Great questions and feedback! I’ve been also investigating ways to make better use of my Tidal subscription and hopefully implement a Roon system.
i look forward to hearing more as I’m in a similar search....
Here's some feedback on one possible solution...Oppo Sonica...
I currently have an Oppo Sonica DAC that I’m trying. The sound is very good (I’m not an expert but have dabbled for years including some pretty decent stuff - Bryston SP1 and SP1.7, Legacy-Audio, others).
The Sonica sounds good, seems well made, is good looking and somewhat easy to setup... in my humble opinion, the Sonica app, sucks. It often (mysteriously) won’t/can’t play tracks - which if I switch over to just the Tidal app on my iPad or streaming thru my Sonos Connect play just fine... at times it will say "can’t play song, skipping to next song" or some such message and skip thru 20 songs or more at a time.... other user interface issues abound... also, they have no plans to be Roon ready, if that matters...
Good luck with your search! I too look forward to hearing the advice of the knowledgeable members here.
Dave
i look forward to hearing more as I’m in a similar search....
Here's some feedback on one possible solution...Oppo Sonica...
I currently have an Oppo Sonica DAC that I’m trying. The sound is very good (I’m not an expert but have dabbled for years including some pretty decent stuff - Bryston SP1 and SP1.7, Legacy-Audio, others).
The Sonica sounds good, seems well made, is good looking and somewhat easy to setup... in my humble opinion, the Sonica app, sucks. It often (mysteriously) won’t/can’t play tracks - which if I switch over to just the Tidal app on my iPad or streaming thru my Sonos Connect play just fine... at times it will say "can’t play song, skipping to next song" or some such message and skip thru 20 songs or more at a time.... other user interface issues abound... also, they have no plans to be Roon ready, if that matters...
Good luck with your search! I too look forward to hearing the advice of the knowledgeable members here.
Dave