Zen mini mark III with lps or zen mark III

My rule of thumb is to never spend less than 2x or more on an upgrade or you are likely to just make a horizontal move. I don’t think I have ever been disappointed following this rule. However, I do a lot of research to make sure the sonic characteristics are consistent with my values… level of detail, sonic balance…. Etc.
 

Given the modest cost of Bluesound, I would recommend a new or used Aurender… the most basic is at least a level or two of performance above Bluesound.

I own both the Zen Mini 3 with LPS and the Zen Mk3.

I think either will be a considerable improvement over the Bluesound.

Aurrender is also a good choice, but you are limited to Qobuz and Tidal.

I like the Innuos due to it integrating with Roon, which I find to be worth the money.

Take a look at the Aurilac Aries G1. One of my audio friends believes it to be a great deal for the money.

Bob

I have the Zen Mk3 and the Denafrips Pontus II DAC, I think the Zen Mk3 is definitely worth the $$. By the time you buy the Mini, and the LPS upgrade, you have almost spent enough to go to the Zen. Only reason to do the Mini IMO would be if you were not running a separate stand alone DAC.  

Thanks all. Starting to realize the 2x rule makes a lot of sense. Seems painful at first but no worse than realizing many small upgrades is no bargain. I’ll check out your recommendations. Going to see John Rutan on Saturday to pick up something else so I’ll plan a couple of extra hours with him. 

I faced this question a while back and chose the Innuos Zen Mk3. I've been very happy with the choice. The sound is clear and natural, and the Innuos Sense software is easy to use and optimizes sound quality. As carzmaguy88 pointed out, the Zen costs only a little more than the Mini after adding the external power supply. 

Ahh, you are working with Johnny. He knows his stuff and will be a better guide than most of us.

I believe he is selling Aurilac, so you'd be able to demo it, too.

Tell him I said, Hi.

Bob

Johnny also sells Innuos and Aurender so you may be able to compare all three. He always has great advice and he’ll probably let you audition at home. 

Started this adventure with John 25ish years ago and the gear he set me up with still sounds great. Made some changes but the core VPI Quicksilver Vandersteen still works wonders.  Now digital

It's fantastic that you're going to be able to demo and compare three good brands like that. One thing to pay attention too is the interface which you will interact with constantly, if you're not using Roon,  each brand has a proprietary app. I use Auralic and find their LDS app to be excellent and a big selling point for me.

I had Audirvāna when I was using a MacBook and liked that. The Blueos is very user friendly and I like the fact that all streaming service are available from that app.  The user friendly factor is definitely a big part of the decision 

Started this adventure with John 25ish years ago and the gear he set me up with still sounds great.

So funny to me.  I started with John 31 years ago.  Vandersteen/Adcom stuff.  Or was is NAD?  Right before I had kids, one is now 27 and the other is 30 years old.  I've been happily divorced for 11 years and my kids are already successful adults.  I haven't bought anything from him in probably 25 years but I still have good memories.      

I bought a 432 evo basic model from Dave and when I do upgrade I could spend less than 2times the amount for the next level of evo. You could do that 3 times to arrive at the sota evo, something to think about. You won't have to take a loss trying to sell one of the other brands when you do need to upgrade:)

How do you like the 432 Evo sound?  Did you have a chance to compare it to innous or Auralic?