Ask me how good a $64,000 preamp is. I’ll say “WoW! It’s wonderful!” and “I would do it again in a heartbeat!”.
Does this count as a final answer anyone should trust? Of course not.
In this hobby, everyone starts out trying to outsmart those dumb fools with too much money who just buy expensive gear and believe they are smart. I started out that way myself. When I became one of those dumb guys with too much money I stayed with the “try to outsmart the dumb guys with money” plan. It took about five years but eventually I owned a lot of really expensive, fantastic sounding gear.
My only point is, maybe don’t disparage gear you really cannot afford. Focus instead on what you are trying to accomplish and read or watch reviews of gear you might be able to afford.
For me, if I was on a tight budget, streaming gear in the sub $5000 price range is a very tough nut to crack. There are just so many choices. Too many choices to decide what is best. As we have seen in this thread there is always another new piece of gear someone will ask “has anyone tried this” or “has anyone compared this to that?”. A lot of these questions are never answered as this is a kind, but small group of people who seem to follow similar paths.
What it comes down to is, you do your research, look at reviews and comparisons you can find for the gear you are interested in, and then give what you perceive as the best choice a chance. Hopefully your purchase will include a money back guarantee. PS Audio offers this. I am not sure Gryphon does. *example
My experience with affordable streaming gear puts Eversolo high on the affordable and high bang for the buck list. No Roon Requirement!
You can always opt for Grimm gear. Later on maybe. But after you have spent over your budget on cables. LOL.
In the sub $1500 category for streamers finding the one true best product is most likely impossible. Right up there with finding the best USB cable under twenty dollars.
I can tell you it is much easier to pick the best server/streamer under $20k. That’s a piece of cake. Grimm.
Who here bought a Grimm MU1 or MU2 and wasn’t pleased with it?
(But they are pretty damned expensive so never mind)