I’m in the same boat trying to find the best streamer/dac/preamp all in one units. My one other caveat is I need it to have wifi, I don’t have ethernet where my equipment is.
I’ve been using the Cambridge Audio CXNv2 and think it’s very good for the money. I’ve been A/B’ing between the CXNv2 and an Allo Digione --> Chord 2Qute. Both connected to a Schiit Aegir, the 2qute is run through a Schiit SYS for volume control.
The CXN has a fuller, warmer sound, deeper mids/bass, whereas the 2Qute is more transparent, accurate. I would say it’s a difference of the CXN sounding more like a live venue and the 2Qute sounds more like you’re listening in a recording studio. The CXN is physically much nicer, convenient, and has the nice display, my annoyance with it is the Cambridge Connect app is very basic. It runs fast and stable, but very lacking in features. Primarily there's no search option for stored music on my NAS, I can only manually browse folders to find what I need. But the really nice thing for me is it has built in Google Chromecast, so I can control everything via voice command if I'm just casually listening through google play.
The other options I’m thinking of demo’ing are a C658, Cambridge 851N, Sony HAPZ1ES, Marantz NA6006. All options that I could pickup for $1k or less in the used market.
I’ve been using the Cambridge Audio CXNv2 and think it’s very good for the money. I’ve been A/B’ing between the CXNv2 and an Allo Digione --> Chord 2Qute. Both connected to a Schiit Aegir, the 2qute is run through a Schiit SYS for volume control.
The CXN has a fuller, warmer sound, deeper mids/bass, whereas the 2Qute is more transparent, accurate. I would say it’s a difference of the CXN sounding more like a live venue and the 2Qute sounds more like you’re listening in a recording studio. The CXN is physically much nicer, convenient, and has the nice display, my annoyance with it is the Cambridge Connect app is very basic. It runs fast and stable, but very lacking in features. Primarily there's no search option for stored music on my NAS, I can only manually browse folders to find what I need. But the really nice thing for me is it has built in Google Chromecast, so I can control everything via voice command if I'm just casually listening through google play.
The other options I’m thinking of demo’ing are a C658, Cambridge 851N, Sony HAPZ1ES, Marantz NA6006. All options that I could pickup for $1k or less in the used market.