Denon DNP-2000NE Digital Audio Player, Wireless Multi-Room Audio, Ultra AL32 Processing, HEOS Built-in, Quad DAC Configuration, Supports AirPlay 2, Alexa, & Siri Voice Control, Black

Disclaimer: it would appear that I am one of the last people on earth that continues to resist the streaming craze - though I have dipped my toes in with this device, and can comment on my experience when using this device as a DAC (see below). I've heard less-than-flattering things about HEOS, so best to do your research if you plan to use this primarily with that utility as from what I understand it's quite unforgiving when used with files that have DRM. From what I have read online, this device supports a number of streaming services via HEOS (Spotify, Tidal, Pandora, Amazon) and additional offers direct streamer access via Roon, uPnP, AirPlay and Bluetooth, but does not offer native Qobuz support. I have been able to use Qobuz using the Qobuz app on my server which is directly connected to the Denon via USB-DAC interface - but if you plan to use this device with other connection methods, you may find it to be lacking if Qobuz is one of your preferred streaming options. Buyer beware.In general, my needs were simpler: I needed a device I could connect to my media server PC, either via LAN/ethernet or USB, to connect to my sizeable digital library of FLAC and DSD files, and play it back in high quality. In that regard, this Denon player ticks the boxes. The internal DACs on this player, ESS Sabre ES9018K2M Reference 2-channel DACs, are arranged here in a four-chip implementation. These DACs support up to 32bit/384kHz PCM and DSD256 (1bit/11.2MHz) via USB using either the USB-A port in front, or the USB-B DAC connection in the rear. They are absolutely professional grade DACs. Now DACs in isolation do not tell the whole story, but given the construction quality of the analog stage, the presence of a DAC master clock, and numerous other audiophile features like isolated component layout and independent power lines from the transformer to reduce the potential for distortion, all are contributing factors as to why this device sounds so good. Via network, playback is limited to a maximum of 24bit/192kHz PCM, and DSD128 (1bit/5.6MHz), but to be honest, very little of my media exceeds those specs. I have found that this unit produces exceptional sound, with good stereo separation and plenty of space / air during playback, including via network. That's no small thing in the streaming world and it speaks to overall engineering and build quality. I've tested playback of FLAC files up to 32-384kHz, M4A (Apple Lossless) up to 24-96, DSF / DFF up to 11.2MHz (DSD256), along with MP3 and WAV files with no issues. One minor gripe is no support for AIFF, which would have been nice as it's essentially uncompressed PCM that supports metadata tags, but I have very little media in this format. What little I do have, I have configured JRiver to convert to PCM via DLNA.There are a number of different connection options on the back; you can use Ethernet if desired, as well as screwpoints for the two wireless / bluetooth antennas included in the box if you prefer to connect wirelessly. There are digital out and digital in options such as coax and optical (although these will neither output nor accept native DSD), and there are 2 sets of RCA outputs - one fixed volume, and another variable - as this device can also operate as something of a preamp complete with independent volume control and be connected directly to a power amplifier. There is additionally a USB port on the front of the unit for connecting external hard drives, as well as a USB-DAC connection on the rear which allows this device to function as a DAC in the right configuration, directly connected to a PC's USB port. Ultimately, I settled on connecting this device via USB to act as a DAC. And I am using the RCA connects via the fixed analog outputs to take advantage of the internal DACs in this unit and relying on them to send decoded analog to my preprocessor. I am very happy with the results. Denon touts its "AL32" processing as a feature which "restores lost information in digital recordings", although I am not sure I buy that. I think the reason this sounds so good is due to its quality construction and components, rather than any resampling snake oil (seriously go read up on what happens when digital signals get converted to analog and tell me if you think there's any benefit to this type of feature). NB: In this configuration, I'd recommend buying a quality RCA cable, like Audioquest, Cardas or similar. I don't usually splurge on cables but for something like this, I felt that it was worth spending extra for something really well engineered. EDIT: In the past few weeks, I have in fact hooked this up with USB to my media server so it can operate as a DAC. This lets me use the front end of my server's media player while taking advantage of greatly improved sound quality of my digital library that comes with directly bitstreaming to this unit. It also renders moot many of my concerns below regarding library navigation via this component and its remote. Connecting this device via DAC is going to be the optimal setup if you have that option; it will also allow you to run any streaming app you like on your server and then just stream it to the Denon. While I don't stream much - as noted above - I did play around with the Qobuz app and can confirm that I was getting 192kHz over USB to the Denon. So while this player doesn't have native support for all of the biggest streamers - there are viable workarounds that will let you take full advantage of this unit's capabilities.There is also a headphone jack on the front of the unit, and the device does offer a selector switch for variable headphone gain settings - so if you had a pair of high impedance studio headphones, you can change the gain setting to account for that. It also has independent volume control for the headphone out. I have tested this with both my Sennheiser HD800S and HD650 - both of which have higher impedance numbers (~300ohm) and I thought this device made both sound really good. Perhaps not as good as a dedicated headphone