Roon Nucleus as a Streamer

Fwiw…I did the Roon Trial, and I was using a 2009 MacAir, which had been replaced by a new model.  I had scrubbed the HD.  The Air started to overheat during the Roon download, something it had never done otherwise.  I aborted the trial.  Make sure that you have a lot of computer firepower for that program 

+1 A fanless laptop like MacAir is what you need.

It would be helpful if we understood what you're currently using for a DAC.  If your goal is to keep your DAC then you've received some helpful feedback.  It sounds like perhaps you don't have the DAC yet either. 

If that's the case, then the easy button may be to simply get a combined streamer and DAC.  Most will come with a free app that will allow you to stream music from Tidal and Qobuz and depending on what you get there are a number of aftermarket apps that are free or close to free that may provide a better user experience than the manufacturer's app.

I use the Nucleus plus with a ps audio directstream dac along with a 14rb external hard drive with 10tb of high res music. I also stream tidal and quboz

The roon acts as a wickapedia of music and is very informative.  Overall i am very happy with the sound and the convenience of it all. 

big_greg - I am planning on using an SPL pre-amplifier that has an on-board DAC, which I have not heard yet, but from my understanding most built-in DACs can be greatly improved upon. Once I give it a listen I will make that call, but most likely I will be upgrading the DAC. 

The question is then, how good are the DACs in the streamer combos?