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Move to the next level

I would appreciate opinions. In the past two years I have put together a modest system that has tremendously increased my appreciation of music. I have legacy collections of vinyl and cds, about 500 of each, but what has really excited me is streaming because of the way it lets you roam through time and genre virtually unrestricted. Currently I am listening to a Yamaha wxc50 connected to a Rogue Sphinx which feeds into a pair of KEF LS50s and a Syzygy SLF850 sub. I also have a Mac mini running Audirvana that hosts my ripped collection of CDs in the Apple lossless format and that runs into the Sphinx through a Topping D50s DAC.I am at the point where I'm ready to make a major investment in a quality source for my system to move to the next level of sound quality. I’m thinking of a budget of about $5000 for which I’d like a streamer/server with quality power supplies and preferably the DAC, along with, if within budget,  Roon. Candidates so far are the Aurilac Aries G2, Innuous Zenith Mk II, SOTM SMS200-ultra, and Lumin D2. What do you think fellow sound addicts?
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bruce19 OP
246 posts
 
Matt, I completely overlooked Aurender. They look promising and there are actually some dealers near me (New Jersey) which is a big plus. Thanks!
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bruce19 OP
246 posts
 
Thank you Dweller for the names, but I'm hoping for guidance along the lines of strengths and weaknesses, preferably based on personal experience.
artemus_5's avatar
artemus_5
1,926 posts
 
Are you looking for "chip" DACS or R2R DACS? Or does it matter? I have little experience in streaming and find myself in the same position as you, so I will follow along for education. I can say that ExaSound  has become an interest. Good reviews but they are R2R. Same with Metrum & Schiit Yiggy which are also interesting. 
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bruce19 OP
246 posts
 
Artemus, thank you for bringing another contender to my attention. I have not settled in one DAC camp or the other due to inadequate opportunities to actually listen to a variety of DACs. But I currently I am of the opinion, based on reading, that DACs are like ice cream, they come in flavors. Ideally you listen to enough and you develop an opinion of what goes best with you taste on your system. For that reason I was trying to start with a quality streaming source, figuring to address the DAC question down the road. However I have run into the reality that there are many interesting products out there like your Exasound and like the Mytek Brooklyn Bridge, that "start" with the DAC and add on the streamer/network bridge. Life is complicated.I like the look of the Exasound products and they are in the right price range...have you heard them?
chilehed's avatar
chilehed
200 posts
 
@bruce19, Lots of possibilities. If your top priority is to simply improve SQ, most any of the suggestions given will likely do the trick. Understanding and prioritizing your secondary objectives are what will differentiate between many of the options. Do you prefer on-board or out-board DAC, how much of a priority is Roon and the list goes on. One thing you didn't mention is Bluesound? Their product offers terrific value and would allow you to focus more on the DAC if you wanted to go in that direction first? I just upgraded from Bluesound Vault to Innuos Zenith. I can give you some details on what pushed me in that direction if you are interested. Best of luck.
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