Auralic out of business?

Best software is Innuos Sense period @moonwatcher enjoy. 

@foggyus91 yes, if and when I ever move up, it will likely be an Innuos device because of that better software.

There are use cases for the cheaper streamer/DACs.  One of my coworkers is heavily into vinyl. That will forever be his "thing", but I convinced him to get a Node Nano at least to see what streaming was all about.  

He uses it for "music discovery" to figure out if he likes something enough to buy it. Ironically, his wife uses it quite a bit, and is loving it. She hardly ever turned on his system because she knows how particular he is with his vinyl rituals and I think she was afraid she'd screw something up. But now she can turn it on, find something to play, and just listen. Funny if his wife gets more hours of listening in than he does. 

Thanks. 

Whatever you say @moonwatcher enjoy.   Cheap is cheap just use your I phone and a USB dongle. . 

@moonwatcher , I think the Tarun hit several key points in his review of the Lumin with commentary on the state of Auralic.  The quality of the software is paramount these days.  Audio quality will only get you so far if you have very poor UI/UX.  In his, and many others, opinion the sound quality provided by the Lumin hardware far outweighs the aging UI/UX of their software.

Auralic ceded the entry level market to Bluesound and others when they chose to quit selling the Aires Mini in the US but continued to sell it internationally.  In this absence other makers stepped in with products that have grown beyond a streamer/DAC to include whole house audio products which is a growing and lucrative market.  This was, in my opinion, a huge mistake since the hardware and software of the Aires Mini was much better than the competition.  It handled DSD "out of the box" when it took Bluesound years to support.  But that was a business decision they chose to make.

I think what foggyus91 fails to acknowledge is that the Bluesound and Wiim products represent an entry level point for people.  I wasn't sure I wanted to stream, so I bought a used Bluesound Node2.  I liked it and began researching, I learned that exchanging the cheap switched mode power supply for a linear power supply would enhance the sound, so I made the move to a modified Bluesound Node N130 and the sound improved.  That satisfied me for a while and then I added an external DAC, the Chord Quetest, and I'm satisfied again, for now. This approach let me step up in sound quality through listening and understanding the technical design choices that produce better sound.  This has provided me with a good understanding of what to look for in future upgrades.

Is my setup as good as the dCS Varèse, Wilson Audio Sasha V, Audio Research Ref 6SE preamp, Audio Research Ref 300M mono block amps, and Synergistic Research SRX (power and interconnect) system that I've had the pleasure of hearing many times? Hell no, of course it isn't as good!  But for a little under $2k USD my current setup provides me a high performance to dollar ratio.

Can I do better?  Absolutely, it means spending more money on products from companies that are focused on 2 channel audio.  I've been looking at Innuos, Lumin, dCS, and a few others.  I was seriously looking at used Innuos streamers/servers until their recent product line change and I'm concerned with their support time for the MK3 line of products.  If I decide to buy new then I'll look at their Stream1 offerings.

@foggyus91 

 @moonwatcher the 1000 to 3 remark is hilarious, but consider the source. 

I have an older Node 2i that I am replacing soon, so no cares either way, but if I were to guess I would think the 1000 to 3 comment may not be that far off the mark.