I didn’t think so when I took a listen. Just my opinion though. :-)

I recently moved from an Aurender N100 to an Esoteric N-03T and the difference was startling. Different price points but obviously the N10 is also around this level price wise, but I preferred the Esoteric...

I’ll upgrade from my N100 also at some point but I still mostly spin discs so upgrading the N100 isn’t the highest priority right now.

George

+1 here also; neither did the owner, he already replaced his, a local customer.

The Aurender n100 has dac built in? I can see how a world class Dac would beat a cheaper all in one solution but how would a A30 compare to an esoteric network player or K-01Xs? Does the Esoteric have its own app or do you have to use the Roon app?

No DAC in the N100 or N-03T. Both just streamer devices although the N-03T has the ability to connect to an external clock which was part of the appeal for me. The N100 does have the advantage of onboard storage whereas the N-03T requires connection to external storage.

Sorry I can’t comment on the A30 as I have no experience with it. Esoteric has their own Soundstream App for playback and are in the process of obtaining Roon certification for the N-03T. I believe the N-01 and N-05 are already Roon certified...

I’m using WiFi by means of my own router to avoid the use of Ethernet cables. Its application is not dependent on internet speed. It basically comes down to setting up your own wireless network. If the router is connected to the internet, software like Roon can fetch metadata, but the music resides e.g. on a NAS in your network.

Bang for the Buck - Aurender or Lumin
 

Opinions vary, of course. I haven’t heard in comparison to Esoteric, only a dcs stack. It wasn’t quite up to the dcs stack, but not far off either, and better than any other DAC the dealer had on hand.

Anyone here that has testet the lumin d2 as a dac? If how does it perform?

Do you mean as a standalone DAC? The D2 is just a streamer with no audio inputs.