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Move to the next level

I would appreciate opinions. In the past two years I have put together a modest system that has tremendously increased my appreciation of music. I have legacy collections of vinyl and cds, about 500 of each, but what has really excited me is streaming because of the way it lets you roam through time and genre virtually unrestricted. Currently I am listening to a Yamaha wxc50 connected to a Rogue Sphinx which feeds into a pair of KEF LS50s and a Syzygy SLF850 sub. I also have a Mac mini running Audirvana that hosts my ripped collection of CDs in the Apple lossless format and that runs into the Sphinx through a Topping D50s DAC.I am at the point where I'm ready to make a major investment in a quality source for my system to move to the next level of sound quality. I’m thinking of a budget of about $5000 for which I’d like a streamer/server with quality power supplies and preferably the DAC, along with, if within budget,  Roon. Candidates so far are the Aurilac Aries G2, Innuous Zenith Mk II, SOTM SMS200-ultra, and Lumin D2. What do you think fellow sound addicts?
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gelle
79 posts
 
@jazzman7. Budget >2k. Using a pretty standard USB cable that was recommended when I had my Squeeze Box Touch connected to the Oppo using EDO. 
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jazzman7
334 posts
 
@gelle with that type of budget my personal first choice would be the combination of the Chord Qutest and the Curious USB Cable for use with the Roon Nucleus. That is what I am using in my main rig. Having said that, your budget gives you plenty of other good options .... and a lot depends upon what you are looking for in terms of features from a DAC.
Other choices that I have considered (both new or used) include the very fine Ayre Codex and products offered by Schitt and Mytek among others. But as I said above a lot depends upon what features you value as well as the type of sound that you prefer. Also very much like the Bryston products. I have a BDA-1 (used to be in my main rig, now in a second system), but in your case you would require a BDA-2 or above to mate via USB with your Nucleus.
gelle
79 posts
 
Thank you. I'll look into your suggestions
gelle
79 posts
 
Thank you. I'll look into your suggestions. I was thinking about when you asked me what USB cable I was using. Do you think I should upgrade that first and see what results I get? If so should I try the Curious Cable?
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jazzman7
334 posts
 
@gelle,
I think that if I was in your shoes I'd start with the DAC, but recognize that the USB Cable which is an important component in and of itself may be a limiting factor. It's all about synergy and everything matters. That being said, all things being equal, I'd start with the DAC, get it broken in and live with it for a while first before pursuing a better USB Cable. In other words, would rather match the USB Cable to the DAC, than working to match the DAC to the USB Cable. Where possible, I find it makes sense to control one variable at a time.     
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