Put all your files on a NAS, get rid of the computers altogether, and buy the best streamer you can afford. At $1800,The Eversolo T8 is the best thing you can get under the $5K HiFi Rose RS130. But you have to use the SFP to realize it’s best performance. Which means buying a decent switch with SFP out.
Upgrade DAC Power Supply, Streamer, or ?
This is a bit long but I wanted to give as much info as possible. My current system: Van Alstine SET 400 amp, Van Alstine T-10 RB tube pre-amp, Denon HEOS 2 streamer, Merason Frerot DAC with factory wal-wort power supply, Salk HT2-TL tower speakers. I would say this system is slightly warm of neutral, open and detailed. I enjoy listening for long sessions with no fatigue. I've been streaming through Tidal for a year and rarely play CDs or Vinyl anymore.
The external Merason DAC was the most recent addition and works well with the Denon streamer bypassing its internal DAC by using a coaxial cable. It was a noticeable improvement vs. the Denon's internal DAC.
The Denon HEOS 2 was my entry-level streamer and it does sound good. The only thing I have to compare to is my Wiim Ultra which is also a fine unit with good SQ and features. The external Merason DAC was a noticeable improvement to both streamers.
Innuos Zen Mini Mk 3 with the Innuos LPS are a reasonable price on the used market and praised for sound quality and also for the SENSE App. It would also allow me to put my aprox. 1300 CDs on the internal SSD and help with physical down-sizing. I'm not sure if the internal DAC of the Zen is as good or better than the Frerot, but it appears I could bypass the internal DAC using the coax. output.
So which would give me the most bang for the buck by upgrading; the Frerot power supply, or streamer to the Zen Mk 3 ? I am MAC based and technology is not my forte. Budget is $2000 or less. Thoughts and recommendations are appreciated. Thank you.
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lanx0003 I had momentarily forgotten that it's streamer -> DAC -> preamp. You also answered my question about adapter cables. retiredaudioguy thank you for that information. I'll do more research on streamers and also USB/adapter cables. adasdad good advice and yes I'm happy with the DAC and feel it's worth an LPS. Soix thank you, for a minute I forgot the DAC was the middle-man. Calvinandhobbes thank you for sharing the benefits of the Niagra 1200. Sounds excellent. ericrhodes1 thank you. I thought I was sold on the Innuos line and the SENSE App but I will do more research including the T8. Thanks everyone. |
@foamcutter, you’ve received some great advice here. While the Innuos and Eversolo units are popular "one-box" choices, your Merason Frerot is a serious DAC that deserves a truly isolated source. Forum experts have already noted that its asynchronous USB input is its best-performing connection—bypassing the jitter issues of your current coax setup. Since you are Mac-based and want to avoid technical headaches, I highly recommend a "Three Tier Roon + Diretta" setup. This architecture physically separates the server, the player, and the DAC. In my experience, this specific design has successfully outperformed dedicated streaming transports costing up to $8,000. The Setup (Total Hardware/Software: ~$951)
Why this is the "Best Bang for the Buck":
At ~$951 (plus $148/year for your Roon subscription), you are achieving performance that rivals $8k transports while staying well under your $2,000 budget. This leaves you almost $900 for more music or that Merason POW1 power supply upgrade discussed earlier. I’ve walked several people through this exact configuration via screen-share. It’s a "set and forget" system, and I’d be happy to help you get it running. |
In case I have caused any confusion, here is my complete system. I am MAC based but do not use a computer in this system. Unless the streamer or iPhone is considered a computer. I use my iPhone to control Tidal using the Tidal App. Van Alstine SET 400 Amp Van Alstine Transcendence 10 RB Preamplifier Rotel RCD-991 AE CD Player Merason Frerot DAC with factory walwort power supply Denon HEOS 2 Music Streamer Salk Audio HT2-TL tower speakers I have not used Screenshare before but I will look into it. Thanks everyone.
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