Fairly new to streaming. Where to start?

The Vault is a steamer/ server it has software that connects to a  network and allows you pass the music on to your dac or preamp and also holds and manages the physical media on a hard drive. A streamer like the Node2i does the first part but doesn't hold the physical media but connects to a server that does. A server is basically something that holds data on physical media and allows devices to access it. Could be as simple as a NAS or your computer to a complete " farm " of hardware. Servers will typically run software to manage the data and the interfaces. These devices that have internal hard drives are really both a server and streamer and could also have the dac. If that isn't complicated enough some streamers will allow you to connect a thumb drive or hard drive by USB directly and play from that. 

Artemus
To put it simply
I think majority of members here who refer to streaming really mean accessing an online music service over the internet.
Like Tidal, Qobuz, Spotify etc.

Technically you are still " streaming" music from your hard drive to your DAC of choice but it is probably confusing some members just with the terminology.

I think the Yamaha you were looking at will allow direct connection through USB so you could just use an external HDD or SSD in an enclosure attached to it. As far as how any of these sound I make no recommendation other than to say I had a Node2i and with an external dac it sounded good to me. I have a NAD C658 now and it sounds good to me as well it uses the same bluOS app. 

Streaming is digital music from the internet or a hard drive played with a “streamer”, computer or even phone. Thus the need/want to use a DAC. 

Better said a streamer is a network music player. 

So you have the steamer that streams music files. There’s a trout, Kilgore. 

The streamer I use also recognises a hard drive on my home network. So I’m sourcing music files from the hard drive or internet. 

Most stand alone streamers work with many different software interfaces as well as their own. Thus the verbiage that XYZ streamer works with this or that software or music service. 


Like any thing in this realm the more bandwidth and file size/depth the better the sound. 

Clear as mud?


I often will explore in my given tastes artists/albums I don’t know and save some new and wonderful something I don’t or didn’t know of or listen to a re-released High res album like John Coltrane’s “Giant Steps”. That’s what high res streaming Is all about. Immeasurably worth the expense to me. Haven’t purchased any more CD’s.  The music services have so much to offer. 


Pardon typos I’m on the phone. 

Hi, I’m new to streaming as well, but I’ve got a solution that has worked out pretty nicely. I chose Qobuz for their hi-res-only library (esp. good if you like jazz and classical). I stream it wireless from my desktop/router to a Bluesound Node 2i, then bypass its dac and into my Schiit Yggy GS model, and out to my analog stereo system wired with vintage Kef 104/2 speakers. I think the sound is amazing. Just the Node and Yggy GS will put you a little over your $2k limit, so to stay within it, look at the Gumby, which is getting nice reviews and costs half as much as the Yggy GS. The Qobuz app works well enough from my phone, but I may upgrade to Roon on an ipad for a nicer experience, when I get around to it. Good luck!