Out of the Loop! Streamer Recommendations?

[V-Fi]

New member (long time lurker) here, this seems like a very wise/experienced group so maybe better to ask than some of the other more generalized forums I frequent.

I had been using an Antipodes DX3 for many years and was always happy with it in general. Due to a move last year I basically sold off most of my gear and was just using a NUC running Roon, with USB out to a Chord Hugo TT2 and Focal Utopia headphones as my only system. Now that I've finally got my new space all finished and am ready to rebuilt a decent (speaker based) system, I'd like to explore what is out there these days in terms of streamers.

I see Antipodes has lots of newer and generally more upscale options. I liked my DX3 enough to consider them again but I recognize there are lots more options now, so I'm absolutely not married to Antipodes in the least. I'm familiar in general with Innuos, Aurender, Auralic, and Lumin, all of which look like they have decent options.

Who else should I be investigating? There seems to be a bunch of relatively small but very high quality options out there, and I feel a little lost at this point. Budget is pretty open ended, would like to stay around $5k-8k but might go a little higher if it is really worthwhile.

I'd like to stick with Roon but I'll probably run it on a separate server or ROCK device anyway so the new device doesn't need to function as a Roon Core. Ideally I'd like to have multiple outputs since my experience says some DACs do better with AES, some with USB, some with BNC, etc. Plus sometimes I like to run a separate DAC/headphone amp in my main system so multiple outputs are helpful for that.

I'm still deciding on a new DAC. I like but don't love my Chord TT2, am looking into various models from Rockna, Holo Audio, Aqua, Denafrips, and a few others, but have yet to make a choice on that. I know synergy is important so it may not be ideal to pick a streamer yet, but at least I can gather a list to start reading about.

Thanks everyone!

 

[Multiway]

This could fit the bill, apart from lots of outputs.
I use an Ultrarendu with Gustard U18 reclocker for even better sound quality.
The U18 has more outputs..

Sonore - Signature Rendu SE Deluxe

 

[CKKeung]

New member (long time lurker) here, this seems like a very wise/experienced group so maybe better to ask than some of the other more generalized forums I frequent.

I had been using an Antipodes DX3 for many years and was always happy with it in general. Due to a move last year I basically sold off most of my gear and was just using a NUC running Roon, with USB out to a Chord Hugo TT2 and Focal Utopia headphones as my only system. Now that I've finally got my new space all finished and am ready to rebuilt a decent (speaker based) system, I'd like to explore what is out there these days in terms of streamers.

I see Antipodes has lots of newer and generally more upscale options. I liked my DX3 enough to consider them again but I recognize there are lots more options now, so I'm absolutely not married to Antipodes in the least. I'm familiar in general with Innuos, Aurender, Auralic, and Lumin, all of which look like they have decent options.

Who else should I be investigating? There seems to be a bunch of relatively small but very high quality options out there, and I feel a little lost at this point. Budget is pretty open ended, would like to stay around $5k-8k but might go a little higher if it is really worthwhile.

I'd like to stick with Roon but I'll probably run it on a separate server or ROCK device anyway so the new device doesn't need to function as a Roon Core. Ideally I'd like to have multiple outputs since my experience says some DACs do better with AES, some with USB, some with BNC, etc. Plus sometimes I like to run a separate DAC/headphone amp in my main system so multiple outputs are helpful for that.

I'm still deciding on a new DAC. I like but don't love my Chord TT2, am looking into various models from Rockna, Holo Audio, Aqua, Denafrips, and a few others, but have yet to make a choice on that. I know synergy is important so it may not be ideal to pick a streamer yet, but at least I can gather a list to start reading about.

Thanks everyone!

 

[V-Fi]

Thanks for both suggestions. I had a little Rendu endpoint for a while, did a good job for that size and price. This bigger more advanced unit looks good.

Meanwhile regarding Innuos, does anyone have experience with the Zen versus the newer Pulse models? I am a bit confused as to the differences.

 

[CKKeung]

Thanks for both suggestions. I had a little Rendu endpoint for a while, did a good job for that size and price. This bigger more advanced unit looks good.

Meanwhile regarding Innuos, does anyone have experience with the Zen versus the newer Pulse models? I am a bit confused as to the differences.

Zen/Zenith/Statement are servers with internal storage for music files, but can act as pure streamer too.

The Pulse Series is pure streamer with no internal storage.

