All in one Pre/Power/Streaming/DAC or Streaming Preamp/DAC combo ~$2k-4k recommendations


Howdy!

Looking for recommendations on a user-friendly  pre/power/dac/streamer OR preamp/dac/streamer combo or all in one pre/power/dac/streamer combo.  ~$2-4K is my price range.  These combos are difficult to search the internet for and even more difficult to search Audiogon for (what section do you list them in?). 

Here's what I think are my requirements.  I say, "I think" because I'm open to other options to get me there.
1. Control unit with iphone, ipad
2. Runs Tidal
3. Runs cool-- my equipment is behind doors away from 2 year old hands
4. Fun options- HDMI input, bluetooth, air play, room correction- I have no control over placement options for speakers (wife retains that authority)
5. If recommending all-in-one box with power needs plenty of watts to run ATC speakers, generally >100wpc.

Current system consists of ATC SCM 11 v2 speakers, Wyred 4 Sound DAC-2 which runs straight into Wyred for Sound ST-500 mk 2 power amp.  I have a Squeezebox touch from which I stream Tidal.  Also have an apple tv and sony uhp-h1 universal player connected through the DAC.  My stereo is in the main living room connected with the tv that everyone uses.

I"m really looking for functionality upgrade, not necessarily looking to improve on the sound.  I'm pretty pleased with sound quality and I don't know if I could elaborate on what sound quality I would improve upon if you asked.  I want my wife and kids to be able to use it and enjoy it as much as I do.  Think Taylor Swift dance parties (for my daughters), country music for the wife, and jazz/acoustic for me, and tv sound through the stereo all of the rest of the time.   

Right now I have a separate remote for all the devices.  I frequently have 3 remotes in my hand at once.  I use iPeng to control the Squeezebox, but I don't think it's great and doesn't integrate all that well with Tidal. Wife and kids find it more difficult to use.

My wants seem to outweigh my bank account- the eternal audiophile conundrum.

Thanks for your input!


joshelston
Wanted to chime in on the tonal balance of the gold note is-1000, which i own alongside an ayre ex-8. The gold note is in fact the warmer sounding (and cooler running) of the two units. Streaming, the ayre is clearly more resolving, delicate, and transparent, the gold note privileges strong drive and a rich, moving magnet like sense of midband body. Unlike the ayre, which has a fantastic one; the gold note does not have a headphone out but its included phono stage is truly sonically exceptional (if limited in configurability), even compared to many very fine external phono preamps when using a high quality lomc or mm cart. 
Thanks for the info, Transience.  The only review I could find on the gold note from digital audio review suggested it sound “hot” which I took to me bright, harsh.  Your review is the opposite.  I have ATC speakers which are not bright but are detailed.  Therefore I have a fear of any bright, detailed equipment.  I’m sure the Ayre is amazing.  In my mind they’re one of the elite companies making audio these days.  However, they’re always out of my price range.  How are the control apps for both units? Have you used them? Music direct is now selling AVM stuff which has piqued my interest.  I’ve been focusing on the AVM CS 2.2 specifically.  Any first hand users of this one? 
NAD M10 does all that and has Dirac for $2,500 list price.

A used Devialet expert pro 140. No room correction per se but does compensate for the behavior of specific speakers via the SAM functionality.

Lumin M1 is $2k but no room correction.
@joshelston happy to provide my perspectives on the two units respectively. I find the gold note very far from "hot," and the darko review seriously perpexplexing, as if anything the gold note is warm, bold, and a little barrel chested - it’s great strength is midbass pressure and midband richness and color. By comparison the Ayre is silverier, shining with upper presence region purity. They both use mcontrol on mobile and are both roon ready, - the gold note uses an optical alps volume control though so responds more quickly to volume changes and has mqa; the ayre counters with a screen displaying track info. I have an android, but i understand gold note has a dedicated app for iphone/ipad out already. Both are excellent; would pair the gold note with a brighter system and the ayre with a richer one. The gold note phono stage and ayre headphone out are also truly extraordinary. 
p.s. as you can tell, I really like the unit's approach and think it's oddly underreported in English language press. This is in polish by a writer for 6moons and other publications, but i think this is the most accurate review of the gold note's approach to sonics (obviously, there are always tradeoffs): http://www.highfidelity.pl/@main-3249&lang=
The parts that stand out as true (translated) are: "The amplifier we are talking about this time seems to be "tuned" for a warm, tube sound. He builds large, effective plans, creates vocals in such a way that they are always in the foreground and the most important, and the top of the band soothes, so that even the smallest paproch, the innocent one, can not slip away.

This is not the first time, and probably not the last one when we are dealing with this type of stylistics in an Italian product. There is something in this sunny, warm, good to live - from the point of view of Northern Europe - the country, which means that the creators, including audio designers, do not make us worry. IS-1000 sounds like it was to be part of the therapy prescribed by a personal trainer, supported by the wisdom of a spiritual guide.

As I say, the most important are the vocals, or - as you can guess - the midrange. He is the king, enlightened by the absolute ruler. Enlightened, because he knows what is needed by his subjects, that is to us, but nevertheless absolute and strong enough to realize his own vision. Listened to this angle Leonard Cohen from the album Popular Problems, from which the song opens the second season of the True Detective series (directed by Nic Pizzolatto, 2015), sounded in a dense and authoritative way. The brightening of the higher diameter, revealing the poor recording of his voice, was gone, and filling and density were left.

The same was with the voice of Brian Flanagan from the album Where Dreams Are Made. This is a classic realization for Stockfisch, ie soft, with a low accent and large vocal. Similarly to the part of the recording of the voice of this studio, also here the part of the higher measure seems to be underlined, the sibilants are a bit stronger than in the best recordings - say - Sinatra. I think I understand the strategy of the executors responsible for these recordings. It would consist in trying to revive quite warm, and thus inherently slower, playing. But in effect, the sound of the voice was also slightly destabilized. It's a sensible choice (compromise), but it's always a choice.
...

The listening confirms what I said in the introduction, that is, the IS-1000 is an integrated amplifier equipped with a file player and this amplifier is the most important here. He can play with panache, large volume, beautiful color. It is warm, there is no doubt about it and it resembles the sound of small tube amplifiers, but with a higher current efficiency. The bass is not too rigorously controlled, regardless of the settings. It is in it in perfect synchronization, one could say: spiritual communication. Similarly, the mountain - silky and smooth.

The file player (streamer) sounds in turn - there is no surprise - like a warm turntable. We are talking about warm colors, large vocals, relaxed mountain and midrange domination. Not everyone will like it and not every music genre will benefit. However, we are sure that no record, no recording, including Tidal, will sound bad or unpleasant. This is a reasonable compromise, which is in line with the Gold Note philosophy. This sophisticated sound designed for those who like peace and in his name are ready to sacrifice bandwidth and resolution."