The Innuous Zenith Mk3, fits your bill, is in your price range, sounds as good as a system will permit and is very easy to use. Of course, you can get an Innuous Statement, but that one is about $15k. I use the Zen Mini Mk3, its baby brother, which renders my music in as full, detailed and engaging a manner in my system as I remember some live performances to have been. This of course is subjective, and did require some research and work to find the right components.
Does This 'Black Box' Exist, If So, What Is It?
Basically, I’m looking for a component that will simplify the way I interface ripping/file-serving/file-storage/file-playback with the hardware that I have (standalone Moon 380D Dac, soon to be upgraded).
The easiest way to visualize my existing and proposed setup is to look at the sketch I threw together here:
https://audioresurgence.com/super-hub-for-a-digital-music-playback-system
Requirements of the new Black Box, or 'Super Hub' -
1 - Capable of acting as a network hub, with wireless and wired connectivity
2 - Has a built-in CD ripper that automatically rips an inserted CD and sends the file to where it needs to live.
3 - Can accept multiple USB storage devices and create backups of all music files automatically (clone the main storage drive)
4 - Can be accessed via a nice UI, something better than the Aurender Commander app, or equally as good.
5 - Maybe allows me to add Spotify to the mix but not essential. I’ve NO interest in streaming being the primary function or getting into Tidal or any of that stuff.
6 - Outputs for USB, SPDIF AES/EBU
7 - SOUND QUALITY MUST BE TOP DRAWER - BETTER THAN THE AURENDER N100H
Potential Compromises
1 - I would sacrifice Spotify access if need be (No streaming capability)
2 - If I must use my Apple Airport Extreme Base Station for a wired/wireless network then so be it. But it will NOT have access to the Internet via this network.
Budget - $2k - $4k used?
Thoughts anyone?
Cheers!
Rooze
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Hey rooze,I’ve been looking at some of the servers/streamers out there for my next upgrade when I win the lottery and have run across the Baetis Audio line. This one might fit the bill. https://www.baetisaudio.com/product/baetis-audio-prodigy-x3/ Good times at NEWAS! Bossman |
Sure, It is called a computer. I use an Apple Mini i7 with 16 GB memory with a 6 TB hard drive. You can ditch the Aurender entirely. The Apple communicates with the rest of the house by network. You could use network storage but it is totally unnecessary. Just connect the hard drive directly to the computer. |