AURALiC Aries price reduction

I think dedicated streamers are an outdated concept that is about to go the way of the Dodo. You are locked into the apps that are available for the various services that you are interested in (as with so-called ’smart’ tv’s). I think they are the audio equivalent of the old dedicated word processors, before the advent of universal PC’s with packages like first Wordstar and then Wordperfect or Word.
In my view one is now better off with something more universal like a Chromecast Audio. No streaming service can afford to ignore its market prominence, and hence there is an app for everything. With Buble UPnP it can access a NAS. Since you can use a big screen tablet as a remote controll, navigating your library should be quite transparent, depending, of course, on your NAS software (about which I know nothing - I only stream from internet).
The inbuilt DAC is pretty decent for secundary systems (up to 24/96), but there is also an optical digital output for more ambitious applications. That digital output is bitperfect, so the final sound quality would depend on the DAC of your choice, from cheap and cheerful all the way up to something like a Benchmark DAC3, or, if you also require a disc player, something like an Oppo 205 with its optical input. The Chromecast also does multiroom.

exile_ken-I think mikhaelkuz makes a really good recommendation above.

However, if you like your system (the Forte is a giant-slayer, imo)  and want to add a streamer and are having a hard time justifying the price of an Aries, the Aries mini with the power pack is a good option. Often pre-owned are available around $500.

Thank you again for the feedback.  So instead of looking to spend around $1K, I should consider something that costs $35?  That's low risk enough I suppose.  If I did connect the digital output of the Chromecast to the GT40, do you believe that would be a sonic upgrade over the T430 laptop I use now?  And how would I manage my library and playback?  I mostly play albums start to finish but will occasionally create a playlist.  Please excuse my limited knowledge in this space.

I do like my system BTW.  The center piece(s) are the T&F Arts.  Amazing speakers, especially for their size.  I have owned the Model 4 for more than 20 years.  Great amp and I am glad I never got rid of it.  I got it upgraded and put it back in the chain after I purchased the Arts.  It does a fine job of driving them and I am quite happy with the sound.

From what I can see your GT40 only has a usb input so it will not work with the optical digital output of the Chromecast. You would need to use the analogue output of the Chromecast. Its built in DAC is not bad at all, so I guess the sound quality would be quite similar to the combination of the laptop’s usb output and the GT 40’s DAC. In the final analysis the sound quality of a streamer is in its DAC.
See here for the analogue perfomance of the Chromecast Audio: http://archimago.blogspot.nl/2016/02/measurements-google-chromecast-audio.html
I use it in a very revealing system and I have no complaints. Sonic differences between DACs are very small at best.