2. digital
  3. 162214-147917

Music streamers

My question is About music streamers in general. My current setup is a Laptop connected to my integrated job amp through usb. I was wondering if I should replace my laptop with a dedicated streamer without a Dac cuz my int already had one. So purely speaking about the difference between a dedicated streamer and a laptop. Does a streamer have a tangible improvement than a laptop? Just on the audio quality is there a tangible improvement. If yes plz suggest me some good ones below 1000usd. I’m currently eyeing the lindenmann limetree bridge. Thank you 
parvatham
x5owner1
20 posts
 
I would suggest a rpi 4 running Ropieee XL for the operating system (~$75 including power supply, passive heat sink case and 32 MB microSD card) feeding a Topping D10s DAC ($99). All available on Amazon. Google search for RoPieee for instructions on how to flash the operating system to the microSD card. Works with Roon (either WiFi or Ethernet) or iPhone music apps (Tidal, Amazon HD, etc) via AirPlay 2.  Sound quality of the Topping D10s DAC is likely better than your integrated DAC if it is more than 3 to 5 years old. And put the extra $800 in the bank. 
fuzztone's avatar
fuzztone
5,510 posts
 
x5owner1
Good answer.
valjean246o1
12 posts
 
It’s really hard to be the Bluesound Node 2i, especially at the price. 
ecpninja
88 posts
 
Try salk streamer or stack audio link II
mrklas
441 posts
 
For under $1k the Bluesound node is a great value- streaming via multiple sources, user friendly app and while it foes have a DAC you can use it only as a streamer. 
Heck you can even compare it to your integrated amps DAC and use the better one. 
More to discover