amplifier, but nevertheless excellent from a sonic standpoint (although both of these headphones sound pretty spectacular already).Managing a large digital library will always be a challenge for any device that has no video display, however the front panel display is large and intuitive. I could imagine this becoming very difficult to manage with an extremely large library. The arrow keys allow you to tab through selections, but if you had hundred of albums in a grouping category, finding what you want might take time. The front display does have a larger font size for highlighted items while browsing, which is a nice feature. There's also a "search" function on the remote, but to this point I've not had much luck finding anything with it. It seems to be excessively sensitive to casing, and I can't be expected to remember if a title is in all caps or not. As a result of these limitations, when connecting to media via LAN, I was only exposing my hi res FLAC, DSD and "favorite" redbook / CDDA-quality audio via JRiver Media Center's DLNA to keep things manageable. I happen to have a very well organized library folder structure, and I have had good luck so far with using folder tree structures for browsing. I did initially play around with exposing everything via DLNA; however with a library pushing ~350,000 tracks / 10TB of music, I found that this exceeded the capabilities of this unit to even fetch and render the entire library reliably. I assume this is a limitation of the player rather than JRiver, but that's okay. I am happy to use my existing media server to play music where the sound quality isn't as important, and use the Denon for "audiophile" albums. I probably have access to about 3.5TB of my library via this device, and that includes all of my "desert island" records and hi resolution content- so I am satisfied. EDIT: Since hooking this up to function as a DAC, many of my concerns around library management are no longer relevant. I can now use the music player app on my media server to manage playlists and album selection, which has greatly simplified things. This has definitely made library management a far less tedious experience, since I can use either the foobar2000 or JRiver UI to manage my queue and just stream all of the music direct this device, eliminating the need to use the device's interface most of the time.The remote is...okay. I don't own any other Denon components - and never have previously - but I've found that I was able to set this up on my Logitech Harmony remote by adding it as a Denon DNP-800NE (an older version of this unit which uses the same remote IR code) with pretty good results - though I did need to custom map a few new buttons the 2000NE has that the 800NE did not. As noted above, I can imagine searching a really huge library with this remote would be a real chore. (again, not really a problem if you plan to connect this via USB-DAC.)The unit looks very nice. It has a nifty brushed aluminum front panel and the housing is all metal. The front display panel is large. It looks like a high end piece of gear. It will pair nicely with other gear on your rack, and you can get it either in black or silver (mine is black). The unit weighs 20 lbs, which speaks to the build quality. It weighs twice that of Cambridge Audio's similar streamer model, which is mostly made of plastic.Overall I am happy with this unit. It's not a 5-star across-the-board streamer, but it's a solid 4 1/2 for me. My setup includes a Yamaha CX-A5100 preamplifier, an Anthem MCA525 Gen 2 power amplifier, an Oppo BDP-105 Universal Player, a Paradigm Founder 5 channel setup (100F fronts, 40B rears, 70 LCR center), and a REL T/9x sub. I believe that this system is nice enough to warrant spending some money on a dedicated network audio player that can deliver audiophile-grade quality sound to a system that can make the most it. For me, sound quality was of the highest importance, and this device absolutely makes the grade in that regard. I would definitely recommend that you compare the features of this unit and other competitor models (such as the Cambridge Audio CXN V2) against your list of needs before buying, but I can give it a qualified recommendation as a pure local network player. If you're a big streamer, make sure this supports your services - and by all means, do some homework on HEOS as well. However if you have the option to connect this device as a DAC to a media PC or server, many of these issues are rendered irrelevant. The DNP-2000NE's greatest strength is its audiophile-grade sound quality, and you need to decide if that is more important to you than comprehensive streamer functionality. If I cared less about sound quality and more about streaming and UX however, the Cambridge Audio offering would admittedly be an intriguing alternative. Nevertheless I can give this a qualified recommendation - and in my personal config I do believe I am getting the most out of it.

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Compared to some network music players out there, this model hasn't been the subject of social media hype and tends to fly below the radar, despite the delivered sound quality being excellent, IMO. Its appearance is modest and hosts only a monochrome text-only display, compared to the color touch screens offered elsewhere. But if you are controlling this from a phone, tablet or computer, none of this matters when the music sounds so good.In terms of streaming services, quite a few are offered via the Heos app (Spotify, Tidal, SiriusXM, TuneIn radio, Pandora, Amazon Music, Deezer, iHeartRadio, SoundCloud and MoodMix), but you also get direct access to the streamer using Roon, UPnP, Apple AirPlay and BlueTooth. Qobuz, while not supported under the Heos app can be streamed using Roon or 3rd party UPnP apps such as JPlay. Android phone users should consider whether the lack of Google Cast is a deal breaker for them.TL;DNR: Sound quality is excellent, exceeding my expectations and streaming over WiFi is robust with a wide variety of sources to choose from. The biggest omission, in my view, is that Qobuz users (like myself) need to rely on 3rd party apps such as Roon as Google Cast is not supported.