Under $3K streaming dac suggestions, Roon Ready?

@audioman58 

Thanks for providing the link.  That makes much more sense now, as I was a little confused by your earlier posts.

Not a whole let of information on the specs, as of now, but it seems to do everything I want, with the only exception that there are no balanced outputs (not a deal breaker though).

It's on my list now, but I would like to know more about the DAC inside, and output specifications when available.

*Update, I didn't see that user guide link, and that has more info.  Looks to be a great little streamer/dac.

Hi there,New to this forum and at best a part-time audiophile.To share my experience: I use an OPPO 205 UDP in two systems - ROON is run on a MacBook pro (my 'dedicated music server'), conncetion w/ OPPO is seemless via Toslink, USB DAC or wireless input (Linksys mesh system as wireless router).Via USB DAC, the OPPO is a full MQA endpoint (decoding and rendering), via wireless, it is limited to the 'renderer' function (one step of unfolding if I understand right), so you leave the initial 'decoding' step with ROON. MQA files up to 24bit/192kHz play "losless" via the wifi connection.
When you want to play the same program through both systems (e.g., when you have a house full of guests), time coherence between the two OPPOs via wifi input is perfect (thanks to Roon). I would argue that the wifi connection is at least as good as USB and Toslink 'wired' connections, may be better - although I cant tell.
My dealer had dropped a Mytek Brooklyn in my system for comparison (only tried USB input, no wifi) - it sounded a little cooler, but to me there is no loss of detail, space, texture when comparing the OPPO to the Mytek and I actually preferred the 'sound' of the OPPO (apodizing filter setting), but all in all differences were very marginal.
Now - I know the OPPO is no longer in production, yet the service is still very much alive, incl. firmware updates, etc. and you could still get a new one on Amazon or ebay within your budget. Superb SACD player comes on top. One more box saved.

@aschuh1  Good suggestion.  I'm not opposed to using an Oppo 205, and I would be able to play my CDs again too!

Anyone use an Oppo as a Roon endpoint?  Looks like it uses the same/similar DAC as in the Mytek.  Maybe a later version.

What kind of Dac does the Bel-Canto have? It can’t be much if there’s no highlights of the dac on the product page. With no balanced outputs, I'm not certain if this would be any better than a Bluesound node at 1/3 the price