Hi 
been using Roon on my desktop, streaming to my Denon unit for about a year with Zero issues. Moving to a new place, desktop too big\loud for living room, so I’m going to use a laptop to a DAC plugged into the Denon. Looking at the Cambridge Audio DacMagic 200M with an external drive hanging off the laptop. Is this combo ok? Will I have issues with the external drive being USB creating noise on the USB cable to the DAC or should I look for another storage solution. I have about 40k songs in my library. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thank you
How are you connecting to your Denon?
Would a streamer work? Like one of the cambridge Roon Ready ones? Like the AXN10 Network Player or the MXN10 Compact Network Player same price range but no balanced XLR (would have to go to the CXN100 Network Player $1100 for XLR)?
Could get rid of the laptop and hook the external drive up to the streamer. Then use whatever you want for control (phone, laptop, PC, tablet, etc)
Or you could use a nucleus one or NUC/Rock if you needed a server.
Or use the laptop or your PC for the server?
How about a little more info on your current setup? Which Denon and how are you streaming from your desktop to the Denon? Then your goals, other than quieter for your new setup. Do you have a budget? You can do this cheap or expensive. Be glad to help if I can!
Sure thing, thanks Mark for reaching out
I currently have a Denon AVR-X4000 going to a set of Polk speakers with a KEF subwoofer, streaming over wi-fi.
As for a budget I would rather not go over $1000 on a DAC, having never had one, not sure how much better music will sound.
I already have a laptop and several external hard drives, so my only expenses will be the DAC and cables unless there’s an issue with running an external hard drive.
Thanks again for the help
You have streamed straight to your Denon via Airplay corrrect? If not, how is your current setup hooked up?
The music files should be on the PC running RoonServer. If you put a drive or music on the cambridge, what would happen is that the file would stream to the RoonServer, get processed into PCM and then stream back to the DAC. Given that you are using Wifi this can cause issues.
Well not a discrete one, but, the Denon has a DAC inside (two actually), or else you would never have heard music.
Thanks for reaching out!
I currently have a Denon that works great for streaming and for home theatre so a streaming device not really on my radar. My background is IT so I have plenty of computers\laptops that I can use for a server and while I love the Nucleus Titan I can’t justify the expense when I have a high-end laptop sitting on my desk doing nothing.
It’s still not clear to us why you think you need a DAC, when your Denon already has a DAC (2!) inside it.
You could either connect your laptop straight to the Denon via HDMI (assuming your laptop has an HDMI connector, or you use a USB-HDMI dongle) or over the network using AirPlay… An HDMI connection would also give you multichannel support, which AirPlay would not.
I hope I found the Denon you are using. If I did then I discovered the following about it: “The Denon AVR-X4000 uses a TI PCM1690 DAC, which is a common choice for most of the X-series models. The AVR-X4000 also features Denon’s Dynamic Discrete Surround Circuit-HD (D.D.S.C.-HD) Digital, which uses separate A/D and D/A converters for high-quality surround sound reproduction.”
I also copied a photo of the back panel:
This thing is absolutely LOADED. Frankly if you can physically connect your Roon Core/Server to the Denon via HDMI I would try that before I would go ahead and buy a separate DAC. It’s a shame it doesn’t appear to support USB or I would suggest trying that also. You should get some pretty good sound going directly to the Denon! This thing is an absolute MONSTER of connectivity!!
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You could also just get an RPi running Ropieee with a hat like a hifiberry digi pro. I use this to get roon to my KEF LS50Ws and my Schiit Yggdrasil. Best of all its cheap but very good sound. IMO YMMV and all that.
If it runs HEOS, then look to run RHEOS in a docker on a pc and you can use Roon direct to it via HEOS.
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It runs HEOS.
Happy to help if you decide it may work for you.
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Mark, thank you so much for your response.
Yes, that’s my Denon, I didn’t know about the on-board converters.
I found a USB to Optical Audio Adapter, Unidirectional USB A to SPDIF TOSLINK, will order and try this before buying a separate DAC. Again Thank you
That should work. Good hunting!