One of the better upgrades I've made to the digital front end of my system was getting a Roon Nucleus to feed my DAC. Anyone who says the streamer makes no difference is speaking from lack of experience (or lack of resolution in their system). In my case, I'm using the Nucleus as both server core and end point, as my Ayre Codex is pre-Roon. I did build a linear power supply to run the Nucleus and my router - eliminating wall warts made a small, but noticeable improvement. The only network transports I've heard (and I've heard many) are part of Ayre QX-5, QX-8 or DCS BartoK, Rossini, Vivaldi DACs. The best streamer, by far, is the DCS Network Bridge! I've seen jaw drops at how much better it made a Berkeley Reference DAC (and others) sound.
Moving up from a Node 2i
I want to keep it between 1K and 1500.00, closer to a grand if at all possible. I don't care about onboard DACs, since I have a keen liking for mine. What is out there for a streamer, new or used, that will sound better than the Node when outputting to an external DAC? I like the functionality of the Node, don't want something with a sketchy user interface. But honestly, I think my old Allo Digione (Raspberry Pi) might have sounded a little more organic and fleshed out than the Node.
What say ye, Audiogon?
Oz
What say ye, Audiogon?
Oz