flutteringwow
She called me baby, like an old romantic
The Innuos Zen Mini seems to be ticking a lot of boxes. Is there much practical difference between the Mk2 and Mk3? I can see the Mk3 has a SP/Dif out, but it seems most favour the USB-out anyway. There are pre-loved MK2 and Mk3s available for sale with their bespoke LPSUs, but there is a few £hundred between the cost of the two models.
I wouldnt know, I've never heard a Mk2. I personally wouldnt go backwards for the sake of a few hundred quid, you want something that will last as long as it can, and the digital world moves at a fast rate.
The LPS's are a must to get the best out of them.
No matter what DAC you use, you will hear distinct quality differences with different streamers. I've finally settled on an Auralic Aries G2, and I have had about 15 transports from Nodes to Naim's and the G2 was incredible in comparison.
The whole bits are bits argument is outdated and old fashioned. There are some good threads on Hifi Wigwam about this stuff. The easiest way to check this, is run a Chrome Cast Audio and an Aries G2 through the same DAC...if you cant hear the monumental difference then you probably just need a 90's Midi system and be done with it.