Good streamer that does not need wi-fi or internet to play local files

I can use bluetooth to stream music to my Auralic Aries G1 when the internet is out, I stream from Qobuz as my local files are on a NAS. Not exactly what you’re looking for but it is useful to me in a wifi outage.

I know that with apple, for example with AirPods, the Bluetooth connection is of slower bandwidth than corded headphones, or possible with WiFi. I recognize that the latest Bluetooth standards are capable of transmitting high resolution audio.  Is your desire for the eliminatation of WiFi more important than your interest in high quality sound and what is your budget? You haven’t posted your virtual system, so we haven’t any idea what your budget might be.

Let me reiterate I am NOT planning to use BT to play the local files but to "control" the music playing. The music playing is thru the USB connection which support hi-rez files to which I was referring.

I have two humble systems including Wharfedale Linton / Burchard S400 II, Parasound A23 / NC 2125 v2, Ifi Zen Stream, Topping E70 Velvet / Smsl Do200. My budget for the streamer is up to $1k or slightly over.

Although not what I am looking for but it is good to know Auralic Aries G1 could stream music using BT when the internet is out.  Thanks, @jond.  It will be a viable option if the G1 is equipped with latest BT standard as mentioned by @vonhelmholtz 

Does your iFi Zen stream allow Bluetooth control and plays from usb drives? If so, add a great power supply and upgraded cables and call it a day. I use to use such a setup and played locally stored music on usb drives and a NAS, but I used a Roon gen. 10 NUC core. Still need to sell, so thanks for reminding me.

Nope, ifi zs does not support BT and that is why I am asking the question. And I can tell you why I am asking the question BECAUSE the ZS’s wi-fi suddenly quits on me. The plug-in internet is still working but wi-fi connection is DEAD. In 8 months! What a reliable product from British company?

Now, with Intel NUC 10, are you talking about a dedicated mini PC for music listening with i7 core, 2 usb connections (USB 2/3), type C port, ethernet port, HDMI and BT connection? How many GB of ram? OTHER THAN ROON, what software can I use to control software for music playing thru BT on cell phone? How is the SQ? I just switched from PC/Mac to streamer 8 months ago and it will be hard pressed for me to go back (although being a dedicated PC) if SQ is not good.

The NUC runs Roon Rock, which interfaces via Ethernet to the streamer and is controlled by the Roon software running on a computer, phone, or notebook.  

any if the sequential model Bryston BDP series digital players.
You can play the digital files just with the proprietary BRYSTON remote sold separately.

Thanks and I figure that is similar to the USB port housed in some CD players that can be hooked with memory stick or storage for playing digital files sequentially. To that end, I think FiiO R7 provides a better music streaming / playback experience thru its own FiiO Music app in the "Pure Music" mode, which does not rely on active wi-fi, internet or bluetooth. The optional remote can be purchase to remotely control the music playing showing on the screen. The price point is attractive too as $700. Nevertheless, the sound quality is not as good as Node Bluesound UNLESS you use the balanced output, according to Darko. Well, for the time being, let me stick to the defective Ifi ZS for a little while longer and wait for the next revolutional gear to come up.

My Aurender streamer will stream my stored files with out internet, it uses an apple tablet to control it via bluetooth/wifi. 

I'd imagine most streamers that can interface with a hard drive/NAS can also do the same. most phones connect through wifi/Bluetooth regardless if there is internet connection or not. I'm sure there is exceptions but i cannot see why you would need internet to interface with a NAS other then for things like roon or other software that adds meta data etc from the net. 

I was confused. Wi-fi is a type of "internet" or "LAN (Local Area Network" too that is shared between mobile devices via hotspots and radio wave transmission. The difference in terms of communication standard is that Ethernet is IEEE 802.3 based and Wi-fi is IEEE 802.11 based. When there is power outage and ethernet is down, as long as your cell phone or other mobile device has active "hotspot", the LAN can still be kept functional and, consequently, the streamer will still be able to stream music via wireless LAN. Most of the music playing app is developed / coded upon ethernet / wi-fi.

Bluetooth (BT) is totally a different animal although it is also a wireless technolog. Wi-fi enables connection between the mobile devices and the internet / LAN, while BT connects and transfers data between two devices in shorter range via electromagnetic wave. Very few if any streamers actually develop app on BT.

Also, based on my limited knowledge, Aurender does not have a Wi-fi or BT components built in (see below) but you could add an optional wi-fi adapter to enables WLAN.  The Conductor app works on LAN in either hard-wired or wireless form but definitely not on BT.  You might be confused wifi with BT for the aforementioned reason.

OP,

It is simple and cheap to connect an Aurender in a house with WiFi. You just buy a wall wart wifi extender… $69. Plug it in near your streamer and run an Ethernet cable between the extender and streamer. I have a $150K system running this way (with an Aurender streamer) and a $15K headphone system (with a different Aurender streamer) and they sound fantastic. I know of lots of world class systems that work this way. Great streamers like Aurender work great this way.

Power over ethernet or ethernet over power?  Confused again but who cares as long as it works.  Thank you @ghdprentice.  I like awesome tech like this...

Avoid Ethernet over power… this communicated via the power lines. This is a dirty way. You want to use a wifi extender… though the air… for instance:

https://www.pcmag.com/lists/best-wifi-range-extenders?cq_src=google_ads&cq_cmp=10946242207&cq_con=138593969035&cq_term=wifi%20extenders&cq_med=&cq_plac=&cq_net=g&cq_pos=&cq_plt=gp&gclid=CjwKCAjwloynBhBbEiwAGY25dEGKd_r8dlqYBpTEEJyRcQ6-s2elI03iS9i7HtJKjSZ19T611CxiRRoCPh8QAvD_BwE

Got it.  Almost make a mistake.  What brand do you use?

I use Netgear because my router/modem is netgear. They say it doesn’t matter… but after being in IT for over thirty years, I still like buying from the same company… the same support team if something goes wrong.

My streamer can go to the router via fiber, but can also use fiber to the NAS or any of my hard/flash drives.  It is pretty cool because I have a network built into my streamer so I can just plug into the network and control my streamer from anywhere in my house.