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Can anyone recommend a good streamer/DAC?

I have tried streaming on an Astell& Kern Kann Cube and love it. Now looking for a streamer DAC combo (or  both integrated in one box) to put on the rack with my living room system. I have read good things about the Cambridge Audio 851n and their CXN v2; $1,500 and $1,100, respectively. Also about the Bryston BDA-3.14, at $4,200. I am willing to pay for good quality sound and at the same time I worry that the technology may be moving fast enough that as with computers and HDTVs there will be a much better version available soon for a lot less money. Anybody know if Cambridge Audio or Bryston has anything new in the works for streamer/DACs? All recommendations will be much appreciated.
kevin1956
motokokusanagi
189 posts
 
There’s an endless list of solutions at any given price point, and far more to choose from than Cambridge or Bryston. You need to narrow down what you’re looking for to get better advice.

Do you know your budget? Do your speakers have particular requirements of an amp? Do you need hi-rez DSD natively from a DAC?

Streaming devices are becoming more and more common, and I’d say the chance of rapid obsolescence is far less today than it was last year or any time before that. There will always be new products, though.
kevin1956 OP
12 posts
 
My amp is a Rogue Audio Sphinx (100 watt per channel class D), and speakers are KEF LS50s. I have a B&W subwoofer. Principal use of the streamer/DAC will be to play high resolution Qobuz content. I don’t need the device to be an amp or pre-amp. Budget: I hope to get something for $1,500 or so but would spend up to perhaps $4,000 for a substantially better product (that is, a more than marginal improvement in sound quality).
jjss49's avatar
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jjss49
6,612 posts
 
+1 to moto's response
motokokusanagi
189 posts
 
OK, that narrows things down a bit by excluding amp devices. So the choice is between separates (streamer + DAC) vs one-box streaming-DACs, over quite a wide budget spread, so still a ton of options!

I might suggest shortlisting just the one-box solutions first on the basis that they can be compared more easily and also because standalone streamers are much fewer in number vs straight DACs. You might read therefore that standalone streamers are best for folks who already have a DAC they like and want to keep, rather than because separates are superior for a given spend. Also, the weak point of separates is you need to ensure high quality USB/SPDIF implementation between the streamer output and the DAC input; another rabbit hole.

Some usual suspects would be Auralic, Mytek, Simaudio. The new Gold Notes also look interesting. I’m reading that you like a clear, neutral sound given you have a hybrid amp + KEFs, so perhaps biasing towards a warmer sounding front-end would make sense. The only way to be sure is to trial components in your system.
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