Suggestions for a streamer only (I have a great DAC)

I'm going to be 'that' guy who tells you that you can WAY over pay for a pure streamer (no DAC). Streamers don't follow some audio myth like cables where people tell you to spend a certain % of your overall system cost on cables as if that directly improves your sound. It's a law of big diminishing returns with cables and streamers. You spent the right $$$ on your DAC but getting bits from a network stream transported to your DAC is not subject to massive qualitative differences.

I second the Bluesound Node (2021 version) recommendations as the best bang for the buck. I would suggest you do what I did and buy the Bluesound and also whatever high end streamer you think would be a big improvement on the BS. Then test them both with your system using a truly blind testing method to see if you can really hear a difference consistently. I have a nice system that is very resolving and I could not. So I sent the more expensive streamer back and kept the BS. I use a quality USB cable into my Holo Audio May KTE DAC and it is fantastic. If you actually want a qualitative improvement then feed your BS output into HQPlayer upscaling. But that is a project for a different time once you've made your decision. Good luck.

I have tried a number of network bridges. I would recommend one of the following;

Pro-Ject Stream Box S2 Ultra. This is a tiny box with a wonderful network bridge inside. It retails at around $1000. It is designed by John Westlake, a great designer, and based on a Radpberry Pi and runs Volumio software to access Tidal very intuitively.

SOtM sms-200 ultra NEO. This is a great upgradeable small box solution. It is upgraded by adding the sps-500 power supply, the sCLK-ocx10 clock, and the tx-USB ultra USB ’cleaner’. So you could have 4 of the SOtM boxes with the full set up.

The Auralic Aries G1 or G2 is a traditionally sized Hi-Fi component with its own software to integrate with Tidal. I found the SQ was no better than the two above though

I have tried other options from a home built Pi to ones from Sonore and BluSound but none of these were as good as the 3 manufacturers above.

Sound quality wise between these they are all very close. I have the 4 box SOtM in one of my systems and the Pro-Ject in another. By adding the other boxes to the SOtM I got minor improvements on one of my systems, but no noticeable difference on two others, I guess it depends on the DAC, but the SOtM is not as intuitive to set up. Both models of the Auralic sounded no better than the Pro-Ject or the base one-box SOtM and at around 3 to 5 times the price.

Personally I’d go with the Pro-Ject. It sounded as good as the Auralic and is a tenth of the size and a quarter of the price. If you like the upgrade path I’d head for the SOrM and you can see if your DAC responds to the changes you make.

For ref I have tested these network bridges on my two high end DACs (dcs equivalent) and one mid range.

I'm going to be 'that' guy who tells you that you can WAY over pay for a pure streamer

If that's been your listening experience then I believe you but you represent a tiny minority. Reading on  this  and other forums on the topic of streamers the overwhelming number of  listeners who've heard/owned Blue Node say there's significant sound quality improvement to be gained from moving toward  better quality servers/streamers.

Blue Node seems an unusual match with the dCS DAC. I believe that the OP can likely  do noticeably better within his given budget. 

Charles 

Since OP is streaming from TIDAL (and likely subscribed at the TIDAL Hifi Plus level), he'll want to look for a streamer that supports MQA to get the most out of TIDAL Masters, etc.. The Bluesound Node is one such device, and it's been a great addition to my Rega/Dynaudio system. Obviously, it's way below the OP's budget, but the results are consistently outstanding. Just an excellent value.

For your budget and best sound I would get a Roon Nucleus and a Bricasti M5. The Roon Nucleus is a computer that runs one piece of software. Roon Core. Nothing else. It has a power button and a couple setting that anyone can walk you through when you setup the unit. This needs to be on your network, near your router.

The M5 needs an Ethernet connection. It does not need to be near the Nucleus and takes care of the player part of the process.  It gets your files ready to go to the DAC.

This will sound amazing. Be on budget. And can be purchased from a few retailers with 30 day return policies.