Curious to know your streaming and dac set up and the best recommended streamer under $15k

I am currently, experimenting with multiple permutations of streaming setup. I calculated that I now have 6 potential streaming paths with the gear I have (using ROON):

- 3 Sonore OpticalRendu’s with LPS

- Lumin X1 DAC/streamer

- Sonore UltraDigital

- Uptone EtherRegen (used as an FMC B > A)

- PeachTree GAN1 amp

Here is what I found.

1) The Benchmark DAC3B seems to sound the best on the SPDIF inputs

2) The Lumin X1 is an amazing sounding DAC. The streaming is a bit of a wild child in SPDIF and USB.

3) I compared streaming fibre into the X1 which then flowed out via SPDIF or USB streaming outputs vs the Sonore OpticalRendu streamer (which is fibre to USB). I found the X1 streaming to be louder and more in your face. A bit of a wild child compared to the more refined sounding Sonore OpticalRendu. Not sure what I will like long term. At the moment I prefer the Sonore OpticalRendu.

4) The SPDIF and i2s inputs of my Musetec 005 DAC were tested with the Sonore OpticalRendu connected to the Sonore UltraDigital. I compared this with another Sonore OpticalRendu connected to the USB input of the Musetec 005. Unfortunately, the OpticalRendu into USB was still the king, which was a shame because if I liked the UltraDigital more, I would has sold 2 of my OpticalRendu’s.

6) The best sound was using the EtherRegen as an FMC from my network switch. Ethernet from the switch to the eR and then fibre to my Lumin X1. This is using the fibre streaming of the X1 into the DAC of the X1. I never test the Ethernet streaming of the X1. Really not interested in that.

7) I also tested the Lumin X1 into my CODA #16 amp with the volume driven by the X1’s Leedh volume control. I used the external wireless Lumin volume control that is hooked up to the USB output of the X1. I compared this to the X1 connected to my Benchmark LA4 preamp.

The Leedh volume control is really good. However, at low volume it is not linear like the LA4. That is increasing the volume with the Leedh at low volume does not increase the volume at consistent steps. Not a big deal and I plan to use the X1 direct to amp with the CODA #16 in my Livingroom, but the X1 into the LA4 preamp is better. I am trying to reduce box count in the Livingroom so I will go X1 into amp,

8) The Musetec 005 DAC is a bit warmer sounding than the X1. I think both are fantastic. Though strangely on my RAAL VM-1a headphone amp, I prefer the Benchmark DA3B over the 005 and X1. I think the rougher DAC3B matches better with the 7 tubes on the VM-1a.

9) Another "DAC" I have and sent out for mods is the PeachTree GAN1 amp. I will use that with the SPDIF streaming of the X1. The GAN1 will be a headphone amp for my RAAL SR1a earphones. Before I sent the GAN1 for mods I thought it beat $30K of 2-channel gear (all sold, except Musetec 005 DAC) used as a headphone amp. This GAN1 amp has a lot of potential. That $30K of gear was KRELL Duo 175XD | CODA 07x preamp | Musetec 005 DAC | other cables.

The result of all of this is that I come to my final digital destination with my Office and Livingroom 2-channel systems and also my 2 RAAL headphone systems. I am keeping the Lumin X1 and Musetec 005 for 2-channel and the GAN1 and Benchmark DAC3B for my 2 RAAL phones.

I am selling my 2nd Musetec 005 and 1 Sonore OpticalRendu.

@designsfx My fav is the Lumin transport into the Lumin DAC. The Lumin gets a fibre stream from an FMC, in my case the EtherRegen (B > A).

Some people may prefer the Musetec 005 streamed with a Sonore OpticalRendu which also gets the stream via the fibre of the EtherRegen. This is just a tad warmer and smoother than the Lumin. I know a lot of people like that extra bit of warmth.

At the moment my fav streamer is the Sonore OpticalRendu over the Lumin X1. This is splitting hairs like the comparison with Lumin X1 vs the Mustete 005.

*************************************************************************************

• ROON is a great interface for music discovery.
• You can run 2 types of DSP, the easy to setup DSP on the GUI or the very complicated Convolution Engine DSP. I paid $700 to a pro Engineer to setup Convolution filters for my small office when it had the large Theil CS3.7. I no longer have those speakers and no longer use the Convolution engine. However, when I needed it, it worked amazingly.
  • For my Livingroom I will be buying a KEF Blade 2 Meta. I have to keep the speaker about 1 foot from the front wall. Not ideal but those are the breaks. My safety net is that I can call the audio Engineer and he can remotely setup the Convolution filter for ROON. I doubt I will have to do this, but I know this will resolve any room issues I cannot solve myself.
• I tested my DACs using the same duplicate steams to each DAC. I was able to either flip back and forth on my preamp or the source inputs of my DACs to compare. This is the multi-room GROUPED features.

There are more but I have to run.

Here is another use for ROON if you are a headphone listener.

Store - Accurate Sound

Those Headphone FilterSets are Convolution filters that can be run on ROON. I used to use the RAAL SR1a Convolution filter with my Benchmark DAC3B and LA4 preamp. It was an awful combo without the filter. Strangely enough, I now use the DAC3B and fibre streaming, with my RAAL tube VM-1a headphone amp (no LA4 needed), without any convolution filters. This is the best sound I have in my house.

was able to A/B test the MSB with the Lumin X1 for a couple of weeks and found the MSB to be more analog sounding than the Lumin X1.

This what I also posted about the X1 vs the Musetec 005. Though for my ears the X1 is slightly favored over the tiny bit warmer and smoother 005.

Tonight, I setup my Playback Designs Stream-IF streamer. It cost me $2K and was sitting under my office desk for the past 3 months. The plan is to buy the DREAM DAC pretty soon and use the Plink on the streamer to the DREAM DAC.

Today I wanted to get my PeachTree GAN1 amp working with another COAX streamer instead of my Lumin X1. I opened up the Stream-IF shipping box and noticed that it also has a COAX output (along with Plink) like the Lumin X1.

I set it up and tried both a direct USB connection from my computer to the Stream-IF and also a Sonore OpticalRendu into the Stream-IF. The OpticalRendu was much better, which is not surprising.

The cost of this setup is about $3500, and it sounds as good as both my Sonore OpticalRendu and my Lumin X1 streamers. This gives me the option now of selling the Lumin X1.

All streaming is via ROON.