I don’t think I’ve seen this suggestion on the thread yet, but you might look into the Bluesound Node (Gen 3). I went through this decision process last year and decided to get the Bluesound. I like the app and the sound quality of the built in streamer is pretty good out of the box, the DAC not so much. I am currently using the Node with a Chord Qutest DAC, and the combination serving snd playing ripped CD and high res files is the best sounding digital front end I have had in my system to date. Streamed music is very close, even for mp3 and mp4 level material.
Two upgrades that have made a huge improvement in this combination: inserting a Chord Company Signature Super ARAY coax cable to connect the Node to the Qutest and adding a Teddy Pardo Dual5 - 2X5 3A power supply which powers both the DAC and the streamer. The Pardo power supply was a revelation with the Node, lowering noise and removing any sibilants from more strident recordings. This required some simple work inside the Node case to replace the internal switching supply board with a simple DC connector. But if I can do it, anybody can do it.
Total cost of a Node (Gen 3) is $599 new, and a single output 5V supply from Teddy Pardo is $395 (assuming you don’t need to power your DAC too). If you don’t mind the complexity of two boxes for streaming duties, you can have a very good sounding streamer with an excellent app for under a grand.
I looked into replacing the Node with a Node X, but don’t need the improved DAC or headphone amp, and the two models use the same powerful processor to manage streaming and serving functions.
kn
