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Fairly new to streaming. Where to start?

$2k & under budget

Aralic Vega has streamer  and DAC. May be the easiest start?
Then there is Schiit...Yiggy or Gumby...which streamer?
Ladder NOS dac? Or Chip? I'm old. maybe I'll like the old school DAC?
Then there is  Benchmark DAC 3...I think it has streamer?
Then
Exasound E32
Audio Mirror?
Metrum
MHDT Orchid
Border Patrol?
Musical Paradise?
Whats a newbie to do? I am a classic rock fan with lots of FLAC & M4a files. I like detail & PRaT. Love a good bass line. I also play some 70's jazz. I have a Theta Miles CD player from the 1900's & play a lot of vinyl too. But I need to come into the 21st century.  Besides, I will probably become tired of the vinyl ritual and work at some point as I get older. I think I have done enough homework to be somewhat confused. Maybe the biggest question in light of how fast digital changes is the question of streamer with DAC or separate Streamer and DAC. One other question is the streamer & bridge the same thing? OK Thanks!! 
128x128artemus_5
hilde45's avatar
hilde45
4,974 posts
 
I was investigating this question recently and the people on this forum were very helpful. I decided to go with the blue sound node2i because I think this is the technology that is going to change quickly and I wanted to reserve a big amount of money for the dac, which makes a bigger difference, and is a more evolved kind of component, compared to streamers. I will also use the DAC with my CD transport. I like the idea of keeping these two things separate because one of them is going to become outdated much faster than the other.
If you do a bunch of research, you will see that the blue sound gets excellent reviews just about everywhere, even though it is entry-level. I do not plan on relying on the Dac inside that unit for very long. I picked it up, open box, from Crutchfield for $440. Quite a great deal and an excellent interface that I find it easy to use. I think it is a easy solution and now you could focus on the DAC.
tom8999
153 posts
 
Artemis- I went digital 5 years ago - bought a LUMIN D 1 and never looked back. Please go hard wired only to a LUMIN from your router - the quality will amaze you - I stream Tidal Hi Fi with MQA. Cost $25 per month . Sound is amazing - I retired my turntable. Music selection is amazing - discovering new music all the time. Just upgraded to the LUMIN T2 - a definite step up in quality. The difference from the D1 /D2 to the T2 is the DAC ( wolfson vs Sabre)  and the T2 has better Streamer / DAC interface. The software interface with LUMIN is very easy to use. Save the headaches and go with a Streamer and DAC integrated in one  unit.

just my 2 cents

Happy Listening!
sobieski28
2 posts
 
I built a Raspberry Pie as streamer, using volumio software, stream Tidal into a Shiit Modi 3. Sounds great. 
fuzztone's avatar
fuzztone
5,628 posts
 
I recommend a Mano
https://www.magnahifi.com/en/webshop/mh-he-pi2s
~$750 delivered.
They finally got long awaited cases from China on Thursday and have some units available.
This gives you a SPDIF AND a i2s output.
Some other brands require MacOS for control. Be aware.
Then you have plenty room for a DAC choice. You should get one that sounds great to you, not only to some one else.
Start here and then listen: 
https://darko.audio/the-darko-dac-index/
Audition with your system for synergy.
A $70 S.M.S.L. DAC sounds better in my system than the internal BluNode DAC.
But of course both streamers bloom through my FPGA.
Then get a 1T portable SSD ($110) for local files to plug into it. This is quicker loading than my Synology server which requires foldersort for each file update.
I recommend Qobuz for $12 to $15/no depending on sales.
chilli42
111 posts
 
I have been happy with the Mytek Brooklyn Bridge.  DAC (good quality), streamer, phono preamp (MC and MM), headphone output).  Worth a look. 
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