Ooo! Listen to Hans, he is very knowlegable and detail oriented. (Full disclosure: I am a patron of his channel… because I find it very useful)
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Thank you for the input on this, it looks quite interesting. Not sure yet where to purchase it in the US, I looked on eBay and all the suppliers are not in North America. Got on the SOTM-USA site and it seems that they do not offer the straight SMS-200 via the resellers in the US but instead offer “modded” units at $1,200+ including a Roon license.
Which brings up another question, why are the streamers offering Roon licenses if I already have a Roon license for my software install on the computer? Does the streamer need an additional license to be seen by Roon as an endpoint or is this a redundant license which is not needed if someone already has their own license for the product? I am guessing that the manufacturer makes it easy to buy the license bundled but that’s just a guess as I say.
The Auralic mentioned above is quite nice but way over budget for the kit that I am planning to use it on, but I have read about those products at length and they certainly are highly rated and thought of.
PS: I like Han’s channel as well and have watched it before.
One Roon licence covers any number of endpoints. No further licence is required. Most endpoint devices are not exclusively Roon, so bundling an extended trial is marketing an increased capability of their new hardware to people who don’t have Roon.
I had an Auralic Aries for a year or so, it was a good bit of gear. Had a very nice balanced AES output.
I bought mine here: http://www.sotm-audio.com/sotmwp/english/shop/sms-200/
Yes, it will ship from china, but don’t let that discourage you, its a great device!
The roon member ship they offer is a sample for those who do not have roon… i got the shortest one they had(cheapest) because I was already going to get a lifetime membership.
In addition to roon, it can also be used for an itunes endpoint, as well as several other things… I just use it for roon. Its seemless, easy to setup, and will make your Yamaha shine!
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I am also looking for an endpoint to feed into a DAC. In my case the DAC is the one in a Naim ND5 XS streamer. While I’ve seen lots of praise for the Sonore microtrendu and ultratrendu devices, the Naim does not take a USB input. I could tack on the Sonore converter or introduce a Schiit Eitr but am leery about adding even more devices to the chain. The Allo DigiOne looks interesting but I am not sure how that might stack up against the ultratrendu plus converter approach. My head is spinning!
All of the Bryston Digital Players are extremely well-built and great sounding Roon endpoints that have no DAC’s.
At the risk of sounding self serving, I even have a client’s BDA-1 posted for sale here 
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The more I have looked at the AURALiC Aries Mini the more it seems to fit most of what I had wondered about (I am the OP). I really don’t need/want any kind of apps or interface, those are all built into Roon or my Yamaha two-channel unit, and the Mini comes with those but hopefully they could be bypassed.
I just would use the optical out to the Yamaha, which is better than AirPlay’s 16/44.1 but still I think eliminates up conversation to DSD (not supported via optical). So what I really have to decide is whether the existing AirPlay connection is good enough (all my listening is pop/rock/manufactured-type music) or whether I would really reap any benefit to going beyond CD specs. Good luck!
In a perfect world Yamaha would introduce a firmware update that added RAAT support but I won’t hold my breath for that!
Did you consider the DigiOne? It seems well reviewed relative to the Mini and it’s much less expensive.
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I had never heard of the DigiOne until the other day, and have it on a list of items to research further based on input from this post. Some earlier posters were quite enthusiastic about that product.
I also just found this review. https://darko.audio/2017/08/allos-digione-pulls-five-star-sound-quality-from-the-raspberry-pi/
Yes, I saw that review. That’s one of the major reasons I’m pausing before jumping on the Mini. I’d love to hear from people who have heard the Mini and the DigiOne in an A/B scenario. Given the Darko praise and the cost difference, the DigiOne looks very enticing as a simple Roon endpoint. I’m focused on using an SPDIF connection. It seems like we’re on a similar journey.
The Sonore microrendu and ultratrendu are also very well received but I can’t use a USB input which is what those produce. I’m leery of introducing a USB to spdif converter unless there’s a compelling reason.
So of coax or optical, which provides the higher resolution potential? I should know this I suppose but don’t. Neither connection is DSD capable as I understand it, but, I have very few files of that type and my receiver can pull those directly off my NAS via Ethernet and the Yamaha app or JRiver. I see the DigiOne is specifically coax as they consider it a better connection.
Most TOSLINK optical support tops out at 96 kHz, while S/PDIF coaxial doubles that to 192 kHz.
AJ
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SPDIF (so coax).
The connection is DSD-capable through something called DoP (DSD over PCM), but your receiver most likely isn’t (here’s a list of the dacs that are compatible with this).
The SBC / Raspberry Pi devices are, AFAIK, the sweet spot in terms of value for money. Maybe get a nicer power supply (or two in the case of the USBridge) if you believe those make a difference, but that’s it.
I’d contend there’s a reasonably strong case to be made that unless proven otherwise, something that would be done on the analog output and not on the digital input of whatever they’re feeding, there’s little to no gain to be had from streamers more expensive than the HifiBerry / Allo products.
Allo DigiOne makes the most sense and far cheaper than a Rendu.
https://www.allo.com/sparky/digione.html
Why do you want to convert to DSD? There will be no sound quality gain, only conversion loss.
I don’t think I said that I wanted to convert to DSD, only that the devices I mentioned would process DSD if I had any. I don’t really hear or see any benefit for me regarding DSD, it’s a nonstarter for me in regard to formats.
I must have misread.
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I bypass the DAC in my $35 Chromecast Audio using the optical output and get quite good sound quality. Others seem to have the same experience.
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@Jennifer_Kellogg which integrated amp do you have? I tried to connect the sMS-200ultra NEO to my Onkyo receiver only to find out that the receiver’s USB input was for firmware updates and playing music files directly. I am guessing any receiver with a USB B input that supports hub functions should suffice. I wanted to go from a Roon endpoint directly to the receiver to see if DACs are as indispensable as the general consensus thinks. Trust but verify.
I have a parasound halo integrated amp… it gives me 250 watts into my 4 ohm magnepan speakers