Mike - the most common brands in your price range that have a significant fan base are Aurender, Antipodes, Innuos, Lumin . Sticking with one of these should bring good value and it will be easier to find one to audition. Plus as the industry evolves you will have a known commodity the will be easier to resale.
I think it’s great you’re prepared to invest as much in the source. Like others have said, the streamer makes a massive difference. As usual if the source doesn’t get it right, there is nothing you can do to fix it downstream.
Like you, Roon is the interface I like best and bought a lifetime subscription. There are dealers who have most of the aforementioned brands in stock. During my research there was a consistent theme where they like them all for various reasons, however the Innuos was at the top of the list most often.
Ive had the Sonic Transporter former top of the line i7 with an ultraRemdu in my system along with a Antipodes CX/EX combo a Innuos Zen Mkiii a Zenith Mkiii and a Phoenix USB reclocker. The Lumin I’ve only head outside my system, and the Aurender doesn’t do Roon... too bad I’ve heard good things.
Based on my personal demo I would concur with the dealers who have multiple lines say the safe bet, highest value overall in this price range is the Innuos line. The SQ is awesome! Even all the guys who are custom building servers, there benchmarks are Taiko, and Innuos. Lot of well healed audiophiles that really know a thing it two. See Audiophile Style thread if you care to read up on it.
The Antipodes was wonderful, but at over 10k for a hobby that is still evolving (and depreciating) I wasn’t going to go there. This CX/EX combo can be split, and upgraded. However I liked the idea of one box, one power cord etc. The Sonic and Rendu combo was nice, but no match to the Innuos Zen Mkiii. This had a great balance of everything that I valued. A/B with the Zen and the Zenith Mkiii and there is another layer of musicality.... for my money, it was worth it.
You won’t go wrong with any of the brands, some will suit your musical priorities better. Go listen for yourself and get educated on how they sound. Get demos in your system like I did if you can... it made the choice of the Zenith a no brainer.
Again smart move, put the money in the source, you’ll be glad you did. Good luck with your journey!
