Streamers under $1500

My take,

(1) think first about the ease of use and functionality of the digital app ….It will either make or break your audio performance enjoyment. Some options out there are either very limited or some can even suck the big one .

(2) At your stated $1500 current budget strata, think pre-owned player first IMO.. You’ll get a premium design and premium build resulting in premium performance in a pre-owned unit,  that is better than most new unit options.at that $$ pricepoint..

Eg: Look for

- independent separate power supplies feeds for the analogue vs digital boards,

- a linear power supply included in the board design ,

- upgraded op amps,

- think superior design, build, and engineering, blah blah.….Its what separates the contenders from the pretenders,

Most of the above superior design and performance features are either grossly limited or even absent in many of the new MSRP dollar baileywick options at your pricepoint. 

my take: think MOON. by SIMAUDIO, and NAIM are two quality build and top performer digital players that immediately come to mind.

The Airlense needs some type of streaming server like ROON ,DLNA (e.g.Adirvana) ,Tidal Connect.

Bryston BDP-2 can be found for <$1k, BDP-3 for ~$1.8K But I doubt your gonna like the software interface as its purdy spartan.

Que the Blue Sound Node recommendations to start flowing in.

What ever you do let us know how it compares head to head with the W4S moded Sonos.

I am using Tidal for streaming, Sonos has good software that's why I have been using.  I hear the new Port from Sonos not as good as my Connect.

If you can find it, grab a Holo Red streamer. I paid about $800 new and waited about a month for delivery, and far exceeds the streamer card in the PS Audio DSD I. What a steal!  NEAL