- There are differences between all price points for streamers. More expensive streamers sound better. There is the axiom of limiting returns. The benefit/cost ratio decreases as price increases. Brand and price point are personal choices because perceived improvements in SQ and benefit/cost ratio are subjective.
- Everything in a system matters, including room and attention to set-up detail as well as components. My perception of a hierarchy of importance, from most important to least important is speakers, front end (DAC/Streamer or turntable/arm/cartridge/phono stage), amplification (amp/preamp), electrical conditioning, cabling, room treatment, vibration control. Others have different preferences.
My recommendation is a used Aurender N10 which are selling approximately at you $3000 cap. Wonderful sounding streamer. Audition and make your own judgement. You may find something you like more.
Sound quality differences in streamers
Can there be sonic differences between moderate and high priced streamers when used for streaming only. I will not use or engage an onboard DAC or any other feature, just stream from Tidal or Amazon to DAC. If the unit is just transferring zeros and ones to a DAC can there be differences in say a $300 WiiM and a $3000 dSC streamer? Thanks