Educate me on music streamers, please.


I just recently started a trial of Roon, Audirvana, Tidal, Deezer, Qobuz and Spotify.  In the past, I just played FLACs on Foobar or streamed on Google Play.  

Roon and Audirvana are pretty cool and I like that you can add Tidal and Qobuz but you can't add Deezer (I really like Deezer's Flow).   I don't like that I can't stream Deezer to my Raspberry Pi with RopieeeXL.  

So, I was thinking that maybe a music streamer that has all of these services would be a good idea.  Anyone have one they like?  Do they have their own "sound"?  I have a DAC  - so would the DAC sound change whatever comes out of the streamer?

Sorry for the basic questions.  I appreciate any help.


soundchasr
Well, based on all of the great info and @veroguys comprehensive post, I took the plunge with the Node 2i.  I like all of its features and, especially, that it can be modded/upgraded.  

Should have it tomorrow!


DCS Network Bridge:  I was looking for the highest level of streaming quality with native Deezer support.   The NB gets almost universally good reviews and I got a really good price on a used unit that was local to me

I listen to 100% streaming, so I didn't need/want a server. 

I was really close to getting the Moon Mind2 - few owners out there, but the reviews I've seen, and owners I talked to, have been more than positive.

I considered dropping Deezer and going with Qobuz - and then getting a Lumin U1 mini with the external power supply mod.  But then the DCS came up for sale.  Very happy that I have what I consider excellent Deezer streaming in a single box.

Being wedded to Deezer limits the options available today.  There are many great servers, renderers, streamers, library software etc out there - you could spend months researching and demoing - but so few support Deezer.   Once Deezer is integrated with Rooon, those options will open up.

I suggest trying the Bluesound Node 2i.  Maybe that will meet your needs until Deezer is integrated in Roon.  If it doesn't meet your needs sonically, get the power supply upgrade, or demo the Moon Mind2.

Good luck!  Let us know what path you take and the results.





Doh!  We just cross-posted. 

Congrats on the Node 2i, @soundchaser.  I think it's a very low risk approach. 

Let us know your thoughts.
There are many streamers that will act as Roon endpoints. Realistically, Audirvana is computer only in my opinion, they say it’s DNLA compatible but that doesn’t seem to be the case in the real world. Plus, I can’t see why anyone would want to use both Roon and Audirvana since they both essentially do the same thing. The consensus seems to be that Audirvana sounds better than Roon, but Roon is way more compatible with external streamers. 
@crn3371 - I have been able to stream Audirvana to the Raspberry Pi without issue (DLNA).  

With regard to Audirvana vs. Roon, I like the sound much better with Audirvana.  I just don't like Roon's sound at all.  I will, however, use Roon because the UI is so much better and more entertaining.  Then I'll go to listen on Audirvana......