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Streamer Advice / Recommendation for Denafrips R2R DAC

I really could use some help / recommendations on the choice of a streamer.  Here's where I am in my research:
I've decided on a Denafrips Pontus DAC (R2R) because of it's sound characteristics (musical while maintaining definition).  It is within my budget, while the Terminator is not.

My current thinking is I need a streamer that does not have memory, amplification or a DAC on board.  I will use the streamer-DAC pairing to listen to music in a AVR / Music setup: Denon AVR3700H (105 watts) connected to a Rotel 1590 power amp through the Denon precouts.  Bowers & Wilkins 702 S2 (left right) speakers.  Bowers & Wilkins 802 center channel (power connection by Denon amp)  SVS and Yamaha powered subwoofers. When used for streaming Netflix it's a 7.2 setup.

For streaming music I listen to the usual list of suspect: Tidal, Qobuz, Spotify.  In it's current setup, the system is too bright and harsh.  Speaker placement is in the room from acoustic hell: rectangular 15' x 45' with the front/ center channel speakers facing the narrow width (unfortunately by necessity and I'm in the process of adding reflection panels to cover 15% of the room.

I am determined to achieve music that does not wear me out after a couple of hours listening: well produced electronic music / R&B  / piano jazz.  I like midrange dominance but without too much detail in the +8k hz.

I learned to budget more for the DAC than the streamer, but most of the streamers I've looked at are combo amp/hard drive/DAC or they have networking into multi rooms. The  Auralic Aries G2.1  is out of my budget by about $2,500 (at 5,100 US), Willing to pay more for great sound but am unsure the streamer makes that much of a difference than the DAC.

Advice? Setup Recommendations?



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calvinandhobbes
309 posts
 
The relatively inexpensive Pro-ject Stream Box Ultra S2 is working well for me with my Pontus II DAC. 

I'm pretty sensitive to digital glare and have avoided listening to much digital audio for the last 32 years for that reason. But the Pontus II doesn't seem to induce much if any listening fatigue for me. Measures that I've taken to reduce digital harshness include:

  1. Use of an Ethernet cable via an Ethernet access point created by a TP-Link RE230 Wi-Fi extender
  2. Supra Cat 8 Ethernet cable
  3. Pro-ject streamer with the Wi-Fi receiver turned off
  4. Audioquest Jitterbug noise filter
  5. Stordiau Lush USB cable
With all of those in place, I can listen to the Pontus II for hours with no sign of listening fatigue. From having listened to the  Bowers & Wilkins 704 S2 speakers at a dealer, I think your 702 speakers may have an edgier top end than my Monitor Audio Silver 300 speakers.

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I chose the Pro-ject because of reports that its sound quality is better than that of the Bluesound Node. It has some built in memory, but the main route for attaching memory is with a hard drive / SSD / or flash memory stick. I have a 128 gB USB flash memory stick attached and that seems to work great. It also does not have an amplifier built in for no built-in obsolescence when you need to change the streamer due to changing streaming sources or standards! And it does not have a DAC built in. It looks pretty basic with no LCD screen and limited inputs & outputs, but I like to think that their materials cost went into optimizing the power supply and analog components. I've read that switching out the included switch-mode wall wart for a linear power supply doesn't seem to help the sound much which is a tribute to the engineering work done on the power supply to reduce noise from EMI. 

This thread has a discussion from John Westlake, the designer of the Stream Box, about where his development budget and materials cost were focused in the Stream Box: https://www.avforums.com/threads/why-is-pro-ject-stream-box-ultra-s2-so-expensive-700euro-for-an-r-pi.2175090/

A forum posting on how to optimize the sound of a Pro-ject Stream Box:  https://pinkfishmedia.net/forum/threads/how-to-make-a-streamer-pro-ject-stream-box-s2-ultra-playing-qobuz-tidal-to-sound-better-than-cd.229586/
chorus
976 posts
 
Pontus seems a clear winner. It may have some edge to it that could use
taming. My tweak suggestion is the buy the Uptone Audio Ether Regen
for $640. 
You also want a streamer without the ability to burn and store
and with no DAC. 
I bought the Innuos Zen3 new for $2,200 last year because it does
burn and store. Cds all in another room now.
Good luck!!
rsf507
2,347 posts
 
Bricasti M5 Network player might be something to look at
david_ten
5,480 posts
 
Congratulations on going forward with the Denafrips Pontus.

In addition to those mentioned above, also consider the Roon Nucleus and the Small Green Computer i5 sonicTransporter.

All the best.
rfnoise
153 posts
 
I was in the same boat as you, with the Aries G1& G2 outside of my budget. I recently purchased an original Aries Femto with linear power supply, preowned, for just under $700. It was the second time I’d seen one at or around this price point, so if you’re patient you could probably come in well below budget with one of these units.

It’s been in my system for about a week, and I couldn’t be happier with it. The control app is extremely intuitive, with excellent Tidal integration, and the improvement in sound quality has been absolutely startling.

If patience isn’t your gig, there’s an Auralic Altair here on Audiogon for sale right now for about a grand, which does have an onboard dac, but has digital outputs with which you could feed a signal to your Denafrips.
Good luck!
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