Choosing a network player/streamer

OK so I have the Bryston DAC3.  I bought the BDP3 and the BOT and had nothing but trouble with them.  As you mentioned the Manic Moose is terrible.  I tried using third party apps but they didn’t work well either.  I eventually sold off the BDP 3 and used the funds to pay for a streamer that actually works..  In my case I bought the Melco N100, because I also needed a new server, but then I added the Cambridge Audio CXN 60 be cause it has superb Internet Radio, Chromecast and AirPlay.  Both the Melco and the CA sound great through the DAC3.  The CA also has a capable DAC which I bypass but could live with if the DAC3 ever goes down.

  As you have discovered, the app to control a streamer is a huge part of the experience.  The BDP3 sounded great but the frustration level of using it took the fun out of listening to music.

If the OP really can’t perceive a difference between the Yamaha and the Bryston, imho he should sell off the Bryston and be done with it.  I get what he is saying about brand loyalty, and I held on to the BDP3 for about a year longer than I should have because I felt the same way, but ultimately it was Bryston attitude towards the problems with their controlling software, as another poster noted, that killed my loyalty.  I still use and love the DAC, which btw is the first DAC that I have encountered where the usb is not a compromise, and Bryston makes good power amps, but I will probably never buy anything from them again.  The BOT was also a POS.

  I tried a Roon trial with the BDP3, but my previous server couldn’t handle it.  If you go the Roon route make sure that you have a lot of computing firepower.  And then if you have problems down the road, I suspect you will have Roon and Bryston pointing fingers at each other

  when I bought the Melco N100 my original intent was just to use it as a server with the BDP3, but the Melco dealer talked me out of it, and I’m glad he did.  The Melco as a player equaled, if not exceeded, the BDP3 sonically .  I haven’t tried Roon with the Melco but there is a Melco fb Forum and others seem pleased.

  I used Rigelian with the BDP3.  It was an improvement over Manic Moose—that is a low bar—and it was free, but it couldn’t find about half the music on server, and was unstable, leading to a lot of deletes and rebooting.

  I added a SHM DSP to the system for Room Correction.  It basically threw in a free streamer and said streamer sounded very thin with the DAC3.  So all streamers are not created equally.  However if the OP finds the Yamaha to be a good fit…