Hi Henry
I was aware of the options you mention. I am trying the RPi option really to see if I can tell any difference between RAAT> USB > Audiolab M-DAC and Airplay> CXN > Audiolab M-DAC
I use the M-DAC as a headphone amp since the CXN showed up .
I am 68 so my hearing is hardly “Golden”, so before I start shelling out for more hardware I thought I would try the cheap option since the RPi & Roipeee get some pretty favorable results
The USB>CXN (as a DAC) route doesn’t seem a goer at the moment, I can see the M-DAC in Roon via the RPi but I cannot see the CXN as a USB DAC , just as an AirPlay speaker (there is a thread running elsewhere)
Another snag is that the devices you mention are not available in South Africa (like a lot of things !!)
Thanks again for the ideas
Mike