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Inexpensive Streamer for Office System

I am hoping to set up an headphone ( Grado Headphones -Hemp ) system for use in my office .  It will admittedly be a bit of a hodgepodge of old gear and new stuff.  I will likely use an AudioNote 0.1 x dac ( obtained used ) and would like to find a "small " streamer in the 750 to 1000 dollar range.  As the AudioNote does not do oversampling and does not support DSD, I don't need a very "high tech" option.  I do like an organic natural sound.  So far have been looking at the Metrum Ambre and Baby Ambre , Sotm Neo and Sonore gear, but wonder if anyone has any suggestions. Hope those of you on the east coast had less snow than we received and many thanks for your suggestions.

rivinyl
rivinyl OP
213 posts
 

Have the Bluesound streamers improved with time?  I remember listening to their gear when it first came out and finding it a bit "hifi" in nature.  But that was many years ago.

And thanks for the words of warning.....I can already see where this process will ultimately end up; though it will evolve more slowly than my main system.

jjss49's avatar
jjss49
6,926 posts
 

get an old auralic aries mini or a bluesound node with lps mod -- easy peasy, dead reliable, sounds good

kofibaffour
718 posts
 

Wiim Ultra

easystreamer
122 posts
 

iFi Zen Stream 3 was just released as a successor to its successful Zen Stream. It is based on the Volumio 3 OS. I have the original and always found it to be reliable and easy to use. It is built with all quality parts but has an aesthetic you either love or hate. Anyway, at $399 a great option.

iFi is still supporting its original Zen Stream with an OS update that I find very nice of them as they could have easily dumped us and tried to get us to go for the new 3.

Many have reported various issues with theirs but I don’t know [rolling eyes]

yyzsantabarbara
5,565 posts
 

For the price you listed my choice would be the Sonore OpticalRendu v1. I had 3 of these and only 1 left. People are upgrading to the OpticalRendu Deluxe so you will see a few used available on USAM, like mine did last week.

I am not selling my last unit, it is one of the very best streamers around, since it uses fibre. You can integrate fibre into your desktop setup for less than a $100. Send me a DM if you do not know how to get fibre setup.

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