There are a good number of threads attempting to answer this question and you might find it beneficial to look through this forum toward that end.
The Aurender N100H is a very good unit - in terms of quality, it’s the middle range of the three servers I have. And, all are better than a MacBook both in sound quality and in utility.
USB is a fine interface if your DAC has it implemented well. If so, there’s no reason to shy away or look for an SPDIF output. My best server has both outputs and USB is the better of the two. But, it’s really DAC dependent.
There’s a used NAD M50.2 here on Audiogon. The BluOS system is also quite good. Though many would argue that Aurender’s conductor is better, BluOS is very good if you use Ethernet instead of wireless. The M50.2 has a disk drive so you can rip to the internal hard drive, or use it as a player. And used, it’s a quite a bit less than an N100H new. If I were starting again, I look seriously at it.
Of course there are others, again - worth browsing this forum.
The Aurender N100H is a very good unit - in terms of quality, it’s the middle range of the three servers I have. And, all are better than a MacBook both in sound quality and in utility.
USB is a fine interface if your DAC has it implemented well. If so, there’s no reason to shy away or look for an SPDIF output. My best server has both outputs and USB is the better of the two. But, it’s really DAC dependent.
There’s a used NAD M50.2 here on Audiogon. The BluOS system is also quite good. Though many would argue that Aurender’s conductor is better, BluOS is very good if you use Ethernet instead of wireless. The M50.2 has a disk drive so you can rip to the internal hard drive, or use it as a player. And used, it’s a quite a bit less than an N100H new. If I were starting again, I look seriously at it.
Of course there are others, again - worth browsing this forum.
