Streaming - getting set up


I am interested in setting up a streaming system and need some help from experienced streamers?  I have a Playback Designs MPS-5 which I am told has a pretty good Dac.  I have a budget up to about 12k (includes necessary cabling) Would it be best to buy a nice streamer and connect it to my MPS-5 dac or get a all in one Dac/streamer.

I am looking for the best sound within my buget.

 

 

bobheinatz

I agree with @patrickalston directionally, but i don’t think it is accurate to say that the Aurender platform is USB optimized across the board. There is a case to be made that the N200 might be better using the USB output because it doesn’t have the OCXO clock for the S/PDIF and AES/EBU outputs, but the N20 does, and I generally prefer the non-USB output when using the N20. 

And of course, yes, the Matrix NT-1 is a *lot* cheaper than the N20.

@kirkwallace like I said, I'm just a stranger on the web. Nobody need listen to me My bigger point is that the suggestions offered by others may not be the best solutions to exploit the OP's DAC.  I think that if the op asks AI the questions I suggested, he'll be better prepared to make a good choice.  Too many folks throw out a suggestion without explaining why it's the correct one for its intended use.

 For example, that someone suggested the OP could do better than his current reference-level machine simply by spending $3k is nuts.