Suggestions for a streamer only (I have a great DAC)

@naperaudio

Just out of curiosity, why are you not going to be using a streamer all the time? You got rid of your analog rig, you are left only a CD player? Right? If so, the Aurender would bring streaming to the same level or better to your system… the same for red book CD and better for the ubiquitous high rez files on Qobuz or to a lessor extent Tidal.

I have over 2,000 CDs… haven’t played them for over a year. No reason to when I can just stream. Anyway, this is where sate of the art streaming is today.

Andy,

Truly appreciate the comments.  I looked up the Theoretica (hadn’t heard of it) really sounds interesting. Obviously, a significant investment …. was it a real game changer?
 

I have been looking for a dCS Bridge for a little while, without success. Maybe I need a little more patience 😊.

Thanks again

ghdprentice …. Good question. Perhaps  I haven’t heard a really good streamer? The Lumin T-1 that I listened to for a while just couldn’t match the sound (to my ears) of the Esoteric & clock on red book CD. I used the Lumin via Tidal (non MQA) and while it was good, I found the Esoteric better. 
 

Do you think your Roon set up enhances the sound or maybe something that my system lacks? 
 

OP , did you mention a budget ?

For my part Taiko Audio SGM Extreme would be my weapon of choice , Unfortunatly quite expencive. Pink Faun and Lumin are also very good.

@naperaudio - " I have heard of people not liking the Auralic software music management (Lightning?). Do you like it?"

I have not used it for many years, because recent versions run only on iOS, and I use Android devices. I would buy an iPad for this if I needed to, but there is no need. I use Auralic’s Web interface for managing the Aries G1 and other software for playing music.

As to people not liking Lightning DS, that is unsurprising. Name any audio product here, and you will find some people who don’t like it. I also have heard from many people who think it’s superb. But the Aries G1 hardware is not tied to Auralic’s software exclusively.

Now I am using Roon to play music. It’s easy to use and interfaces with Tidal and Qobuz simply. There is a recurring small cost and also the cost of a computer to run it on, but it runs very well with the Aries G1 (which is "Roon Ready"). If you own dCS gear, the cost of Roon isn’t likely to bother you.

Other apps I’ve used to direct music to the Aries G1 are BubbleUPnP, which runs on Android, and Lumin’s software, which I think is available on both ioS and Android. Of course, if you are willing to use an iPad for this, you can try Lightning DS, too. All of those can play from Qobuz and Tidal, as well as from local files.