Well, starting to do the serious leg work ahead of finally getting into computer audio.
I have the dac I'm going to use (will reveal which it is when I buy it, but at sub £4K and apparently beating some alternatives at 3-4x the price, I'm really happy w my choice).
Now I'm looking to streamers/servers.
Need it to be Roon-ready (Aurender out), HQP would be nice, and ideally a dead simple interface for this user who is all thumbs when it comes to computer audio.
At low end ie below £5k I'm identifying Auralic Aries, InnuOS Zen, AudioAanZee, InnuOS Zenith.
Up a bit ie £7-10k, we have Computer Audio Design CAT, Pink Faun 2.16, Antipodes DX.
At top end, £15k+, SGM.
Can I get a discussion going on these?
My CV - a resolute analog man who is finding my efforts to maximise things in my room esp w attention to power and noise suppression has supercharged my digital, so much so that the £10-20k that would normally have gone on my analog is now going on my digital.
But but BUT...I'm a resolute RBCD man, w my Eera Tentation cdp hitting the heights, and so just as I get my ongoing digital to a place I'd never dare hope for, I'm reluctantly considering getting a streamer/dac (cannot use the Eera as dac, no "Digital IN" jack).
My genres of prog rock and fusion still v well served by traditional cd, eg a new King Crimson period box set of 24 CDs in lavish packaging soon to be released, and I really have zero idea how much new music I'll find via Tidal/Roon.
But I feel compelled to go this route, the curiosity is pushing me, yet the anxiety of inevitable interaction with a Tablet is filling me with dread LOL.
And so with a potential giant killer dac in tow, and my inexperienced (to say the least) attitude to streaming, will I be happy to stick cheaper Aries or Zen, or will Antipodes, Pink Faun or CAD at mid expense level really tickle my fancy, or will I feel the compulsion to go deep into SGM price territory if streaming becomes something I get adept at and find lots of music I'd never guess, with me right now only used to handling cds?
I guess I'm asking if the category of Pink Faun, Antipodes, CAD, totally beats Aries, Zen, and is up there close to SGM?
Because the reviews on these 3 mid expense streamers is full of superlatives, listing no real weaknesses or shortcomings.
Because I can handle the £10-12k that this mid level streamer market would cost me with dac, it's what my current analog front end, and cdp, have cost me each.
I have the dac I'm going to use (will reveal which it is when I buy it, but at sub £4K and apparently beating some alternatives at 3-4x the price, I'm really happy w my choice).
Now I'm looking to streamers/servers.
Need it to be Roon-ready (Aurender out), HQP would be nice, and ideally a dead simple interface for this user who is all thumbs when it comes to computer audio.
At low end ie below £5k I'm identifying Auralic Aries, InnuOS Zen, AudioAanZee, InnuOS Zenith.
Up a bit ie £7-10k, we have Computer Audio Design CAT, Pink Faun 2.16, Antipodes DX.
At top end, £15k+, SGM.
Can I get a discussion going on these?
My CV - a resolute analog man who is finding my efforts to maximise things in my room esp w attention to power and noise suppression has supercharged my digital, so much so that the £10-20k that would normally have gone on my analog is now going on my digital.
But but BUT...I'm a resolute RBCD man, w my Eera Tentation cdp hitting the heights, and so just as I get my ongoing digital to a place I'd never dare hope for, I'm reluctantly considering getting a streamer/dac (cannot use the Eera as dac, no "Digital IN" jack).
My genres of prog rock and fusion still v well served by traditional cd, eg a new King Crimson period box set of 24 CDs in lavish packaging soon to be released, and I really have zero idea how much new music I'll find via Tidal/Roon.
But I feel compelled to go this route, the curiosity is pushing me, yet the anxiety of inevitable interaction with a Tablet is filling me with dread LOL.
And so with a potential giant killer dac in tow, and my inexperienced (to say the least) attitude to streaming, will I be happy to stick cheaper Aries or Zen, or will Antipodes, Pink Faun or CAD at mid expense level really tickle my fancy, or will I feel the compulsion to go deep into SGM price territory if streaming becomes something I get adept at and find lots of music I'd never guess, with me right now only used to handling cds?
I guess I'm asking if the category of Pink Faun, Antipodes, CAD, totally beats Aries, Zen, and is up there close to SGM?
Because the reviews on these 3 mid expense streamers is full of superlatives, listing no real weaknesses or shortcomings.
Because I can handle the £10-12k that this mid level streamer market would cost me with dac, it's what my current analog front end, and cdp, have cost me each.