Streamer matching to system

@audphile1 @barts @jerryg123 @pwoodard922 Purchasing a standalone DAC is an interesting avenue to explore. Are there specific DAC’s you recommend I begin to research? Admittedly I know very little about the standalone DAC space. A few have mentioned Denafrips Pontus 2 so I will start there.

@sunshdw do you own the Aries? If so, how’s the UI / app?

@baylinor your set up is wild. It was a bit hard to tell exactly what you did to augment the node - would you mind spelling it out here? 

I owned an Aries G2 for over a year. I loved the app… actually more than the Conductor app I use now with my Aurender streamers. But, I struggled with keeping the Aries on line. I had it reboot every night and still had trouble with it, The sound quality was pretty good… but i think equivalent Aurender sound better and with a wall wart wifi extennder is rock solid. Also, Aurlic requires authentication on line from the company or they will not work. So the first several days mine would not work while I futzed with them to get it registered.

Anywsy I own two Aurender’s now. Unless something changes, if I ever change streamers again, I will be looking at them first. It is all they do, streamers… they definitely make some of the best available.

Upgrade the node. A linear power supply, fiber, and Ethernet cables will set you back maybe $300 to 400 and you’ll get sonic improvement that you’d pay thousands for if your not careful. Good luck.