Streamer/Server to replace Innuos Zenith

I have a Zen MkIII and accidentally discovered the SQ is MUCH better using the “Roon in experimental mode” option than just the Roon Core mode.  It’s the difference between involving vs a little boring.  Try it before you spend money.

I have Zenith Mk 3 and I second that advice of trying before you spend money.  I'd also not make decisions based on what anybody says in a orum (which I guess is also part of Doughthebiker's message).  It certainly seems called for when reading this thread and some other comments I've seen about Innuos.  I am very suspect of the some of these comments, but I'll do my best to believe they aren't motivated by anything other than trying to help a fellow audiophile.   

I will say this. My Innuos server works fine. No problems, although I had a bunch of questions and also issues with not the primary listening room but with my wife's listening room where she was running KEFs as a remote ready device.  I sought help from Innuos and they were helpful. The problem was not the Innuos but my network. But I don't like to hear how people put down Innuos server because quite frankly they were always timely in answering my emails and always willing to set up an online conference, and also check out the performance of the network. They weren't done with me once I purchased their unit. They actually wanted to make certain where the issues were and make sure they got fixed.  
Another suspect comment I've come across is the insinuation that Roon 1.8 is the better sounding player. I don't know people reach this conclusion, but that has not been my experience. Roon 1.8 may offer features that are not yet incorporated into Innu0Sense 2.06, but it in my brief experience, Roon does not outperform the Innuos software. I think you will find many people substantiating this, not just me. Quite a few actually from an overwhelming majority of comments in various forums. 
But, pleas don't depend upon forums. By all means check out the advice you come across, as forums are very useful on that score. Just don't rely on what only what you read. That's pretty risky business.

People don't consider the entire system, their rooms, their source material, the engineering quality, the fact that people hear differently (the hearing of listeners being different)' not to mention that people listen in different ways and have different ways of scoring the sound in the room.
Very little here is objective, and mostly its very selective. 

I certainly would be careful judging a server solely on the basis of Tidal streaming over the etherne and into one's DAC, amps and wildly different listening rooms.

People say such and such sounds better than such and such. There's a lot of that going on.  A grain of salt is called for, and most often, a whole whole handful. 

a grain of salt is also needed in interrogating the stability of tge network, changing IP addresses, wifi etc… Many problems start there… of course some hardware and support teams vary widely in fixing it….

I want to clarify my prior comments about Innuos:
1. I want to also confirm that in my journey with Innuos that their tech support people were responsive and detail oriented. I have no issues with Innuos support. 2. My motivation was in helping others. I went to AXPONA and spent time in the Innuos room. I spoke with the reps and listened to the Zen, Zenith and Statement with headphones in their setup there. The reps explained to me that they use these (under powered) chips in the Zenith to reduce EMI. It was all about sound quality. But when I bought a Zenith Mk3 I also bought a lifetime Roon subscription. I love Roon and I think in my system and room the SQ is great. I used the Zenith as my Roon Core. BUT with the Zenith Roon remote was crashing frequently. Tracks would skip on their own from one to the next to the next. I could not use Squeezlite. When it did play it sounded great. But that is when it DID play. This was not a trouble free experience. That is why I did my experiment with the miniPC and parts I bought at Amazon to make a NUC-like Roon Core Server. I wanted to see what would happen if I had a faster processor in a fanless case separated from a streamer and how that would sound. Well I found that the SQ with the miniPC Roon server was great. Maybe better than the Zenith. My streamers were an UltraRendu and a Lumin U1 Mini. BUT the reliability, no crashing and ability to DSP without the unit skipping tracks was off the charts great blowing away the Zenith. Not even close. This lead me to believe that the Innuos sales reps fed me a bunch of bull. I was played. Ripped off. They don’t use the underpowered processor because it’s quieter. It may be quieter. I don’t know. But the REAL reason to me is that those parts are CHEAP! Roon won’t even certify the Zenith! So I am shouting from the proverbial rooftops to all Zenith owners to just try this experiment and see for yourself. You may be surprised like I was as to how good the miniPC Roon Core server sounds and how much better it performs with Roon and Roon remote. You do it and don’t like it? Dismantle it and send the parts back to Amazon for a refund. You like it? Congratulations. You can sell your Innuos gear and buy the other truly great component that delivers on it promises.  Which leads me to MY conclusion based on MY experiences, that Innuos is hype and not worth the money. You can accomplish what it should be doing with less expensive gear. Often in our hobby we find that you do get what you pay for when you buy gear. In MY case my experience with Innuos I have found that to NOT be the case. This is not the norm. Again normally we do get what we pay for. I just want my fellow audiophiles to know my experience with Innuos and see if it matches up with their impressions. Alternatively, if they aren’t married to their Innuos gear they should know that there is a less expensive but perhaps better alternative. If you have Innuos gear and you like it and it performs well for you then congratulations. My offer experience has been different and want my colleagues here to know about it hoping that it was helpful. I am not evangelizing. Good luck to all. I have stated my case and am done with this unless someone asks me a question directly. Thanks. 

I did try a Roon Nucleus, Apple Mac mini, Nuc and the Zenith just walked all over them in terms of sound quality.  Now that is based on what sonic attributes are important to me. I value tone and a sense of ease to the music.  I am not a huge detail or dynamic impact freak. 
Honestly, it was not even close to my ears.  But, none of this matters if the Innuos is not working for you.  I have had no issues in my home, but you are and I would also be frustrated. 
I take care on building a noise free digital front end with Network Acoustic cables, filters, English Electric switches and several linear power supplies.