STREAMER - WHERE DO I GO FROM HERE?

I have the 50 ASLs which I bought after having heard the 150 ASLs. I went through a long process of auditioning multiple speakers and just when I thought I had found THE ones (was between Audio Note and Devore O96s) I heard the ATCs and while different sounding they seemed to handle every genre of music much more effortlessly.

That’s because the ATCs are equipped with solid state amps and very high quality drivers. The others mentioned have drivers that are better than mid-fi but definitely not top-tier, they are essentially just variations of Seas Prestige series and mid-level ScanSpeak stuff. 
 

Didn’t see the OP’s speakers mentioned, but as long as he’s using the tube amps and BAT DAC, there is absolutely no way he is going to hear differences in streamer quality. Any audible differences (for which there is zero supporting science anyway) will all be highly masked by the tube distortion and noise floor. 
 

I currently have the RS130. I've been curious of the Volumio Rivo+ based on the stellar reviews and I'm not tied to the display on the RS130. If the Rivo+ sounds as good I'd sell the RS130. So I acquired a Rivo+ with Teddy Pardo LPS and used it the past couple of weeks. I was also curious if I could hear a difference in streamers as I feel the streamer and dac have a smaller influence on the sound of a system compared to the amp, preamp, speakers and listening room. Anyway, the Rivo+ has a very open transparent sound. It has a bit of a forward presentation and sounds very good. I did notice a softening of the leading edges of lower frequencies. I could tell because when I started listening I had to double check that my RELs were back on (I turn them off when changing components around). They were on but I wasn't getting the bass impact I got from the RS130. Now that I've put the RS130 back in it sounds a bit more refined to me. The Rivo+ does light up every detail which gives it that transparent open sound, but I think that it also brings things forward in a way that slightly flattens the soundstage. The R130 sounds deeper and just as resolving, but the sounds that are supposed to sound further away and slightly softer do sound further away, giving the music more scale. Now, I think most people would be perfectly happy with either streamer. I didn't feel like the music was any less enjoyable on the Rivo+ than the 130, just a slightly different presentation. The main reason I'm keeping the 130 vs the Rivo+ is because my wife does like the display on the 130. And, when my wife and I listen to music we both stream from our phones and "DJ" back and forth. She likes Tidal's app because she knows it, even though with the 130 we're just using Airplay as it doesn't do Tidal Connect. I use Roon. The reason I'm mentioning this is when we "DJ" back and forth, a few times the Rivo+ would disappear from our phones once I connected to Roon, so my wife couldn't take control again without rebooting the device. Maybe its something we're doing but its a dealbreaker as my wife's enjoyment of our system is at one of highest priorities. Even if something sounds better, if she doesn't like it or like using it I move on. Sometimes she comes around to liking something she didn't initially like but I'd rather have her listen with me and enjoy it. Based on that, I'm keeping the 130 and will be selling the Rivo+ and LPS, but I do recommend the Rivo+ as for the money it sounds excellent. And, after going back and forth, I still think the influence of the streamer and dac in a system are not nearly as strong as the room, speakers, amp and preamp.

Hey @mgrif104 

While I’m also considering the Pink Faun Ultra and Antipodes Oladra, those two are significantly more expensive though absolutely worth a look if your budget allows.

If you are in that neighborhood, take a look at Taiko Extreme. 

If one has the budget put the Olympus on your radar- this is the future: 

We have all heard that USB is flawed, AES has limitations, linear power supplies are lethargic, and switch mode power supplies are noisy, so get rid of all of that and start fresh. And mount the conversion internally. True one box source. This is stellar engineering 101. 

I imagine we will see this technology trickle down to future "streamer" boxes in the future, at lower prices I hope: 

https://www.audiodrom.net/en/special-edition-reviews/189-taiko-olympus-server-olympus-i-o-xdmi-system

https://www.monoandstereo.com/taiko-audio-olympus-music-server-and-i-o-review/

Taiko approaches conversion distinctly: whereas others focus on improving their clocks, Taiko removes them. In a typical Olympus/I/O XDMI setup, four clocks would be present; Taiko Audio pushed things further by designing replacement technology so that those four clocks—and thus any DAC or interface clock—become unnecessary.

Y'all might find of interest this post comparing the Aurender N150 to Esoteric N-05XD and Lumin U-2 mini and this post comparing the N150 to Bluesound Vault 2.

Also, this thread on the value of the Berkeley Alpha USB digital-to-digital convertor in combination with the Aurender N150, which is limited to USB output.

@patrickalston 

I just went through this same process a few months ago.  My analog chain is near perfect (relatively speaking) and wanted to get the digital chain to a similar level.  I use a DMP A6 and wanted better.  I added a Denafrips Venus II 12th (Used) and a SMSL PL200 T CD transport.  Used I2S from the CD and USB from the A6 to the Venus.  Stunning results.  Invest your money in the best DAC you can afford and then let it process all the Ones and Zeros.