I’m a plug and play type: minimal software fiddling please-life is too short, and I’d rather listen to music on a solid, stable system rather than one I have to futz with. That said, it seems difficult to find this quality in both hw and sw, but mainly software. And, I too have found music more engaging at its original resolution or max 2x.
So after trying lower end Auralic and Lumin and Sonore, I just got a Volumio Rivo which I use with Audirvana and iTunes (El Cap server). I stream too but local is much better, any day. The signal is goosed via Uptone power and EtherRegen, so that undoubtedly is a factor. I don’t care for Volumio, it’s overrated IMO.
Auralic was a UPnP FAIL after they auto-updated their firmware and deprecated the original AirPlay, killing iTunes, and then when I tried it with Audirvana, it caused all kinds of random problems requiring hw reboot. Was told by Audirvana that Auralic does their UPnP weird but who knows?
Anyway, just my experience. I like the Rivo for its AES output and attention to internal signal and power quality. And I get to use software that the family and I prefer (although Audirvana lacks a decent remote-I’ve resorted to just using the laptop next to me).
My next step, if ever, is probably an Aurender because I prefer local files by far over streaming, so I might as well pony up for a high quality hardware and software product from the same company with a reputation for hw, sw, and importantly, SQ (sound quality)!
