streaming and audiophile stereo

OP,

Roon adds a layer of complexity that you may not want. Qobuz will give your access to tens of millions of tunes. They have over half a million high resolution albums, for around $12 / month. I don’t buy CDs any more, and have been giving mine away… my streamer usually sounds better, or at least as good. Physical media is becoming a thing of the past.

I recommend a single box streamer… BlueSound on the budget (~$1K) end to a much better unit the Aurender N200 (I own the previous iteration ~$3.5K) to the Aurender W20SE (which I own $22K). None of this is about status… only sound quality. It improves dramatically with price. You plunk the box down, connect to network (I use a wall wart wifi extender next to my audio system ((~$59)) ). You log on to the box with your iPhone or iPad… and connect directly to Qobuz or Tidal. You get high end audio output to sent to your DAC / preamp / amp / speakers.

This is this simplist and best (my streamer sounds as good as my high end vinyl leg) solution for high quality sound and simplicity. The streamer app… allows search, creation of libraries and play lists… etc. Roon adds a layer of complexity and greater search function and cost. If you want high sound quality then you want a dedicated streamer and not a PC with some software to make it stream… this is a long and endless discussion among luddites and those living in the present. I spent 40 years in IT, I am happy to leave this stuff behind.

Here is a link to an informative paper on this.  It makes the point, and I agree, that you can only hear the full benefits of MQA if the recording was done in MQA.  Otherwise MQA is a simple means to compress data which gets uncompressed by the dac.  You also can't hear more than CD Redbook standard of 44.1K 16 bit.  There isn't music streaming above that standard that you can hear.  The upsampling is a means to put the noise in the inaudible range. 

The better "sounding" streamers are about noise reduction or lack of introducing noise into the data.  So shielding, multiple power supplies etc.  Your DAC does the heavy lifting of filtering noise..  I have the Lumin U2 mini and I am not sure the bluesound node would create an audible difference in the sound if you only use the streamer part of it. Would love to test that someday if I can get one. 

Tidal is better for me since it offers two things Qobuz doesn't. First a radio function to find new music based on a song, album, etc.   The second thing is you can add a song from anywhere on Tidal to an existing playlist.  I could not do that on qobuz because I had to use the Lumin app with Qobuz but can go directly from the Tidal app to the Lumin. 

here is the link

Well it seems you are interested in a very accomplished 2 channel system which may be consider at the upper end of value, not necessarily cost. 

With a 20wpc power requirement I would look int tube amplification with a high quality DAC/Streamer.  Search the many threads herein regarding streamers. I use a computer for streaming to find new music, use a transport with DAC for serious listening. I will one day get a dedicated streamer however likely not one in the budget range you may be looking for. Very good DAC/ streaming combo, either as single piece or as separates. 

Regarding tube amplification I would encourage you check out Aric Audio. Aric make several tube preamps and amplifiers. He is very accessible via net or phone. Great to talk to and  willing to advise. He also is willing to modify his products to suit individual needs. I know there are many viable manufactures however I own one of his preamps and amplifiers. Should I look to upgrade I would likely deal with him 1st.

Well, maybe not very much help for a rather lengthly response. 

Regards, Mike

@johnah5 The way I work around that Lumin app limitation is to do organization on the native Qobuz app and use the Lumin app purely to listen/stream.