Best way to feed a Gungnir Multibit Gen V, for $450 or less

[p-cubed]

I would like to upgrade the streamer feeding my Schiit  Gungnir MB Gen V.

The current streamer is a RPi 3 running Ropieee, powered by a Jameco LPS, feeding the USB input on the DAC.

It sounds quite decent, but I think the DAC is capable of more if fed a better signal. 

I'm looking for the best sonic upgrade at $450 or less, including power supply.

 

 

Options under consideration are:

• Allo Digione Signature feeding the BNC input
• Allo USBridge Signature feeding the USB input
• PI2AES feeding the BNC input
• Sonore Microrendu feeding the USB input
• Other?

 

I would anticipate powering with an Allo Nirvana, but am open to all suggestions.

Thanks!

[p-cubed]

The server is Roon, running over a very stock but solid Ethernet network to the RPi 3.

 

Is the custom NAA image you are referring to a Roon endpoint, or are you using some other

server software?

 

[p-cubed]

Thanks for these thoughts. To clarify, I'm looking for a Roon compatible solution as I'm happy with Roon as a server. I will test drive HQPlayer and NAA on the Pi3!

 

Appreciate any additional thoughts on hardware.... How does Bluesound node compare with the Allo devices, Microrendu, and Pi2AES?

[p-cubed]

 

Thanks everyone for this excellent discussion. My Windows Roon server should be beefy enough to handle HQP, and if not it will give me an excuse to upgrade that machine. It currently runs Roon Server with modest DSP (upsample 2x, 4 bands of parametric EQ) at around 15-20x.

 

On hardware, at this point I'm leaning toward either Pi2AES, or SoTM-200 Neo. One of course is a SPDIF solution and the other is USB. Thinking about future DAC upgrades, is the DAC world moving to USB, or will SPDIF remain a strong player?

I know that is a speculative question, but this is a knowledgeable bunch, and any speculation appreciated.

[p-cubed]

Is Unison a meaningful upgrade over the  Gen V USB?