Under $3K streaming dac suggestions, Roon Ready?

@aberyclark 

That looks like a nice piece!  I've owned the PH-10 and IS-1000 by Gold Note.  Both were excellent.

Update:

The Bel Canto e.One Stream arrived today, and took all of 3 minutes to setup and connect with Roon.

Using the analog out right now to test the internal DAC.  So far it's sounding excellent, and I got to remove one box!

Going to let in burn in for a while, and then do some A/B testing.

A few pictures are posted on my "Systems" page.

Chord Qutest! 

Okay..

The Bel Canto ran for about 18 hours straight, which probably isn’t enough burn in, but at least it got a good work out in. I decided to start the A/B testing.

*First test:
Bel Canto (using analog out to integrated) vs. Auralic Mini (using analog out to integrated) - Using Roon for both tests, and it’s not even close. The built-in DAC on the Bel Canto far exceeds that of the Auralic. Details, high/low freq. response were much better, and a much more "meaty" sound. Not surprised by the results, as the Auralic isn’t really designed to be a Dac/Streamer.

*Second test:
Bel Canto (Coax out to Mytek Liberty) vs. Auralic Mini (Coax out to Mytek Liberty) Audioquest Forest Coax cables (2) used for each output. Roon was used for both tests again. The Mytek has two coaxial inputs, so I was able to do the testing together, just switching one input on the Mytek. Almost identical results as above, but the differences were a bit more subtle. Freq response were about the same, but still got a more full "meaty" sound from the Bel Canto.

*Third test:
Bel Canto (analog out to integrated) vs. Auralic Mini (coax out to Mytek). The slight edge goes to the Auralic w/ Mytek. This was how I was listening before purchasing the Bel Canto. I had hopes that the Bel Canto alone would be at the least equivalent, but not the case so far. The Bel Canto may need another 50+ hours until it’s fully burned in, and then I can do the tests again.

*All tests above, the Bel Canto was using a wired connection (only option) and the Auralic Mini was using WiFi. I did not test the Auralic with a wired connection, since I only have one ethernet cable/connection in my room, and wanted to listen to both streamers simultaneously, without have to disconnect the Bel Canto.

However, I liked the sound better from both Streamers to DAC from the second test and 1/2 of the third test, than using the Bel Canto’s DAC alone. I was hoping the Bel Canto would replace the Mytek entirely, but after listening (of course only briefly) it’s going to difficult for me to not want to keep the Mytek in the chain.

To sum up, the Bel Canto is not quite the all-in-one I was hoping for, although it’s still very capable. As a streamer compared to the Auralic Mini, it’s a clear upgrade. Now I need to decide if I want to try a different DAC/Streamer, or just be content using the Bel Canto w/ Mytek, as it is a nice overall improvement.

Another option would be to look at upgrading from the Mytek, keeping the Bel Canto as a streamer, although this was not my original plan, but I know that is where the most further improvement will be had.

In order of best sq in my system (just to reiterate the above):
1. Bel Canto to Mytek: A+
2. Auralic Mini to Mytek: B+
3. Bel Canto direct to Integrated: B
4. Auralic Mini direct to Integrated: C-