Streamer recommendation under $3000
I was using a Bluesound Node 2i and wanted something better also. I bought a Lumin U1 mini. I am running this into my modified MHDT Pagoda DAC. There is a noticeable improvement over the Node in transparency and how natural the tonal balance is. I always thought the Node added a slight digital "sheen" to the music. The Lumin is much more enjoyable to listen to. Oz |
Try an Aurender N100. You do not say what output you need? The N100 comes in two flavor, one is USB, one is digital coax output. I moved to mine from a Bryston and prefer it immensely. For myself the biggest letdown on the Bryston was the control software, Manic Moose, it was not user friendly IMHO. I ended up setting it up as a dlna server and using bubbleupnp to control it which was much more stable. Ymmv. |
Easy, Sonore xxxRendu. They only do Ethernet-2-USB and are ROON READY. I think they invented the steamer Ethernet-2-USB field. They are very active on Computer Audiophile forum, see @Barrows and @Vortecjr. https://audiophilestyle.com/forums/forum/24-sonore-sponsored/ You can even get a fibre optical network setup with the Sonore line rather cheaply (a few hundred $$), though the last few centimeters will be USB and not fibre. Why is fibre cool? It cannot carry audio noise, unlike RJ45 and USB. The only DAC I know of that directly supports fibre input is the Lumin X1. You spend a few hundred on a network switch that supports fibre and then connect a noiseless fibre cable from the switch to the Lumin DAC/streamer. In the future, more DACs will support the fibre like Lumin X1 already does. |
