Streamer, no DAC please?

@larseand 

Your question asks about music streamers but another follow up question is music streaming subscription services and Applications.

Streaming services offer instant access to millions of songs without the need for physical media or extensive storage space. Streaming platforms offer various subscription plans, including free ad-supported options, making music more affordable than purchasing individual albums or tracks.

For example, I started with Tidal and eventually switched to QoBuz. You search for an album and if you like it, make it a favorite for future listeing. Qobuz offers many curated playlists across various genres, including Jazz, Classical, Pop/Rock, and more. You can also create your playlist for your listening. 

I use Audirvana Studio and like it because it enhances audio quality on streamers by optimizing the operating system for audio playback and disabling non-essential services. It functions as a third-party player, scanning local music libraries and integrating streaming services like Tidal and Qobuz. Audirvana offers both subscription and lifetime license models. 

Other options are Roon, AURENDER Conductor App, etc. For example, Aurender Streamers include the Aurender Conductor App. So, in addition to the hardware choice, I suggest you spend some time investigating streaming services and applications to run on the hardware of your choice. I hope this helps.

ALL GOOD POINTS TO CONSIDER.

Thank you hgeifan.

Looks like you have gotten some pretty good advice.

My recent experience down this route --

I got a Pontus 15 the beginning of this year and connected my aurender a10 by usb to the Pontus 15 via WyWires platinum usb.  The Pontus 15 is connected to my preamp with cardas clear interconnects.  It took 800 + hours of continuous burn in and it really sounds great in my speaker system.  It took this amount of time and even more before the brightness in the upper register smoothed out the way I prefer.  I stream qobuz and tidal through the aurender conductor app.  Note that the a10 cannot be used to connect to Roon.

I also have a headphone system using the aurender N150 connected to the Linear Tube Audio Aero dac with an LTA headphone amp all tubes upgraded to Ray Reserve and connected via WyWires platinum USB and WyWires platinum in interconnect.  The N150 is roon ready.  
The headphone system is a step up or more but I am amazed at how great the a10 and Pontus 15 sounds.

You can get a used a10, I think online, from The Music Room, Audio Mart etc. for around $1700 or so.  Highly recommend with the Pontus 15, but suggest you get solid usb and interconnects like Cardas.

Good luck

I agree with the suggestion for checking out the linemann bridge and the primare mp5 mk2. They are within your price range. WiiM Pro is a great option as well - best streaming software hands down!!

Another one that hasn't been mentioned is the Keces eBravo +/- P6 power upgrade. Approx $600/1000 respectively. This has the added advantage of integration with the linkplay system that WiiM uses...

SMSL N100 is another brand new entry into the market. Running on volumio which can be kinda annoying to use. Check out their own rivo model too... also the holo audio streamer.

Another one I forgot to mention was the Aune S10 which also uses linkplay/WiiM software.

All within your budget