Is the Mytek Brooklyn Bridge or Lumin D2 good buys in 2021?

sacman

I would not separate the dac from the streamer ....  Having all in one streaming DAC would eliminate the need for possible noise in the transmission via the cable ... you might save money on having to buy two units along with interconnects ...

By that reasoning, we'd all buy receivers instead of separate components, especially because the risk of noise in an analog interconnection is real, whereas in a digital connection not so much. If you're into audio for the long haul, there are obvious advantages to buying separates, including being able to take advantage of advancing technology without making a wholesale change.

cleed, you're right to a certain extend.  If receiver can be build to handle the high current and maximum peak power from separate amps then it's actually better.  The advantage of advance technology occurs everywhere but in this particular example, where signals are passed between difference processors, the less travel the better for the signal integrity.

sacman1

If receiver can be build to handle the high current and maximum peak power from separate amps then it’s actually better.

Don’t be silly. By way of example, there’s no receiver made with a phono stage that can equal an ARC Ref2 or Ref3 phono. It simply isn’t practical to pack it all in one box. Do you want to have to upgrade an entire receiver just to take advantage of an improved DAC? And if you do, what happens if you find the amp in your new receiver isn’t quite as good as the amp in the old one? You’ll just end up chasing your tail.

Don’t get me wrong - I have no issue with people buying receivers, or all-in-one systems, or streamers with built-in DACs. But to claim such an arrangement is superior to well chosen separates doesn’t make sense. And you r-e-a-l-l-y have some problems if you can’t connect digital components while preserving "signal integrity" at the same time.

I've tried both, but always go back to the Apple TV 4k. Not a popular choice in this world, but I enjoy the UI, the experience, the price, and the audio quality. No other service (I've tried them) beats the experience.  I have a medium priced system, around 10k. Rogue 100 amp, Magenpan 1.7i, Freya + preamp, so that could help. the only trick is to buy a splitter to separate audio and video, and with a cheap monitor you have an amazing experience. 

I with Joms
I have a bluesound node 2 going into a Denafrips Ares II
The blusos with Tidal works great and the sound from the Ares II is simply amazing. The detail, space and warmth is what I love, I listen to hours of Tidal streaming, usually controlled from my iphone, but easily control from my mac mini as well.

Rest of the system is my very old (bought in 1986) Quad 44/Quad 405 (upgraded PSU 2 years ago, and some upgraded components in the preamp (dada)) with B&W CM6S2 speakers.For Vinyl I have an Old Oracle Alexandria II using a Parasound Zphono into the Quad 44 (Quad phono stage is not great)
my phono, analog and digital coax interconnects are from Marc Stager (Stager sound systems), these are Silver Solid interconnects and have made a nice difference to my system as well.