Streamer/Server to replace Innuos Zenith

I researched Music servers for a year on Audiogon and What's Best Forum before deciding on one.  I ended up purchasing a Lucas Audio LDMS out of the UK.  Lucas is a computer genius and his customer service is literally 24/7.  My DAC is a Lampizator Pacific.  The LMDS just elevated my system by a large margin.  

Let me give you an example of his service.  I sent him an email at 6;30pm Arizona time.  I got an email back saying can we What's Ap. It had to be 3 am in the UK.  He spent the next hour going through my system to make sure everything was working as it was supposed to.  I felt bad and kept telling him it could wait until his morning.  In the end, there was nothing wrong with his server; it was my router. 

The LMDS provided me more clarity, soundstage, and detail that I never knew I was missing.  If nothing else, send Lucas an email or look up his website.  You will never get this kind of service from Innuous or Taiko.  In fact, I would love to see a shootout between Taiko and LDMS.  Music servers range from $5k to whatever you want to spend.  I have 8TB of music on my server in addition to Tidal and Qobuz in a Roon ready application.

Lumin X1 (has separate box for pwr stuff) streamer/dac plus roon nucleus.   Looking for a really good tube preamp.

then i done. 

Rockna Wavedream NET.
Not that popular of a server due to lack of proper marketing and manufacturer not trying to expand production numbers, but it did beat my Aurender N10 which is now gone since a year.
I actually got their dac first Wavedream signature, then got the streamer. I was shocked of the server performance and i believe its even a better value than their dac!
As a bonus, its doubles as a great CD player (totally isolated from server section- for ripping you have to attach an external CD drive)

@jmphotography, when I really started getting heavily into streaming music when the pandemic hit almost a couple of years ago, I was looking for the simplest plug and play solution that also sounded great, where the updates were automatic, and one where I could just pick up either my iPad or iPhone and start listening to music without any fuss or delays. At that time I too was using a Qutest as my DAC, which I fed using my MacBook Pro as my ROON core via a AudioQuest Diamond USB cable. When I asked my audio gear dealer if I should get my laptop out of my listening chain he emphatically said “Yes, do it right away”. So I looked around his store where he’s got several hundred thousands of dollars of high-end gear for his customers to demo, and I asked him what did he use for a dedicated streamer/music server? He pointed to a ROON Nucleus and said, “We use these because they’re foolproof and they sound great”. I ordered one that day and I’ve been happy ever since. Here’s a link to a comparison of the ROON Nucleus and the Innous Zen Mini Mk III. https://www.stevehuffphoto.com/2020/07/04/roon-nucleus-review-as-a-streamer-vs-innuos-zen-mini-mkiii... Since then I’ve traded my Qutest for a Chord Hugo M Scaler and TT2 DAC, and I’ve added a network switch and an Ethernet filter between my router and the Nucleus which has made everything sound simply sublime. One upgrade that I did with the ROON Nucleus, as I’ve also done with both M Scaler and my TT2, was to put power it with an Sbooster LPS(linear power supply). Never underestimate the importance of having clean power feeding your system. This link to Moon Audio is great because it goes over everything you’ll need to know about the ROON Nucleus. https://www.moon-audio.com/roon-nucleus-faq/

Cary Audio makes two streamers. The DMS-700 and DMS-550. They still have some DMS-700 units that have the AKM-AK4499 which was the best chip made before the fire. You can't get them anywhere else I've seen. It is also a great unit with Roon and iOS built in.