 

[Rexp]

New member (long time lurker) here, this seems like a very wise/experienced group so maybe better to ask than some of the other more generalized forums I frequent.

I had been using an Antipodes DX3 for many years and was always happy with it in general. Due to a move last year I basically sold off most of my gear and was just using a NUC running Roon, with USB out to a Chord Hugo TT2 and Focal Utopia headphones as my only system. Now that I've finally got my new space all finished and am ready to rebuilt a decent (speaker based) system, I'd like to explore what is out there these days in terms of streamers.

I see Antipodes has lots of newer and generally more upscale options. I liked my DX3 enough to consider them again but I recognize there are lots more options now, so I'm absolutely not married to Antipodes in the least. I'm familiar in general with Innuos, Aurender, Auralic, and Lumin, all of which look like they have decent options.

Who else should I be investigating? There seems to be a bunch of relatively small but very high quality options out there, and I feel a little lost at this point. Budget is pretty open ended, would like to stay around $5k-8k but might go a little higher if it is really worthwhile.

I'd like to stick with Roon but I'll probably run it on a separate server or ROCK device anyway so the new device doesn't need to function as a Roon Core. Ideally I'd like to have multiple outputs since my experience says some DACs do better with AES, some with USB, some with BNC, etc. Plus sometimes I like to run a separate DAC/headphone amp in my main system so multiple outputs are helpful for that.

I'm still deciding on a new DAC. I like but don't love my Chord TT2, am looking into various models from Rockna, Holo Audio, Aqua, Denafrips, and a few others, but have yet to make a choice on that. I know synergy is important so it may not be ideal to pick a streamer yet, but at least I can gather a list to start reading about.

Thanks everyone!

A member here uses a Mutec USB+ reclocker, I haven't demoed it (impossible) but his videos do sound good:

Thread 'Solo guitar: Jazz, Classical or Rock' https://www.whatsbestforum.com/threads/solo-guitar-jazz-classical-or-rock.38746/

 

[DrPo]

I have moved from Antipodes EX to Pachanko Labs Constellation Reference (and eventually added a SPEC Diretta client). I have both Roon and Audirvana installed and alternate between the two

 

[CKKeung]

Stereophile wrote about the Innuos Zenith NG debuted at the Munich 2024 Show :

Innuos, Gryphon, Nagra, Kroma, and Stromtank elicit wows

Less than a week after visiting the Innuos factory in Portugal—report and video forthcoming—I had the opportunity to audition their products again in Munich. This time, the speakers were more full-range and superior in quality, and the associated electronics all top-level.

www.stereophile.com

 

[V-Fi]

Thanks for the comments/suggestions everyone. Definitely lots to read up on.

Anyone have thoughts on Baetis Audio these days? I remember them being pretty nice back in the day, somewhat competitive with Antipodes, but I'm not sure they are still as prominent.

Also any Pink Faun users? Their device looks intriguing.

 

[flkin]

Currently using the Pink Faun 2.16x streamer for many years now. Still able to get better sound out of it with changes to the system. Their Ultra might be out of your stated budget but the now discontinued 2.16x is still very decent if you can find one.

I recently confirmed my belief that the output bridge / card of the streamer is key to sound quality, perhaps more so than the streamer itself.

 

[Vinylshadow]

Playback Designs MPS-X

 

[V-Fi]

Resurrecting this thread for anybody else browsing for a streamer like I was. I often see inquiries like this on forums with plenty of good suggestions, and I usually wonder what they ended up choosing. It's not so common to have the original poster pop back in to let us know how it went.

In my case I tried a few things from Innuos (which were all quite enjoyable overall), and the small relatively affordable Matrix Element S (amazing for the money), and a few others, but ended up most happy with the Auralic Aries G2.2 which I feel is perfect for my system and taste. I'm using the G2.2 with a Lampizator Golden Gate 2 DAC, Primaluna EVO 300 hybrid integrated, and Dynaudio Confidence 20 speakers. Cabling is a mixture of brands, but slowly migrating to solely use Veritas Cables products which is a new small brand I discovered and greatly enjoy. Power conditioning is currently handled by a Bryston BIT-15 but I've got a Puritan 156 on the way to see if I like that more.

Anyway for my tastes the Auralic sounds a little better than any of the Innuos models, although I stopped at the Zenith and did not try the Statement. It just has that special something which makes the difference between a truly life-like sound versus a really great reproduction of a sound. If that makes any sense. I feel like I hear deeper into the music and pay less attention to the individual aspects, but instead just take it all in without overanalyzing. That's always been my goal rather than listening specifically for detail or transient response or whatever. The Aries G2.2 gets me there better than any of the other options I tried.

