I recently went through a similar situation. I tried a Bluesound Node 2i, Project Prebox S2 Digital, HifiBerry DAC+DSP, ALLO UsBridge, etc.
I use Spotify and Roon/Tidal for digital. Have a mix of stored music and streaming, but nothing too far outside the mainstream or crazy quality files.
My system is fairly simple...Marantz PM8006 with Revel F36s. This is all tied in as fronts in my surround setup, but for Stereo, the PM8006 is all I use.
What i ended up settling on will sound a bit odd, but the sound is incredible for what I listen to...but it probably wont fit anyone else...
I ended up finding the combo of Marantz ND8006 from an Allo USBridge. It gives me the flexibility to switch from Roon to Spotify to CD, quite easily. I would imagine that your existing Connect is worth trying as a digital input. My only wish with this setup is that Marantz and included SACD on the ND8006. But for a standard CD player, it sounds top notch for non-reference level gear.
I really wanted to love the bluesound setup...it works great but was just a little to "clean" sounding for me. But a lot of people like that sound. Its just not my taste. But it does sound incredibly clear and clean.
Project Prebox S2 Digital is an incredibly useful and clear sounding DAC. Paired with iFi LPS, it really was a clean setup. Really the weakness were the somewhat loose USB Micro power input. Never got comfortable that wouldnt get knocked out on accident. Also, The raspberry pi/Sparky stuff is still just a little finicky for me. The USBridge with DietPi does seem really stable with Roon so thats how I use it exclusively. Not sure if this would be better than your current Connect though.
The Marantz was basically a product I felt had too many compromises for its price. So, I tried all the other solutions first and finally found a deal on a refurb ND8006. I wish I had just bought it first. Ill probably sell all the Bluesound and Project Dac.
I use Spotify and Roon/Tidal for digital. Have a mix of stored music and streaming, but nothing too far outside the mainstream or crazy quality files.
My system is fairly simple...Marantz PM8006 with Revel F36s. This is all tied in as fronts in my surround setup, but for Stereo, the PM8006 is all I use.
What i ended up settling on will sound a bit odd, but the sound is incredible for what I listen to...but it probably wont fit anyone else...
I ended up finding the combo of Marantz ND8006 from an Allo USBridge. It gives me the flexibility to switch from Roon to Spotify to CD, quite easily. I would imagine that your existing Connect is worth trying as a digital input. My only wish with this setup is that Marantz and included SACD on the ND8006. But for a standard CD player, it sounds top notch for non-reference level gear.
I really wanted to love the bluesound setup...it works great but was just a little to "clean" sounding for me. But a lot of people like that sound. Its just not my taste. But it does sound incredibly clear and clean.
Project Prebox S2 Digital is an incredibly useful and clear sounding DAC. Paired with iFi LPS, it really was a clean setup. Really the weakness were the somewhat loose USB Micro power input. Never got comfortable that wouldnt get knocked out on accident. Also, The raspberry pi/Sparky stuff is still just a little finicky for me. The USBridge with DietPi does seem really stable with Roon so thats how I use it exclusively. Not sure if this would be better than your current Connect though.
The Marantz was basically a product I felt had too many compromises for its price. So, I tried all the other solutions first and finally found a deal on a refurb ND8006. I wish I had just bought it first. Ill probably sell all the Bluesound and Project Dac.