Mid Range Streamer DAC recommendation help requested!


Good evening,

In looking for a new one box music streamer /DAC  I am striking out as far as the actual in store, "seeing, listening and buying" process is now a little bit harder to find.  

 Two of our local brick and mortar A/V stores have closed, Axpona is postponed until 2021, and the big city stores are now curbside delivery or online only.   

For now I am hoping to share this discussion with the Agon experts here to get your thoughts and feedback regarding a few possible good music streamer / DAC candidates.

I am looking for a  good quality Streamer/ DAC  that should provide years of good, enjoyable music service.

Some of the  Brands /models that I have read about as being good mid range devices are listed below:

Bryston BDA 3.14
Cary Audio  DMS-550
LUMIN  T2
Mytek  Brooklyn  Bridge / Manhattan

Please share your experiences (good or bad)  if you have had some extended / operating listening time with any of these components!   

Some of the criteria that I would hope to find would be :

1. Very good sound quality,    
2. Reliable, durable,  (something that does not break down during streaming or need  frequent tweaks or updates)
3. Future-proof, (as much as is reasonable) 
4. A product that is fairly easy to operate, and also fun to use.
5.  Right Jacks and plugs for the key connectors.  (Do not need a headphone jack or TT connector at this time).
6. Good quality  DAC chips, with equally high specs for playback PCM and DSD levels, etc.
7. Should function perfectly with ROON, Tidal, MQA, Qobuz, etc.

Not interested in the multiple box / PC route as I am not an IT person.  

PS 1: There may other Streamer DACs that should also be included  in this list ,and please suggest those in your reply email.

PS2: The output end of the music is through Legacy Amps and Legacy Focus SE speakers.

PS3: I will pursue some type of  digital storage in the future, maybe like a Roon Nucleus or equivalent. 
Hopefully that future NAS will mesh perfectly with the new streamer  DAC.

Thank you very much!

Dan


  








dan2019

Showing 1 response by taww

Lots of suggestions here but I can recommend the PS Audio DirectStream with Bridge as a great sounding option. It has been my reference for the last 2 years and even though the rest of my system has been upgraded significantly (eg Gryphon separates) the PSA still fills its shoes. There were a lot of firmware issues earlier on but they have been sorted out and Roon is very reliable. It’s not as comprehensive with direct streaming support (eg it took a while to get Spotify and it was spotty [har har] at first though this has likely improved) but you’ll be set with Roon. If you’re looking for longevity, the upgradability of the DirectStream’s FPGA is a great selling point though the latest firmware has been great and I’m not sure how many more gos Ted Smith has in mind for this model. He’s been able to repurpose work on his new reference DAC in the older model to some extent so that’s promising.

i agree with a previous comment that Roon integration with Tidal and Qobuz leaves something to be desired, but I’ve found it to be serviceable and I never use the native apps. If you want to do some serious curation you can always sit at your computer and create playlists in Tidal which Roon can access. 

For less money I have always liked Cambridge - they make a solid product. 
Cheers,
TAWW
https://TAWW.co