The front- and the other rear-panel Type A USB ports can be used to play files on external drives. There's also a recessed button marked Boot and a micro-USB port labeled Bypass. The rear panel is busier, with two more USB A ports, one marked DAC and optimized for audio signals, with a dedicated internal power supply and audiophile-grade components Ethernet and HDMI ports a jack for the external 18V DC power supply (supplied) and a jack for the wireless antenna. Unlike that D/A headphone amp, the Stream Box's front panel has no displayjust a USB Type A port, two buttons, and two LEDs. The Stream Box S2 Ultra is the same size as the tiny Pre Box S2 Digital: 4.1" wide by 4.1" deep by 1.4" high. Then, when Pro-Ject's US distributor, Sumiko Audio, sent us the Pre Box S2 Digital D/A headphone amplifier, which Ken Micallef reviewed in our April 2019 issue, they also sent a sample of the Austrian company's Stream Box S2 Ultra, which costs $849.Īh-ha here was a product that appeared to offer what I was looking for in an affordable server and network bridge. But the last two are hardly fit'n'forget for the average audiophileI was looking to review a lower-cost turnkey solution. Jim Austin and Jason Victor Serinus are using Roon with servers based on Intel's low-cost NUC computer-on-a-board, and there are other suitable processors, such as the Raspberry Pi and the various Arduinos.
I was still on the lookout for a server that would be more accessible to our budget-minded readers. But at $2498 without an internal drive for storing music files, the Nucleus+ is still relatively expensive, and even Roon's less-powerful Nucleus costs $1398.
So when Roon Labs introduced their own server, the Nucleus+, I first reviewed and then purchased it, along with a lifetime subscription to Roon. All performed well but are relatively expensive, and their associated player apps didn't equal Roon's user friendliness in terms of interface, organization of the library, and inclusion and updating of metadata. I have reviewed several network-connected music servers in recent years, from Antipodes, Aurender, and NAD.
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