Hi, longtime lurker, first time poster! I have the following setup in my office and am looking to combine 3 boxes and SMPS’s into one:
TP Link wifi extender > microRendu 1.3 with LPS1 > Schiit Eitr > Focal Arche headphone DAC/amp + Stellia headphones
It seems that I can’t go USB from the microRendu to the Arche, as it and Roon only work together over USB with Mac/Windows, not Linux (albums played in Roon just skip through each song without starting to play), so I’m using S/PDIF into the Arche. Because this setup is in another room from my router, I have a wifi extender that provides ethernet into the microRendu. I’m exclusively streaming from Tidal and Qobuz (no NAS needed). SQ is good but I feel it could/should be better.
This adds up to 3 boxes with 3 power supplies in front of the Arche and the microRendu is 4 or so years old now, so I suspect there’s a new generation of streamers that could help with SQ along with removing the SMPS’s. A Roon Ready streamer with wifi and S/PDIF out could replicate the current setup, and a streaming DAC would provide the most flexibility. This is a desktop setup so a smaller box is preferable to a full width component. Budget is US$2K or less, ideally less 
At the entry level there’s the Bluesound Node 2i, and above that the Cambridge Audio CXN v2. I’m aware of the Lindemann Limetree Network but it’s not readily available in the US, and it doesn’t have digital outputs. Beyond that there appears to be very few (no?) Roon Ready streamer/DACs with wifi and digital outputs under $2K– any additional suggestions to these 3 would be most welcome, or any other suggestions based on my current components.
Thanks for your help!
PRIMARE NP5. Works well, has solid WiFi and only outputs optical and coaxial spdif. One thing that puts some off is initial setup has to be done via the Google Home registration process but you can wipe this off once the Primare is visible to its app and of course Roon. Just for clarification this is not a DAC. So an additional DAC will always be needed.
Thanks @Henry_McLeod! The NP5 is definitely an option if I go the streamer-only route. What do you think of the sound quality vs the original microRendu, if you’ve heard them both? And do you use the stock power supply?
It is DAC dependent but the sound quality is really quite good using my headphone rig and DAC (Drop THX789 AAA and Airist ladder DAC). I prefer it to my MicroRendu 1.3 into the same DAC via USB. And that is using the stock supply, employing the optical connection.
Got it, thanks @Henry_McLeod. Any chance you’ve also heard the Bluesound Node 2i as a transport with the same DAC and amp? That’s certainly the most flexible/best value option, but my understanding is that the DAC is not super great.
I haven’t I’m afraid. All I know is what I have read here and elsewhere.
You might look at a Lumin D2 for a few hundred more than your budget… There are Ethernet to WiFi “adapters” that can be had for less than $100 too…
Something like this would work… https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004UBU8IE/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_ep_dp_Vyj.BbW8RPG2N
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Thanks @Digital_Dude, yes the Lumin D2 seems well regarded and fits the bill apart from not having wifi as you point out. I am already using a similar wifi extender to provide connectivity to my microRendu, so was hoping to reduce box count and SMPS’s by using a streamer with built-in wifi. But it’s an interesting question as to whether I’d be better off going with an ethernet-only streamer + wifi extender if the streamer itself was a better unit.
In my opinion you would be better off with an Ethernet connection for better performance… You may notice higher end streamers/DACs lack WiFi because of noise ingress/egress… I have a Lumin U1 mini on my LAN via Ethernet… And USB to my Chord Qutest DAC… On the other side of my LAN is WiFi access which I connect to from a PC in another room, Laptop anywhere in the house or my iPhone… I love it…
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This is my headphone rig in my office so unfortunately there’s no easy way to get ethernet in here. So wifi will be involved one way or the other, either directly to the streamer or via the wifi extender that I’m currently using. Not sure if one approach is better than the other, but if the unit had wifi then I could also try both and see.
I would try an keep WiFi as far away from the DAC as possible… Maxwell, Tesla and Faraday suggest that all things transmit and receive… All noise is additive…
Good luck in your choice…
Follow the instructions in this link below to get the Arche to work with a microRendu