For those that have separate Streamers & DACS

@verdantaudio If I'm looking at a streaming solution under $4K, what are the differences between the Bricasti M5 and the Antipodes S30?  Pluses and minuses with either?

@badgerdms System is Fleetwood Deville's, Backert Labs Rhythm 1.3 and McGary SA1E

that sounds a lot like Dr.Vinyl’s old system…he had that same setup last year

Several of the audiophiles I know with the long experience run fanless NUCs with separate LPS. The DAC associated in one system is a Holo May.

So, the Bricasti M5 is a player/renderer and lacks support for streaming services like Tidal or Qobuz.  It needs a server to pair with it to work.  This can be a computer, Roon Nucleus or a myriad of other servers.  
 

The Antipodes S30 will serve as a server and player.  It is not my first choice for that duty.  It is good as a Roon server assuming you aren’t running any DSD files but is best when paired with a player like the M5.  
 

if you were to opt for the Bricasti M3, best option is to get the network card.  It is a $1000 upgrade and is literally the same card that is in the M5.  That with a Nucleus, Nucleus+ Or Antipodes S30 or S40 (Nucleus + or S40 is necessary for DSD) will be your best performing options.  The M3 with network card from an S30 would be VERY nice.  
 

I believe the Merason and Ideon don’t have player options.  Assuming the same $4k cap, I would look at a Roon Nucleus with an M5.  This is a better combo than you would think and I know will outperform the S30 on its own.