Is there such a thing as a good medium priced music streamer?


OK, been using a Marantz ND8006 for 5 years or so for the infrequent times I stream music in my living room. (Infrequent cuz its a PIA) The unit is a better CDP than streamer as the HEOS app it uses is a pain in the ass in this configuration where it is resident on a separate tablet. It was a sound upgrade from a Logitech streamer I had for years which was easy to use and my wife liked but had lost support. She "dislikes to hates" the Marantz. It impacts the amount of time she listens to IR or Amazon or Spotify at home. Frankly does the same for me. So, I figured it is time for a step up to a better/dedicated streamer. I frankly was blown away by how many there are out there as well a how fragmented the functions are. I want something that will 1) stream from Tidal, Spotify, Amazon HD,etc 2) play FLAC or WAV files from my network NAS, 3) play IR like WBGO, etc. I am comfortable with spending say $2k new, maybe up to $3k if there is really a gain in sound or ease of use, reliability. I am assuming a dedicated unit will be superior to one embedded in an amp like the Marantz Model 40 or others like that. Am I "deluded", have a good enough understanding of the landscape technically (I question that frankly) and does this exist. BTW, I have heard a couple of the more costly units like 2 from Auralic and Aurender but they are out of my retiree price range. I have lurked/read alot of the posts on here on this topic and am frankly a little overwhelmed at the permutations and combinations. Im beginning to feel like a 66yo dinosaur...HELP!

joekapahulu

Lots of good suggestions, and I’ve tried many. Stay away from Bluesound and HiFi Rose. The Bluesound sound quality (yes, even the Node X) is pretty bad. HiFi Roses sounds good, but the app is a nightmare. 
 

Eversolo DMP-A6 and DMP-A8 are really fantastic overall, and then exceptional when price is considered. 
 

Agree with many others that if you are keeping the Marantz, the Wiim Pro would be a great choice to just use as a transport.

I haven’t had the Sonos Port, but the Sonos software is really good  

 

Best of luck!

 

Update - the latest HEOS version is a huge improvement over any other streaming app I've seen. I expect BluOS and others to take notice and revamp their mediocre-at-best User Interfaces sooner rather than later. In addition to the visual improvements in the UI, the integration with voice services like Alexa is so far flawless, as evidenced by my wife now listening to music on our HEOS-equipped system for the first time.