Hi Bob

Do you use Tidal and do you want to experience MQA? If so the 861v4 may not be your best option, although you could combine that with a 218 and stay with in budget. This would give you two Roon end points and the pain of switching sources depending on MQA or not.

I would imagine that a new fully blown processor and an MQA compatible streaming card may be over budget. If you're desperate to get into Roon now I would just buy a 218 and wait and see what comes down the line. I imagine the 218 will hold its value quite well over the next 6 - 9 months.

Cheers
Tom

Main: G61SL, 218, HD621, 2*7200SE, 7200HCSE, M6s, DSW, Apple TV 4K, NUC (Roon server)
Secondary: Wiim Pro, 3200, Audio Core 200
F80