I would look into Aurender N150 or N200. There are plenty of dealers that can afford you in-home demo. Either of these streamers would be a substantial upgrade over your MacBook. And their conductor app is easy to navigate / browse music and robust in its operation. I also recommend a tablet for conductor app.
https://aurender.com/n150/
Streamer creates a Wow experience
I started streaming by running USB from my iPad to my DAC using Qobuz, and I thought it sounded pretty good and was happy. Then I compared this to playing CDs and much to my dismay I slightly preferred the CDs. This was a depressing moment. So I reached out to you guys and several of you assured me if I got a dedicated streamer it’d be much better, and while I always believed a streamer is important and can make a difference I still found myself a little skeptical how much improvement there would be.
So I decided to heed the advice here and after some research got an iFi Zen Stream with their upgraded power supply. After getting the Zen linked to my WiFi and using mconnectHD to be able to stream Qobuz through the iFi — Holy Crap!!! I expected some improvement but I was not prepared for the huge leap in sound quality I was hearing. Every aspect of sound improved markedly and my jaw was on the floor.
Anyway, you guys were so right in assuring me a streamer would make all the difference. And this is through my HeadFi rig and can’t wait to hear what this sounds like on the big rig. Thanks for your helpful advice and getting me through this. I’m one shocked and very happy camper.
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@sbank Aurender does not support Roon. Many people are partial to Roon due to its user interface, but if one has not paid for a lifetime pass, they continue to throw money away on it monthly. Aurender’s ecosystems are sonically quite impressive given the coupling between the hardware and software. As @lalitk encourages use of the iPad for the conductor app, a new version of the iPhone app is in beta to its dealers and nearing full release soon. I was able to play with it at AXPONA and can hint that the user experience is much better. I actually requested some of the features it will contain. In full disclosure, I am an Aurender dealer. |
“Aurender’s ecosystems are sonically quite impressive given the coupling between the hardware and software.” I understand if you prefer Roon but its not the best software for sound quality. I am not here to bash ROON but in direct comparison with Aurender Conductor app, I still prefer Conductor interface, file curation and ease of browsing music by a mile. I never wonder if I am getting the best SQ with Conductor. Again, this is my personal preference and a conclusion drawn upon last 12 months of side by side comparison. BTW, I own lifetime Roon subscription :-) |
Aurender doesn’t use Roon by design and choice, they have their own eco-system with nothing else interfering. Aurender’s Conductor app does nothing whatsoever to influence the sound of streaming, internal hard drives or attached NAS. It purely has the function to index and select tracks to play. It is available for both Apple and Android. Conductor’s Folder application is the best way to use Conductor IMHO because it’s like a DOS version that lists everything by text and small thumbnails, great if you have a large library or playlists. The N20 and N30 substantially benefit from the addition of a 10 Mhz master clock. |
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