Newbie considering 3 streaming DAC/Servers


I'm considering a one box streaming DAC/Server and was wondering if anybody had experience with any of:

  • AURALiC Altair G1
  • Mytek Brooklyn Bridge
  • NAIM ND5 XS2

I haven't heard any of them but based on specs each seems to have at least something of what I'm looking for. SQ is my most important criterion, and I realize that's subjective. Any feedback from anybody on any of these units, or any comparisons, would be greatly appreciated. Or any other options. The three units are around my upper price range.

hadjimano
If you don’t use Roon then you will want a unit that can handle those different files on its own, sound good without jitter, have potential power supply upgrades down the road and have a solid trouble free user application. I would look at the best Lumin you can afford.

I would also give Roon the free trial period a go. It opens the door to other brands that don’t handle MQA or DSD on its own, like the Linn DSM line for example. 
I enjoy my Mytek Brooklyn Bridge to the point where it’s essentially taken me off the Upgrade Merry Go Round. The streaming I get from Qobuz and Primephonic (via an Ethernet Cat 7) gives me the cleanest, loveliest fidelity I’ve ever gotten from a stereo. I suppose I could do better than the Mytek’s moving coil analog input but it handily outperforms my aged, admittedly entry level LP3 Moon. When I do comparos with dual layer SACD/CDs, a good three-quarters of the time the Mytek gives me at least as high a sound quality (albeit with a slightly different tinge) as does the straight-to-my-amp SACD output from my Sony 5400ES. The Mytek, btw, feeds a Primaluna Prologue One with 6550 tubes.

On the downside, the Mytek’s thumb drive slot is inconveniently located on the device’s back and, in my case, is blocked by all the wires that are connected to the back of the thing. There’s no SD card slot so I end up routing SD cards to the Mytek via my laptop. As for MQA, I’d use it if I had Tidal, but Qobuz out-wrassled Tidal for my affections. Finally, I gotta say that though the Brooklyn gives me reasonably good fidelity from Internet Radio and such websites as Fiddle Hangout via my laptop, my socks have yet to be knocked off.