Digital audio, simplicity and function (the app) mated with reliable simple hardware. Less is better in my mind. I've got a Netgear wireless bridge feeding the ethernet cable to my Aurender N100h, going usb into an integrated's dac. No reclocking, LPS or super duper cabling.
- If I unplug the ethernet cable, the N100h continues to play for at least 30 seconds so I'm assuming enough caching (storing) is going on that everything critical...is happening in the Aurender. So for that reason all my network stuff is pedestrian, nothing special...but reliable. Others have different opinions and results.
- The app is very important. Like many, I enjoy Aurender's conductor app. It easily let's me enjoy a large library of Qobuz playlists, songs, albums and many internet radio stations. Play-Fi is quite horrible, I've wanted to try the Blue OS (think it's called that). I've watched some videos on it and it looks pretty good. Of course there are many others including Roon, which is supposed to be the end all of apps. I just don't feel the need, so I'm not paying for it or dealing with it's complexities. I've heard it's pretty great though.
- Streamer > Dac > rest of your system > play awesome music. That's the idea right? I've always taken a balanced approach to most things so I assumed this for digital audio as well. Recently I had to test a new dac using it's fiber inputs from an AudioEngine B1 (Bluetooth) streamer. So it looked like this Streamer (B1 bluetooth, horrible compared to usb/coax/fiber) > Dac, Chord Qutest...AWESOME > my system is pretty decent > and it was the best I've ever heard my system sound...period. After this I wouldn't hesitate to invest less on the streamer, and more on the dac. I am NOT saying the streamer isn't important, and there are certainly other valid points and results.
- I think a tremendous value proposition for many would be a Node with a nice outboard dac. More universally adopted app, really nice streaming performance and VERY versatile. Even if you outgrow the Node, it's not hard to image it taking place in an office or bedroom system. Wireless for me is a huge plus. I don't have a wired connection close by and the N100h is strictly a wired device so I have to use a wireless bridge. Not a big deal...just more cables and such.
- One last thing, besides the goal of simplicity and less is best, I never assume that I HAVE to do something for it to sound right. I use baseline quality power, digital and analog cabling (Pangea and Audioquest mostly, quality but nothing special). And I'll experiment and tinker around from there, always as fun experimentation rather than I have to fix something.
I've been in IT for over 25 years so digital audio comes pretty easy to me. I've also been into high end digital audio since the beginning and it's remarkable to see the transformation that streaming has brought to us. With it we literally have an endless supply of music to discover. Enjoy!