For those that have separate Streamers & DACS

other terrific (and i do mean terrific) low cost streamer option is the ifi zen stream, with an add on linear power supply, ideally at 12v dc, total cost about $600

@hilde45 

i always assumed the pd creative ps upgrade for 2i node improved the analog out much more than the rca spdif digital out, as ps improvement tends to make the analog sound purer whereas digital bitstream benefits most from superior clocking (not affected by the p-s mod) and digital noise suppression (only somewhat affected) ... did you feel the rca digital out sounded noticeably better with the added mods to your 2i?

Lindemann Limetree Bridge with Denafrips Ares 2. Good combination for the prices paid, both discounted made it even better.  Preferred over Sonore mR that it replaced and Lumin Mini which I tried.

I like Lumin U1mini and SBooster with Schitt Yggdrasil.

I think SQ/price is hard to beat.

I have owned Aurender (very good), nucleus + (very good) and innuos.  With the new Innuos Sense app, the Innuos is exceptional for the money…. One small caveat:

Innuos sounds its best with either FLAC or WAV files.  There is a small but significant reduction in quality with any of the Apple format files (AIFF, ALAC).  I have discussed this with Innuos as well as other Innuos owners and understand that the Apple formats require a bit more processing.  The Innuos software is clearly optimized for the others.  Mind you, this is “nitpicking” but to any of my audiophile friends, I recommend the most expensive Innuos server you can afford.  Even the zenMini (must be with external power supply) is very good for the money, but every increase yields a meaningful improvement.  Integration with QoBuz is exceptional.  I haven’t tried Tidal.  Roon works well but at an acoustic and pocketbook cost.  Good luck all!

I was running a NUC+LPS directly into my DAC via ethernet.

I then bought a second hand Antipodes EX for £2,000 (£4,500 new) which acts as a renderer (but can also be roon core and streamer) between the NUC and the DAC. It has 2 ethernet ports so it isolates the DAC from the network switch.

I thought i had taken most of the noise out of the system (Bonn 8 network switch+LPS and a PSM 156 Power conditioner) upgraded fuses and power cables.

The step up in SQ with the EX in the mix, was far more significant than i was expecting.

I recently demoed an EVO 432 server but was not able to hear much difference and certainly, at £5k it was not tempting. The £2k cost of the EX was a bargain and i would have paid well over £5k for this level of improvement.

Good luck.