A used DCS Network Bridge, would be my personal choice.
New streamer
I recently opened a discussion on upgrading my DAC. I started at the beginning of that discussion, that I was a vinyl guy, but with my purchase of the Chord Qutest, I realized that digital music can be outstanding and want to now upgrade my Node.
That will provide 2 benefits: Maximizing my current systems digital, and allow me to move the Node & Schiit Modi Multibit 2 to the family room, a small HT setup with a Yamaha AVR driving a Goldenear soundbar. Streaming there is currently MusicCast using the AVR DAC. The improvement there should be very nice.
My 2 channel equipment is as follows:
Rogue RP-1 w/ NOS Brimar’s, LSA Warp 1, KEF R11’s, Rhythmic F12SE, Pro-ject 1Xpression w/Hana ML, Rega Aria, Bluesound Node w/Qubuz, Marantz CD6007, Chord Qutest. Good to very good power, speaker, interconnect cables.
My weakest link (I believe) is now my Node.
I don’t want or need amplification or volume control, ripping storage, nor an internal DAC. Sound signature should be neutral.
My budget is $2,500, but willing to spend less. My current favorites are:
Lumin U2 mini. Very well reviewed, beautiful, perfect form factor, good app & controllable via my Harmony One remote. It is currently my #1 choice.
Auralic Aris. If new, the G1.1, if used G2.0 or 2.1. Very well reviewed, good app, OK form factor, but not controllable via harmony.
Naim ND5 XS2. Considered the best high end streamer by What Hi Fi Would need to buy used to stay close to budget.
EverSolo DMP-A6. Included based upon reviews, but may not be a serious contender.
HiFi Rose RS250A. The streamer EverSolo seemed to copy
Aurender. Don’t think they have anything within my budget, but included for discussion.
LPS upgrade for Node. Included because I know it will come up. Plan to reuse my node downstairs, so out. Would prefer LPS upgrade for one of the above.
Please let me know your thoughts and/or recommendations. Thanks!
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Ive owned both Aurender and Innous streamers. Also, some lower end stuff (bluOS, heos, Yamaha, etc.). Both Innous and Aurender have been great. There are some slight sonic differences in comparable models. I now favor Innous, mainly for the app. Don't underestimate the importance of the proprietary apps with these high end streamers. Thats what you interact with and it's face/front door and guts of the whole thing. I just like Sense better than Aurender conductor, for lots of reasons. It also sounds better, many have noted this. But you cant really go wrong with either. No experience with Lumin or Auralic, other than shows. |
I second the sentiment of soix and joc3021 for Innuos. Had the same needs for Streamer only [no DAC]. Very happy I purchased a Pulse Mini. If you want to have a LPS for it, the LPS for the Innuos Zen Mini works perfectly. Connected via COAX to my Naim Pre-amp / DAC and couldn't be happier. The Sense App is excellent. |
One of the big questions to ask, in my opinion, is which music services are supported by the os for any given streamer. I use Amazon HD and Idagio, and as far as I know, BluOS is the only user interface that supports both of these services. Innuos says they are working to support both, but not there yet. So I'm continuing to use the digital out from my Bluesound Node. As one post mentioned earlier, I too upgraded it with a TeddyPardo Linear Power Supply. It made a huge difference. It's feeding a PS Audio Directstream DAC Mk1, a PS Audio Stellar Gold Preamp (brand new) PS Audio M700 monoblocks, and Legacy Audio Signature SE speakers. The lps resulted in extended bass and a wider and deeper soundstage. Overall, I'm pretty satisfied with the Node now. Not to say I wouldn't try an upgrade if one comes out that supports the services I use. |
@dhungana - Not sure what convinced you that the HiFi Rose RS130 doesn't support DSD, but according to the product page on their site it certainly does. It has codecs to support DSF and DFF file types, and shows support for native DSD from 64 up to 512 rates. It also provides DSD to PCM conversion if you have a PCM only DAC. Maybe you have an issue interfacing it for DSD with a specific DAC? |
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