Looking for High Quality Streamer Only Options (NO DAC)?


I'm looking to find a dedicated streamer, ideally <$2k. Here are the objectives: 

1. Must be Roon Ready

2. No internal DAC

3. USB, Optical or Digital Coax input

4. Great quality to feed an outboard DAC. 

The idea here is to hopefully avoid paying for an internal DAC and just by a stable streamer, giving the manufacturer the ability to dump all the parts and labor costs into the streaming side only. In other words, why pay for an internal DAC I won't use.  

 

jbhiller

Showing 3 responses by v-fi

You mention it needing to be Roon Ready, but to clarify - do you already have a device running as a Roon Core?

Not sure how down the rabbit hole you have gone with Roon but if you are new to them, they need a "Core" which is usually a more powerful PC but can be a general purpose device like a laptop, NUC, desktop PC, etc. 

Then you need an "endpoint" which is a more audiophile oriented device that streams music from the Core and plays it back like a dedicated transport should, spitting out a digital signal over USB or AES or coax or whatever. 

Some devices do all in one approach to this. Like an Innuos Zen or similar will handle all the functions in one unit. But other times it is better (and maybe even cheaper) to have a separate Core on the network and a dedicated endpoint for audio playback, in your music setup. You can stash the Core in another room, it doesn't matter.

That said, I like the Matrix Audio Element S for $1500. Great little transport with lots of options and killer sound quality. It's an endpoint only though, but satisfies all your requirements.

@jbhiller Looks like a nice server and a great value, glad you enjoy it. What DAC are you pairing it with, or planning on using if you haven't found it yet?