@jabbaman I owned Auralic Aries G1. Replaced it with Lumin U1 Mini. Each has pros and cons. I had constant issues with AURALiC’s Lightning DS several times a week where it would drop network connection, the network would see the G1 but the G1 was not seeing the network. I use Roon and the G1 sounded better using the Lightning DS but a lot of album artwork from my HDD (ripped CDs) was missing.
When I switched to Lumin I also preferred the sound of Lumin over G1, Roon or without.
Lumin sounded great wired with Supra Cat 8 ethernet cable with none of the dropouts and network related issues I experienced with the wireless G1. Adding the Eno improved the sound of lumin even further.
I never looked back after switching to Lumin.
I’m pretty sure a good ethernet cable like an Audioquest Vodka would be a nice addition but I never tried.
Since I’m using Roon, the Bricasti M3 DAC with a built in network player looked like a perfect one box solution so I sold my Lumin and Benchmark DAC 3 HGC to get the Bricasti. No regrets with simplicity and sound of the new set up.
Bottom line, whatever you end up with, use good cables all around and you’ll be alright.