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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
mahler123
3,425 posts
 
I have the Bryston BDA-3, connected a Bryston DAC3, which was an upgrade over Bluesound, which I still own.  Bryston sounds much better with Qobuz (and everything else, for that matter) Played into the Bryston DAC.  The player that you are looking at is a fantastic bargain compared to what I paid, which was purchased before they came out with the combo product.
  The Bryston Manic Moose control software is pretty bad, the Bluesound beats it easily, but if your main source is Qobuz it won’t matter, because you will creat favorites or playlists on another device .  MM then has tabs for that then just pick rom there
sbayne's avatar
sbayne
493 posts
 
I’d suggest the most popular streamer/DAC out there. The Bluesound NODE 2i. Don’t worry about the low price - it sounds good - nice fit for your Rogue and KEF gear, in my opinion. Does Qobuz, Tidal, Spotify, MQA, etc. and the control software is stable.
sfar's avatar
sfar
1,766 posts
 
I have the Cambridge CXC transport, which I'm very happy with, and have been researching a streamer to pair with it. If you haven't watched the John Darko video on the Cambridge CXN I would recommend it. It's a very hands-on explanation of what it does and what it's like in a system.
https://darko.audio/2020/06/a-short-film-about-the-cambridge-audio-cxn-v2/
crn3371
224 posts
 
As Moto well-stated, there’s an endless list of solutions. TBS, I’m just going to put a recommendation in for my personal solution -
A Bel Canto e.One Stream feeding a W4S DAC.

wsrrsw's avatar
wsrrsw
1,098 posts
 
Lumin T2. Seriously.  

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