If the new computer will be dedicated only to being a music streamer, you might get better sound quality from a dedicated streamer that is more optimized to reduce the amount of electrical noise. The Pro-ject Stream Box Ultra S2 is only $850 & allows plugging in an external USB flash drive or solid-state drive for playback of local files. I’ve found the Pro-ject streamer clearly sounded better than both a PC laptop or an iPhone used as a source. Even a relatively cheap Dragonfly Red sounded tremendously better (and actually quite listenable) plugged into the Pro-ject Streambox versus a PC or iPhone.
The Dragonfly Red sounded much more 3-dimensional in its sound and with much more presence when used with the Pro-ject streamer versus PC or iPhone. I’m hearing the same sonic benefits via a Denafrips Ares II DAC as well.
If you had to pick a laptop or mini-PC, which one?
I've been using an old Lenovo laptop as my server/streamer and continue to have issues getting it to work correctly. So, I'm thinking of replacing it with something more updated.
Considering another laptop or a min-PC. Any opinions on good ones to look at? I don't really care about the cost because I doubt it could be more than some of the music server/streamers that are out now.
Considering another laptop or a min-PC. Any opinions on good ones to look at? I don't really care about the cost because I doubt it could be more than some of the music server/streamers that are out now.