Clock vs Streamer advice

@audphile1 thank you for the input. I may wait and save a bit more for the N200. I have been pretty concerned about spending the $1500 when I can't demo it. And I was not very smart with my demo. The N1Z only has USB, and the N200 dealer let me borrow a $2500 MIT SPDIF cable. It was easy to just switch inputs on the DAC quickly by using just spdif on N200 and USB on N1Z. I didnt even try USB on the N200. 

I also can't stand the Aurender app, but I'll live with it. Every single time I went to pick a new song, it disconnected, so I had to go back and find where I was on the playlist. It was the same bullshit with my N100H. The guy at Goodwins Audio said its the same for him too. 

I don’t have these issues with the conductor app. It’s 100% stable for me. There’s a default action you can pick when adding a song to the queue. I usually have add to end. Then I go back after I’m done adding songs or just let the queue get there on its own. But it never disconnects for me. Very strange.

As to adding a network card, go under the assumption that it will be a competitor to a $1500-$2000 streamer…some but not all. 

@zpatenaude37

As far as Conductor App, stable as ROCK in my system. Unable to maintain connectivity is indicative of unstable WiFi network or perhaps a setting in Conductor app. Have Aurender run a diagnostic check…there is a solution for this!

I wound expect the n200 to sound better based on cost differential.  You may want to look at Small Green Computer (i5, i7, i9) with the Bricasti rendering card as a more cost effective solution.  I’m currently using an SGC i5 w/4tb ssd interfaced via Ethernet cable into a Bricasti M1 S2. The solution performs very well has great sound staging, imaging and detail.  Great option if you use Roon and need to define multiple end points and want to seamlessly interface a personal music collection with a streaming service like Qobuz.

Often, the reaction to new software is negative. It is different from what you were using and it is very counter intuitive. The Conductor app is widely praised, while not the be-all or end-all… very good. As you get used to it, it becomes easy to use and it is becoming better and better.