@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)
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The Server (Roon Core): A GMKTec NucBox G3 Plus (~$207). This tiny, silent unit runs Roon OS and sits near your router.
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The Library (Internal Storage): A 1TB Transcend MTS425S M.2 SATA SSD (~$96). This fits inside the NucBox, providing a clean home for your music. Note: You must use a SATA drive (like this Transcend) for the expansion slot, as NVMe drives are not compatible with the G3 Plus for storage. For context, 1 TB holds about 2,500 CDs—nearly double your current 1,300-disc library.
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The Protection (Backups): A Samsung FIT thumb drive ($20) for automated Roon database backups and a 2TB external USB HDD ($90) for a full backup of your music library.
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The Bridge (The Player): A Diretta Kit (~$450). This consists of two tiny units—roughly 3.5" x 1.0" x 2.5"—that are typically placed 2 to 3 feet apart. One connects to your network, and the other connects directly to your Frerot via USB.
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The Ripping Station: An ASUS ZenDrive ($40) and dBpoweramp software ($48) for your Mac.
Why this is the "Best Bang for the Buck":
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Mac-Centric Workflow: You do all your ripping on your Mac using dBpoweramp. It uses "AccurateRip" to ensure every disc is a perfect, bit-perfect archive.
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Appliance Simplicity: Once configured, you never touch the "computer." You use the free Roon App on your smartphones, tablets, and computers to browse your library and Tidal. It’s as easy as using a remote control but provides a magazine-like browsing experience.
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High-End Isolation: By moving the noisy processing (Tier 1) away from the bridge (Tier 2) and the DAC (Tier 3), you get a level of transparency that single-box streamers can't match.
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.