Price Trends for Streamers?

Apples business model is scale I don’t see them bothering with the miniscule audiophile market. Subscription services are probably the same deal you can get the lower tier for the price of Netflix now which is probably their biggest market.

If you want a budget streamer just to get your feet wet, nothing compares to the Bluesound Node 2i at it's price point. Plug n play and sounds pretty good. If your goals are a little loftier, the Lumin devices offer better sound quality. 

As for subscription prices, Quobuz lowered their rate to 15.00/month but Tidal is still at 20.00/month. I think it's reasonable for what you get. I just wish Quobuz had a better user interface and more depth to their catalog. Until then, I guess I'll stay with Tidal.

Oz

Google Chromecast Audio offered basic streaming support for $35, but didn't sell enough of them to justify keeping the product around. Most people that want this level of performance are satisfied with (and would prefer) built in streaming support in receivers, TVs, smart speakers, etc. 

If you are talking about something that would be considered audiophile quality, then I think the Node 2i sets a good baseline. We might see a bit of price erosion, but it's more likely we'll see an incremental step up in performance from one generation to the next at roughly the same price point. This seems like a good sweet spot for an entry-level audiophile streaming product. 

Like we've seen with DACs, amps, speakers, etc, I'm sure there will be companies that continue to push the envelop at the high-end. We already have the Innuos Statement at $15K and there probably others that are even higher which I haven't paid any attention to. 

I have been away from Digital for seven years or so and now that I am thinking about adding a digital source into my main system the only option seems to be a stand alone streamer (physical discs bad!....here we go agian)... So if your not into paying $2500-$3500 then the primary option is the Bluesound Node 2i at $550. Not much in the middle i know. Oppo makes a Streamer/DAC for under $1000.

Matt

I get the feeling that Oppo is out of that product space...  There are those Pi family of DYI things for a few hundred and a Lumin U1 mini starts at 2k... So there is quite a range in there somewhere...

...”If you want a budget streamer just to get your feet wet, nothing compares to the Bluesound Node 2i at it's price point. Plug n play and sounds pretty good. If your goals are a little loftier, the Lumin devices offer better sound quality.”...(ozzy62)

My problem is that I want a new Lumin D2 but I don’t want to pay more than $700 for it...lol.
Seriously  though, the Node 2i does look better by the hour.  I’m an iTunes diehard though, and am concerned about ‘Net chatter that the BlueSound devices don’t play well with iTunes following some sort of firmware update.  I may concentrate on getting the best DAC I can afford for now and drag the Mac in the living room for a wired connection to it.....