound is very smooth and refined, perhaps losing the last bit of resolution compared with my Esoteric K-01 XDSE (at 12 x the price).

For a pure streamer/server, the T8 is excellent, though it appears that some DACs do not play as well as others.  The Esoteric, with its buffering and an external rubidium clock, pretty much isolates the DAC from any streamer and connection jitter issues.  So, a T8 and a good DAC would work well, and give you an upgrade path.

Both the T8 and DMP A8 support adding a pair of 4TB SSDs for downloads, and you can rip or listen to CDs by adding a cheap USB (< $50) disk drive.

Also, Eversolo have the widest range of streaming and internet radio sources, to the extent that setting which ones you can select from is a good idea!

With the T8 there is a CRITICAL step in setup - to turn OFF all Android processing of the bit stream - by turning ON the Eversolo Original Sampling Rate option.  Set up carefully the T8 does no processing of the data, but this is not the default, you must make sure that the DSP and Android processing are turned off.  Similarly the bit rate limiters must be turned off, and you should use USB or I2S.

@retiredaudioguy This!  Also disabling Wifi and Bluetooth radios also helps.  Gotta spend way more to beat the T8.  It has so many settings to satisfy most everyone's needs and if you think the screen is an adult toy and is distracting you can simply disable it so it's off too!  ;-)

@crayray13 

FYI I am not a true audiophile, I just like music and decent gear. 

love it... please post more if you are inclined  

need more of your kind here to keep us grounded  :)

On my T8, in the "big rig" The screen is about 20 feet away,  The WiFi & Bluetooth are disabled.

In the 2nd "kitchen & dining room" setup I have no option other than WiFi and I am usually busy cooking or eating, though sometimes I'll sit on the couch about 8 feet from the speakers and read with a glass of wine.

@crayray13 IMHO changing your streamer probably would not improve SQ.

Quote "Additionally,  all digital inputs undergo FIFO buffering and are re-clocked by an on-board CPLD crystal oscillator, providing exceptional jitter suppression capabilities. This minimizes the DAC's reliance on the source device's clock quality, further enhancing audio quality".

You do have to configure the Node to support 24-192.  Also I think it does not support DSD, if you care about DSD then you do need to switch.  Otherwise save your $$ or buy a tube amp.

Hey OP- Keep in mind that many streamers and DACs are not full-sized components, so separates often don't take up that much room. Also, I never look at the screen on my streamer, and if it didn't have one, I wouldn't mind. Everything is done from the phone or tablet.

When I was auditioning DAC/Streamers, I listened to quite a number at different prices. The real standout for me at even vaguely that price point was the Teac UD-701N - it uses the same main board as the big Esoteric DAC and sounds absolutely superb. It also offers both 1-bit & multibit deciding, works natively with HQPlayer, is Roon Ready and its built in preamp is very good indeed. The only reason I didn’t buy it was that I auditioned the Tambaqui (albeit at 3x the price)

I have the Wiim Pro and also Cambridge Audio CXN streamers.  The CA have recently updated their DAC from the old DAC Magic to an ESS chip.  I actually don’t use the DACs in either streamer routinely but I have used them for brief intervals when I had a problem with my main DAC.  The CA is definitely and upgrade from the Wiim but it should be at 20x the price 

I have nor heard the Teac UD-701N - but am a big fan of Esoteric.  Looking at their specs and reviews it appears that they share engineering with Esoteric.  You might find one used <$3K that you could audition.

From watching several reviews from trustworthy reviewers, I am fairly confident about the following two points:

1. Within the everSolo ecosystem, the T8 sounds better than the A6 Gen 1 & 2, A6 Master, and A8. If you already have a good external DAC, choosing the T8 and using its digital output to feed your DAC is definitely the way to go—again, strictly within the Eversolo ecosystem.

2. The T8 is generally comparable to the Rivo Plus (with LPS) in both sound quality and cost. However, reviewers seem divided on which one has the edge.

   • iiwi thinks the T8 has a slight advantage through its USB output (Hans disagrees).

   • Tarun rates the Rivo as outstanding and the T8 as highly recommended.

   • Passion for Sound considers them interchangeable.

   • Hans places the T8 at the lower end of his 1B setup tier, even though its price suggests it should be higher; he rates the Rivo higher, in the mid-1B tier.
     As a Rivo Plus owner, I think the Eversolo T8 is still a solid choice.

Just like the A6 when it first launched—where hype from reviewers and users was followed by a noticeable amount of negative feedback—I also had a disappointing experience with the A6 after extensive at-home auditioning. That experience made me suspect there might have been quality-control issues.  Today, although I do believe the T8 is a strong contender and a well-designed product, I’m still not fully certain whether those QC issues have been resolved, based on the negative feedback I’ve seen on this forum.

I have been using Sonore Optical Rendu for close to a decade now. I had the Lumin X1 DAC/streamer which was $15k. The DAC is OK and the streamer in it is great. You can buy that streamer standalone now as the Lumin U2x for $10k.

I also have the PlayBack Designs STREAM-IF for $3k and that was also great but I only used SPDIF since I did not own a PBD DAC which has fibre optic connection (via PLINK) from the STREAM-IF to a PBD DAC.

I also had the ROON-ONLY OpticalRendu. I compared all 3 streamers side-by-side and found they were ALL great,but sounded different. I ended up selling the Lumin X1 and the STREAM-IF and bought 2 more Sonore OpticalRendu's.

I ran all 3 in 3 different rooms and I controlled them using ROON.

I have 2 Rendu's and 2 DACs left. I am looking to sell one set of the Rendu/DAC so I can start saving up for a much more expensive DAC, which I will use a OpticalRendu to stream to.

BTW - Streaming via fibre is the way to go because it does not matter what is behind the fibre (glass cable). The glass kills the analog noise that resides in Ethernet cables.

Both the Holo Audio Red and the Denafrips Arce cost less and sound significantly better than the T8.

The Eversolo losses a lot of micro detail easily heard in a headphone setup. And with speakers I found it reduced the soundstage compared to other gear I have. I compared it directly to a number of other streamers, with a variety of headphone and speaker amps, and with a variety of DACs.

There is some good advice on optimizing the T8 if you really enjoy the screen and various functions. But do not be mislead - it is not the best sounding streamer at its price point.

90% of the Youtube salesmen (reviewers) have a long history of gushing over every new item that comes out. Often being able to keep the gear as a reward or upping their Youtube income with clickbait.

How many gushed over the Willsenton R300 amp - the only one I have ever had fail on me - only to wait for an honest reviewer (Skunkster) to show it is a pile of crap.

I'm going to pair the Eversolo T8 with either a Pontus 15th or a Garlubidor Divinity-- combined are around $4K, a little above your budget but worth considering IMO.

I recently upgraded to the Denon DNP-2000NE through which I stream Tridal Connect and play CD's. A noticeable sound quality improvement over my previous Ifi Zen Signature. It matches well with my Marantz PM8006 integrated.

NAIM Uniti Atom?

Volumio Motivo fits the brief:  one-piece streamer/dac; screen; $2k.