pal OP
151 posts
Thanks for the suggestions. My budget was under 1000 new or used.
Hi @pal I think it’ll be up to you, figuring out whether benefit lies in spending your full budget or 10-20% of it. Here’s why -
Streamer DIY doesn’t require being tech-savvy but if you want fully plug-n-play enough to spend upwards of a grand, maybe the latter is the better route. For an off-the-shelf streamer system (basically a limited-purpose laptop in an AVR-looking chassis with, in some cases, specialized power supply of generally unsubstantiated performance benefits), your main concern should be connectivity (what does your DAC accept - asynchronous USB, TOSLINK, etc.?) and whether you like the on-screen or smartphone app. The OS/software part sometimes gets glazed over because most streamers use a company-made OS (often based on Linux?) and each has to keep theirs up, or else you eventually have a brick of an audio computer.
There is no empirical evidence that a streamer can affect sound quality in an audible way. All support for this belief is anecdotal and generally is held without practicing any proper testing controls. Some folks dislike this notion, but when recommending how a stranger should spend the USD 4-5 figure$ that many file transports now command, I think it’s in order to make clear.
Okay, stepping off that soapbox now 😅
Start with any computer you already have, while you learn more about streamer models within your budget and decide if/which ones are worth trying. Because, well, why wait if it doesn’t cost you anything to start now, hey?