may I ask opinions on streamers?
I currently use a Chromecast hockey puck…how can I hear better quality streaming, inexpensively? I am open to new or used gear…it seems that streamers are simply crazy expensive 
if you don’t mind a bit of typing and fiddling, a raspberry pi with a hifi berry digi plus pro makes a very nice solution for around a hundred quid all in 
added text so the forum lets me post the same answer on this post as i did in the thread this was just moved from
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I am so very tempted to try my hand at a raspberry pi streamer (to test against my Mac Mini running Roon and HQPlayer).
But I do have a few Chromecast Audio units and they’re pretty danged good. (Especially if you go optical to a separate DAC. They can accommodate 96khz hi-res audio with an optical cable.)
It’s going to have a LOT to do with the rest of your system, and how revealing it is. (Or how good your ears are.)
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BlueSound Node comes to mind. $550. Had one. Great value for money. Great connectivity to many streaming services. Very solid and polished software and app.
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+1 for Bluesound, the DAC inside is musical.
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I use an Auralic ARIES G2 with my DS senior, but a G1 is nearly just as good sonically and functionally the same
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IMHO
The trick is to separate the buffering/storing/processing part (called server or core) from the playing part (called endpoint or streamer). You want those seperate for obvious reasons. The server is noisy and hot, belongs in the closet down the hall. The player is small and silent and is close to the DAC or when it has a build in DAC it is close to the (pre) amp. I played with and studied several Linux platforms quite extensively and found out that when configured correctly there’s not much to gain with bigger and more expensive systems. Things like core assignment and process elimination to make the whole system lean and mean. So suggestions favoring platforms like RPi are almost as good as the bigger stuff. What’s the difference…? Let’s begin with what’s the same… The OS and the player software: That is the same on all platforms: PERIOD. The differences are power supplies, clock oscilators, PCB design, quality of USB filtering, I2S or SPDIF implementations. Conclusion: It’s going to be pretty difficult to tell the difference between a RPi with a very good power supply and for instance a Lumin U1.
Again, this all is IMHO…!
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inexpensively
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Bryston BDP-3 user here. Want a high SQ streamer? You don’t have to pay what I paid for the BDP-3. But by the time you add all the extra accessories you’ll find yourself needing to make cheaper gear sound the way you want you’ll be wishing you spent the money up front one time for a first rate streamer.
Just my two cents.
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I use an Apple TV 4K with Tidal App into a HK AVR 3700 with s33 hooked into the pre outs. It sounds great in 2 channel mode and also great for movies YouTube TV etc. I don’t know if this counts as a streamer as such but it works for me for now.
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B stock microrendu…$429. I have two of them.
I’ve been eyeing one of those. I have two BDP-1s (one I bought in 2011, the other a dealer demo just a couple of years ago). The BDP-1 struggles a bit with high res stuff in MPD. The BDP-3 has a lot more memory at its disposal. I may end up buying a used one, since the warranty is transferable.
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Good point, can’t streaming be done with an airport express (analogue and optical digital out), and just stream from an iPhone?
Mind you I guess that’s equivalent to using a Chromecast with an Android phone so maybe not a step up, I expect they both sound pretty good
I am an Apple ecosystem person. Theoretically I can stream from my phone via Apple airplay. But I like having Apple TV so I can navigate Tidal on the TV. I say Paul explain once on YouTube that Apple YV using HDMI is okay because it is just a pass through. I imagine the chrome cast is the same. Somehow I feel that the AVR DAC is letting the side down. But I can’t figure out a way around that except going up to the Strata with home Theater by pass. Too pricey just now though.
Gotta watch the phones. To my knowledge iPhone doesn’t allow bit perfect and will convert everything. This is the reason Audirvana will never go to iPhone, SQ limitations.
Android may be better, I know external DACs can have exclusive mode but not sure if bit perfect path exists.
I have Yamaha wxc50 $350
(I pick wxc50 also due to I have Yamaha receiver on my living room for background music, and I can link them together )
Maybe I should simply buy a new Strata and I will get a pre-amp, amp. and streamer for $2100 with a trade of my Decco…what do you guys think of that idea? 
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Yes, with USB audio player Pro app.
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@stevensegal
What am I doing with iOS 