Best Network Music Streamer for Mcintosh Equipment

@roddyboy,

Azur 851N would be a great choice. They are currently beta testing Tidal streaming (big plus). I used to own 851N, the SQ is pretty good and a great value considering it’s asking price. Most online vendors offers 30 days return policy. 

The other option is to consider is Aurender A10. You get streamer/DAC and very decent preamp all in one chassis. It also does full MQA decoding as well. 

I know you’re trying to stay within a budget, but these two components are worth mentioning considering the current industry trend of one box solution of DAC/Streamer.

http://www.bricasti.com/en/consumer/m1.php

http://nadac.merging.com/product/merging-player

I have no Mac experience, so take this with a grain of salt.

For network connectivity, I use a Bluesound Node.
For DAC, I use an Ayre Codex.
I have no complaints.
Another DAC's I would recommend is the Schiit Gungnir Multibit and Yggy.

To me, DAC technology is going to improve exponentially, so buying the 'best' (and usually, 'most expensive'), is an effort in futility.
Plus, I like how Ayre  and Schiit offer upgrades to their equipment.
B

From what I have heard, the McIntosh MB100 is prone to many problems including network cutting in and out, freeze ups, and some say after one of the firmware upgrades, the device won't boot up.  I was told by more than 1 Mac person to steer clear.

Stereo5,
The big issue i ran into was the firmware upgrade. I spent 4-5 days working with Mcintosh support and Media Bridge Support to remove the downloaded firmware to no avail. Glad i decided to return it before it was too late only to face the other issues you described. This is why i’m looking for suggestions from you audiophiles in this forum..