The app experience was similar to the sound. The Innuos gear was very feature-laden and had tons of functionality, to the point that I didn't even use half of it, but the Aries still has everything I need and then some. Using both, I felt like the Auralic interface just resonated with me more. It felt more intuitive and had a more gentle learning curve. Again, the Innuos was well done and this is obviously personal preference, but for me the Lightning app made more logical sense and brought more joy in use.

I also own the Eversolo DMP-A6 and DMP-A8 for other systems in the house, and I can say that I like their app even more. Unfortunately while those devices are great for what they are, they can't compete with the G2.2 in terms of transport quality. I am hoping Eversolo makes a dedicated transport device someday because that might be ideal for me. Until then, I'm very pleased with the Auralic Aries G2.2 and plan on keeping it for at least a few years.

I'm back to browsing this site more again and I've gotta say, really impressed with the level of discourse I find here compared to elsewhere. Seems like most people are having a good time and the general attitude is more on par with how I feel, versus a lot of places where everything is a controversy and everyone knows better than everyone else. Pretty refreshing, I think I'll stick around.

 

[treitz3]

I would love to offer more experience within my own audio journey than I have to offer but the truth is that I have only had 3 streamers.

The first one was a BS Node2 that was only for background listening. It really was bad sounding. Even with a cheap DAC.

The second one opened my eyes up to what streaming could do. An Auralic Vega G2. I took that as far as I could go but I could not hook up a DAC to it, so out the door it went.

Now I have a Lumin UX1 with upgraded umbilicals, PC's, digital cable, a Mutec clock, a plethora of conditioning/noise abatement devices before the system, along with a separate dedicated R2R DAC that has the same upgrades. The difference between the first and the latest streamer is like comparing black to white (audio-wise).

I am now at the level to where listening to a tricked out Esoteric P-02 transport (using the same clock and same type/style of upgrades) sounds not too far off from streaming. Sometimes better, sometimes worse. It just depends on the recording.

One can't make chicken soup out of chicken chit...

Tom

 

[flkin]

@Phantom-Audio Does the Dual streamer come with lifetime Euphony software license or does one still have to pay the annual fee?

 

[flkin]

Didn't know there was a PCIe USB card in the Summus, I thought it was using the motherboard USB output. Can you explain more about the USB card?

 

[Phantom-Audio]

I'm not entirely sure, but it uses the same hardware that Aries Cerat incorporates in their DACs. It's a dedicated USB card installed on the motherboard. I haven't opened it up to confirm, but I believe it’s JL Sound Cards.

 

[surfing_dude]

Maybe I'm biased , but I couldn't find any better solution than the Lumin L-2 server/switch + X-1 streamer.
Compared to the crazy asking prices of the competition, you get unbelievable realistic sound in a much more reasonable price.
My speakers reveals everything, nothing convinced me to replace.

 

[V-Fi]

@Phantom-Audio I've heard good things about the Euphony machines, but totally forgot about the brand during my search. Too late now but good luck with your sale, someone is getting a great deal there.

@surfing_dude Lumin makes quality gear, I have a friend who swears by them. Didn't really consider them because I had a hard time with the app when I used it. But that was a while back so maybe it is better by now. If using mainly Roon it wouldn't matter but I find myself bouncing back and forth between Roon and the native app these days. Not sure why.

 

[Kirk7]

Auralic S1 (+PSU), the Nagra streamer, Innuos Pulsar, Aqua LinQ, Grimm MU1 and Naim 333 are all good options.

 

[surfing_dude]

@Phantom-Audio I've heard good things about the Euphony machines, but totally forgot about the brand during my search. Too late now but good luck with your sale, someone is getting a great deal there.

@surfing_dude Lumin makes quality gear, I have a friend who swears by them. Didn't really consider them because I had a hard time with the app when I used it. But that was a while back so maybe it is better by now. If using mainly Roon it wouldn't matter but I find myself bouncing back and forth between Roon and the native app these days. Not sure why.

Your friend is totally right ;-)
I use Jcat's Jplay instead of the native Lumin app. it sounds better.
I never liked the sound of Roon - I play only through uPnp protocol as it's much lighter.
Jplay user experience is excellent