Not sure if this marriage is “perfect”, but it is my best relationship I’ve had with digital to date. Most of my digital listening now is to files ripped as AIFF and stored on an SSD drive. I am not really streaming yet with my digital front end except for some low res material through my phone so I can learn about new music. I share here only because this is a fairly high value “hack” to get better performance for less money.
My current set up consists of a Scandisk SSD extreme portable drive, selected over other USB bus powered drives because it sounded the best to me, connected to a bluesound Node N130 by a AudioQuest Carbon USB cable. I replaced the Node internal switching power supply with a Teddy Pardo Dual 5V/2A supply and that alone made a huge difference in the sound quality functioning as a server, and removes one of the major weaknesses of the design. The Node is connected to a Chord Qutest DAC (also powered by the Pardo supply) with a Chord Company Signature Super ARAY coax cable. I did a blind shootout with a number of different cables at different price points, and this was one of the best sounding to me, and I was able to pick one up used for about 1/3 the current list price. Toslink cables can sound pretty close for much cheaper, but be careful because some will not play 24/192 files. For analog output from the Qutest I use Nanotec Systems #207 Music Strada IC with Furutech rhodium plugs. I run the Qutest at 3V output and use the “incisive” (white light) filter.
I can tap my toes and enjoy this setup all day without listening fatigue, and even some old redbook recordings that used to grate on my ears sound well sorted now. This is my second Chord DAC, and I really do like the house sound. I have not heard a TT2 or Dave or the M-scaler, or frankly most of the DACs listed in the thread, but this front end is a good compliment to the rest of my gear and room for now.
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