All the Lumin devices are surely outstanding. But -as noted earlier - even a well implemented Rpi with a dedicated hat board can render incredible results. Just kind of puts things in perspective. I’m running an Allo Digione with Volumio, with just an iFi switching adapter. Sounds pretty amazing. Of course, the OS can be a bit glitchy! But it’s also very fun to learn how to get into the OS to optimize/tweak the raspberry Pi to operate more quietly when steaming. And those added hacks really make a difference.
There’s also a guy doing insanely good design work on DDC’s with his company Pi2 designs. He’s run out of parts for his very positively reviewed Pi2AES. But is about to roll out a new streamer that should be insanely good for the $$ Mercury Streamer
I’ve also heard a Lumin streamer before…and…wow…
But point being, if you want convenience and outstanding s/q, not entirely necessary to go too far past that $500 to $1k mark.