Hello from photographer to photographer… as per usual, there are already lots of good suggestions here. I certainly would echo @fuzztone that whatever streamer/Dac you end up with, have it connected directly to the network. Depending on what controller software you settle on (say Bluesound or Roon for instance) you can use multiple devices to control/select/change the music - say from your Macbook Pro when you are your desk and your phone when on the couch etc. Say you start listening using the Bluesound app on your Mac to control a Node 2i, the music keeps playing when you shut down your computer, and you can pick up the control from any other device that runs the Bluesound software. This may already be obvious to you, but to me it wasn’t and it took me a minute to discern the differences and advantages of streaming vs playing my own files using Audirvana from my computer (also great in it’s own right in terms of sound quality, as already mentioned previously).
In terms of what product I would recommend, I have limited experience and budget - so far I have been using the Bluesound Node 2i using it’s optical output into a SMSL 500 as my Dac. By doing that I am actually losing the Node’s capability to decode MQA so I am definitely not advocating my setup. I am however a review junkie and eager to upgrade myself in the near future and from everything I have read (READ, mind you, not listened to) here are my comments:
In your price range (2-3k) these recommended products from previous commenters have all been very favorably reviewed and compared, and unless you need to counter a strong coloration of your existing sound to even things out, my guess is you can choose any of these simply based on price and aesthetics and not go wrong:
Any Lumin, any Auralic option. Mytek was mentioned, and they have the Brooklyn Bridge that might still be in your budget.
Innuos has the Zen MK3 (or Zen Mini 3 + LPSU) with the added capability to rip Cd’s and store music internally (don’t know anything about their controller software but sound wise they seem to be excellent). The mentioned Cocktail Audio X45 also has CD ripping capability, if that is of interest.
My personal budget is $1500 max, and I am eyeing the Cambridge Audio CXN V2 series 2, predominately for the added user experience, display, physical remote control and broader connectivity options than my Node 2i. I am aware that the internal DAC won’t be quite as good as in the units mentioned above in your price range and will most likely only be a marginal upgrade to my Node, but even the Node sounds already very good to my ears, so I am mostly taken by the CXN's feature set, built in Chromecast, Airplay 2 capable, and ease of use for streaming from pretty much any existing platform beyond Tidal & co.
I highly recommend watching this detailed review, simply as a terrific demonstration for a beginner of all the different ways and services for streaming music and maybe learning about features that may be desirable for you to have in whatever unit you end up choosing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N8bSQSFm56E
In terms of what product I would recommend, I have limited experience and budget - so far I have been using the Bluesound Node 2i using it’s optical output into a SMSL 500 as my Dac. By doing that I am actually losing the Node’s capability to decode MQA so I am definitely not advocating my setup. I am however a review junkie and eager to upgrade myself in the near future and from everything I have read (READ, mind you, not listened to) here are my comments:
In your price range (2-3k) these recommended products from previous commenters have all been very favorably reviewed and compared, and unless you need to counter a strong coloration of your existing sound to even things out, my guess is you can choose any of these simply based on price and aesthetics and not go wrong:
Any Lumin, any Auralic option. Mytek was mentioned, and they have the Brooklyn Bridge that might still be in your budget.
Innuos has the Zen MK3 (or Zen Mini 3 + LPSU) with the added capability to rip Cd’s and store music internally (don’t know anything about their controller software but sound wise they seem to be excellent). The mentioned Cocktail Audio X45 also has CD ripping capability, if that is of interest.
My personal budget is $1500 max, and I am eyeing the Cambridge Audio CXN V2 series 2, predominately for the added user experience, display, physical remote control and broader connectivity options than my Node 2i. I am aware that the internal DAC won’t be quite as good as in the units mentioned above in your price range and will most likely only be a marginal upgrade to my Node, but even the Node sounds already very good to my ears, so I am mostly taken by the CXN's feature set, built in Chromecast, Airplay 2 capable, and ease of use for streaming from pretty much any existing platform beyond Tidal & co.
I highly recommend watching this detailed review, simply as a terrific demonstration for a beginner of all the different ways and services for streaming music and maybe learning about features that may be desirable for you to have in whatever unit you end up choosing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N8bSQSFm56E