Rather than using an inbuilt screen, you could go with one of the many RPi combinations as a ‘headless’ endpoint.
- RPi + external USB DAC running Ropieee (only RPi option for MQA)
- RPi + DAC Hat if you want it all in one box, running Ropieee or Ropieee XL (+ optionally a RPi screen if you want an in-built display)
- RPi with a HiFiBerry Hat running HiFiBerryOS (only works with their hats, but has more features than Ropiee)
Then hide the RPi ‘endpoint’ out of sight and use a cheap/used Amazon Fire tablet on a ‘Show Mode stand’ running the Roon Android app as the screen/controller. Which will also be more full featured and flexible in terms of placement than the inbuilt RPi screen options.
None of the DIY RPi options require much more expertise than the ability to follow some instructions / use a screwdriver and once built they should simply function like a commercial device or appliance ie. when you turn on/off the power they come straight back up as an endpoint waiting receive music.
Not wanting to get into a MQA discussion (plenty of those already) but do question if you really need/want MQA as that will substantially increase costs.
If you want an external remote / volume dial take a look at this project (RooDial) within the tinkering section here.
In short, it may make sense to split out the endpoint from the screen and volume controller and place the later two where they are most accessible to you.