Greetings-I'm late to the party here but will offer my two sense in case it is helpful;
-If you are trying streaming for the first time IMO you can't go wrong initially experimenting with a Bluesound or Cambridge Audio product. Both have solid software platforms that have been around for over a decade and are relatively inexpensive. You can bypass the included internal DACs and use COAX out to your Denafrips.
-The stability, ease of use, and feature set of the streaming software, along with native connectivity for the music streaming subscriptions you have is a vital.
Many people use Roon and love it. I am more simple, using Tidal Connect. My wife uses Spotify Connect. My kids use Apple Music. So stable and easy integration with these music services is key for us.
Hardware devices with linear power supplies, high quality capacitors, and the ability to re-clock, minimize jitter, and stabilize the incoming digital signals will make a difference in sound quality.
Having said that, once your experimentation period is over, I'd suggest maybe looking into the Auralic Aries S1 as a next step. Aurender, Auralic, and Lumin all make non-DAC versions of their streamers.
Many folks love Lumin, however I had a Lumin U2 and changed it out because I think it's software is clunky and ugly. It sounded great, but to me the whole user experience is important, and I don't like ugly. I also thought the screen was too small and hard to read.
Another streamer I've owned is the Denon DNP-2000NE. It is solid choice in the $1500 range. Again it has a DAC, but you could bypass it. It runs HEOS which is also very stable.
Matrix, Silent Angel, and Holo all also make lower cost non-DAC streamers. They are all maybe a bit less mature and stable from a software perspective from what I have read.
If you can stretch your budget to $5K you may want to take a look at the Nagra Streamer. It has no DAC and is reported to work and sound great.
Other less prominent brands in the U.S. that have quality streamers with DACs are Atoll Electronique from France and Electrocompaniet from Norway. In particular I really liked what I heard from the Atoll ST300 Signature streamer.
I like the appearance of the Hifi Rose 130 streaming transport, but it runs on Android which causes me to be a bit cautious about it. I have not heard it.
The best streaming deal right now IMO is the Cambridge Audio MXN10 for only $399 new. It has the same fourth generation streaming engine from Cambridge as their top-of-the-line streamers and sounds really good for the money, better than the Node or Eversolo products IMO using COAX out to a stand alone DAC.
Hope this help-all the best with your search for the right streamer for you!
