Best streamer

ServerBaboon wrote: The only thing I would add is a good quality power supply, the PI is poor here, I use an Allo Digi one as they worked on the power filtering between Raspberry Pi and their Digital out board.

I am one step up or sideways from a Chromecast Audio, and have an Arylic S50 Pro working. It will do 24/192 just fine over my wifi (lucky?), but I had to work on my wifi a bit to get it where I needed it. 

I have to use Audirvana to stream at full res though. I'm using an Allo Nirvana power supply, but I want to make a couple more shorting plugs before I start doing any measurement. I am really happy with the sound quality. 

I think there's a gap in the market where a device that would act as a DAC with good support for inputs and take streaming via wifi or a physical connection. This box I'm using has no support for an optical in, and my old CD player is no great shakes on the sound quality. There's seems to be little out there that will take a bunch of digital inputs without adding a bunch of bells and whistles.

I'm trying to sort out the gain chain now so I can use my own preamp to process the signal. Oddly, abusing the balanced input by running RCA into them with a converter is working pretty darned well, and it gives me a dedicated 12AU7 on what I assume to be a differential amplifier so I can add distortion to my heart's content. lol

I’m with Ash on this (with one caveat). Red book is pretty bloody good when decoded well. And yes, the engineering, mixing and mastering is where the results will be most greatly influenced. As Graham stated in another thread, the implementation of the digital transfer from transport (CD/laptop/streamer) to DAC is also important. More important for me - my CD transport trounces my laptop on red book files.