To Stream or not to Stream

@ricred1 Nice stuff. I see it's another offering where you have to buy the separate PSU 

to deliver considerably better audio performance.

a re-clocker if you want even better SQ. Add and a ripper if you want to rip. It's an unexpected education / learning of how something that seemed like a lay-up (before I knew better) is turning out to be the most difficult part of my journey. The funny part is Antipodes has a photo with all 4 components together and they look like a single, normal sized component. Maybe besides the benefit of isolation it makes sense to piecemeal a solution because instead of one very expensive box, you can buy each over time to "get there"? It is something to consider.

@audioman58 You brought up something I had not mentioned - I have the Netgear Orbi WiFi 6. One of the satellites is the rack so I'm able to connect via cat6. I am getting close to 1Gbps, so I'm not worried about throughput, however, you've introduced yet another expensive component I need to consider - an ethernet switch? Where does it end?!  haha The Rockna gear looks solid.

@builder3 The Lumina was on my short list before I started thinking a ripper would be nice. 

@audioman58 Understood. The McIntosh DAC may not be good and being new I thought for the reputation and price that it had to be decent. I could be dead wrong. I get it. I'm now leaning toward a streamer with a good DAC. A streamer that can interface with a ripper. The HiFi Rose seems to fit the bill again. 

Speaking of the Rose - I could save money by buying it outside the US, but will the power will be different and unusable in the US? The UK for example has far better pricing than the US.

@itsjustme Funny, I found Hans a few days ago on YouTube and have watched at least 9 of his videos. After midnight here... more ground covered, knowledge tucked-away, closer to something. Tomorrow, actually later today I have consulting phone call planned where I hope to have a number of other questions answered as well as some follow-ups on what I've learned here. Goodnight everyone..

@izjjzi, I can only speak for myself and my gear of course.
Check out the Antipodes server/streamers from New Zealand.
They range from under $NZ5K to 5 times that. Factor in your exchange rate and I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.
I have a D2 which is about 5 or 6 years old now. It has a CD transport built in.

I reckon it sounds fantastic and their after sale service is second to none.
They have a DAC built in, which sounds very good but encourage a separate DAC via USB and
I use a Denafrips Pontus. They invested more time and effort into the USB section as this was, at the time maybe, the go to output for the majority of users. They do also have SPDIF outputs.
Bear in mind that I am talking about an older unit. Their focus may well have shifted since 2015.

They also say that a FLAC ripped CD from the HDD will sound better than the same album when streamed from Tidal etc. It might only be by degrees but I would agree with their claim.

I have some DSD tracks in my library and the Antipodes and Pontus both handle them perfectly.

Naturally, if you just want to stream and play your CDs on a CDP, there will be an extra box on your rack.
So, a one-box solution as a server (for your ripped CDs)/ streamer makes sense to me.

Auralic Aries G1 @ $2900 is serious a contender.

Glad you found and like  Hans. Happy to provide details on things i have tested and built - not because you would build it, but because it indicates what technical characteristics actually matter and which don't. Suffice it to say "buy this I did" is not he most useful advice....