somebodyelse
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Based on the photos of the insides from a quick web search, Innuos are taking standard decent PC parts, putting them in a hifi-style case, sometimes adding USB analog and/or digital outputs, and sometimes using a linear PSU in place of an external 12V power brick. They're also maintaining the software, and probably licensing agreements with streaming providers, which is a good portion of what you're paying for. If you don't have the skill or the inclination to assemble one yourself then a product like that is a perfectly reasonable approach, but don't expect a significant difference in performance.
For the SotM we have a review and internals here - again respectable, but not significantly different from a Pi or similar SBC. The S2 Ultra contains the compute module version of the Pi, as seen in the Stereophile review (it's the one in the SODIMM socket, mostly hidden under a heatsink) and appears to be a production derivative of this board. The situation is pretty much that with the Innuos above.
For the SotM we have a review and internals here - again respectable, but not significantly different from a Pi or similar SBC. The S2 Ultra contains the compute module version of the Pi, as seen in the Stereophile review (it's the one in the SODIMM socket, mostly hidden under a heatsink) and appears to be a production derivative of this board. The situation is pretty much that with the Innuos above.