Hello @b-lilja
Interesting question, so trying to help here…
Yes, there has been much discussion about the plethora of lower cost streaming products available in recent years. (It’s a burgeoning market segment).
Think it depends on likely budget : £500 ; £1000 ; £1500, etc.
After all, you get what you pay for, (mostly).
Might help forum users to assist if you have a shortlist of specific streamers you wish to know about : WiiM pro ; BlueSound Node 2i ; Primare NP5 ; Innous Pulse mini ; HiFi Rose RS250, etc.
Also, might be better to ask this question over in “Streaming Audio” - as mostly - where 99% of this discussion takes place.
This particular post is a good resource, probably help your thinking…
My own experience, is some of the lower costs streamers come close, (comparing to ND5 XS2, as transport only). A good friend was using WiiM Pro, with nDAC, only recently and this was actually pretty good. Had a similar positive experience with Innous Pulse mini too, used as transport only, with nDAC.
You might wish to consider UI as part of your considerations. For example, all thing being equally with SQ, Innous Sense is worthwhile by itself.
However, the ND5 XS2 is actually a pretty good option, (at its price point), for a stand alone audio source (including internal DAC). Unless you aren’t using the DAC portion, maybe using the nDAC as external DAC instead, in which case look at Innous Pulse, which IMO is better, streamer transport only (No internal DAC) at similar price point.
Best wishes & good luck
R