Need to get off of bluetooth.... looking for a wifi streamer for my budget

Sell the Eversolo dac , buy a Bluesound Icon and use the McIntosh DA2 DAC in the preamp.  Its a really good DAC.   That's what I would do.   Don't buy an Eversolo streamer  their FW is garbage. 

Sorry , with the $500 budget maybe a Node. 

As a temporary stopgap. I’d get a Bluesound you can do it from $350 to less than $1000.

Sounds like you realize to match the sound quality of your Mac / Moon you should be fishing in a much higher level pond. 

It seems your are taking the approach I took long ago to get a great system, one really good component at a time.... building to a real audiophile system. 
 

I checked out the Bluesound Node which looked promising... but I listen to both Pandora (no comments please) and Apple music. It does not support Apple and I do not have Apple equipment to make it work. 

If you really care about sound quality it’s time to add either Qobuz or Tidal.  Either will have the majority of the music you have on Apple or Pandora anyway. 

@dman777 apple music and pandora are not the best quality sources. 
What’s the problem with switching to Tidal or Qobuz. Your sound is as good as your source material in that system. Well minus the eversolo bottleneck. 
 

For $500 you won’t get anything decent. But even the bluesound node with tidal or Qobuz should be better than what you have now. 

Buy this 

https://www.amazon.com/WiiM-Streamer-Touchscreen-Compatible-Headphone/dp/B0D41YCLW8/ref=pd_aw_ci_mcx_mh_mcx_views_0_title?pd_rd_w=EWxZY&content-id=amzn1.sym.401c37bb-f668-4ab4-af75-b400d0dd3a0e%3Aamzn1.symc.cb15e6ef-dda0-4490-a93d-da66403ab544&pf_rd_p=401c37bb-f668-4ab4-af75-b400d0dd3a0e&pf_rd_r=22PN7PP2TNNCXTDJEHB9&pd_rd_wg=0vdLU&pd_rd_r=f5f68338-82e5-4430-9c37-fc7c85f22e5e&pd_rd_i=B0D41YCLW8

Then save for this

https://innuos.com/pulse-series/
choose your weapons wisely grasshopper. 

Wow, this is so painful. It looks like no one supports Apple music. All my playlists are on Apple. That’s what makes me stuck on Apple. Otherwise I’d go somewhere else.

Sometimes in life one must face the consequences of their actions. 
Time to punt sooner rather than later.
I’ve only had Qobuz so cannot speak to the merits of Tidal. 
With Qobuz there are so many already made playlists I’ve never created a true playlist of my own. The one I did create was due to need not want. 

Punt. 

You can export an Apple playlist and then import it into Roon and/or BluOS.  Not sure how effective it is and you would still have to get a subscription to Tidal or Qobuz as well as to Roon, if you want to go that route (which would maybe take you past your ~$500 budget).  Or just stay with Bluesound, and BluOS.

What if I could stretch the budget to 1200 for a used streamer? Would Rose be a good brand? Or is there something better to look for in that range?

You might look into the iFi Zen Stream. It retails at US $399 and has a 30-day return period (in the US). I have not tried one, but I've built a couple of RaspberryPi-based streamers and though they were very good to excellent in a revealing system. Anyway IMO a lot of streamer performance depends on the quality of the downstream DAC; how good it is, and how well it rejects jitter, noise, etc.

Stay with what you have until you can truly afford something better.  Interim solutions are a waste of money.  I imagine you would be perfectly happy If it wasn't for people on this forum telling you to ditch BT.  Be happy and be patient.  Good things come to those who wait?

The Bluesound Node is a good way to break ground on getting started. And if you check online, a number of dealers are selling the previous generation for 300 or slightly more. The money you save from the 500 in your budget can go toward a good digital cable, and check around, e.g. The Cable Co for a good used digital cable. Then you can get acquainted with Qobuz or Tidal and expand from there.

good luck 

My experience with streamers and DACs is this; To get good to very good sound and even spectacular sound, the streamer is not nearly as important as the DAC. I have had Bluesound streamers and then bought a higher price streamer and the difference was not major. I also bought a Node X and bypassed the DAC to feed a PS Audio Directstream and the sound was spectacular. The DAC is the beef in the mix. Get a quality DAC and a streamer with an OS that is user friendly then get a service with the content you are looking for with high resolution. Some combinations can also up convert to high resolution. Lastly but very important is a company where you can get good customer service. Bluesound does this well.

No one supports Apple Music.  You can AirPlay it into a compatible device or you can use Apple Music from an android device and use Google Chromecast.  AirPlay sounds better than Bluetooth and Chromecast is better yet.

   Another option with Apple Music is to buy an Apple TV device and a monitor..  If you pick music from your mobile device and play it, then it will show up on AppleTV in the library and it will play at full resolution.  If you merely navigate to the music on the Apple TV without first selecting it from the mobile OS, then you are limited to AAC, Apple’s version of MP3’s.

  My advice would be to get a Wiim Streamer.  Use the MacDac as another poster suggested.  Try AirPlay with Apple on the Wiim (if you have an Android device then try Chromecast).  I would also try a free trial with Qobuz which plays natively on Wiim and virtually every other streamer.  Do some comparisons and then decide.

  A Wiim streamer and a yearly Qobuz subscription should easily fit your budget.  For that matter so would the AppleTV and monitor route.

Cambridge Audio CXN100?  that's what I have. Seems good to me.  $1000.  Anyone have thoughts on this?  Most people here know more than I do!

I did a little searching and it looks like there is a way to import your Apple playlists into Qobuz:

a one month subscription to Soundiiz

I would get a streaming device without a built in DAC and use the DAC in your McIntosh.  Then down the road you start trying other DACs.  I've used the devices from Small Green Computer (Sonore) but they are not cheap.  https://www.sonore.us/ultraRendu.html  ($899 without power supply)

With $500, the "best" option is a Cambridge Audio MXN10, it should fit all your requirements. 

I took all my Apple Music, put it on an external disk, plugged that into my streamer. 

For sound quality, you need Tidal, or Qobuz, playing direct on the streamer. It's a game changer from BT, and other services. It's like going to HD TV, once you start watching it, you can't go back. 

I use my tried and true iFi Zen Stream into my McIntosh C2800 with the DA2 integrated DAC.  I think it sounds great and it’s an inexpensive way to try streaming.  I’ve never had any issues with my Zen Stream but it may be a little less user friendly than others.  I’m looking to try another streamer soon just to experiment but the Zen Stream is quite good.

edit:  I'm using Tidal Direct for my streaming service

WiiM pro plus…

Cambridge Audio CXN 100. I have one. While not using it currently, I’m impressed every time I did play. Dollar for dollar it’s a great value. WiFi and XLR.

The advise about waiting to step it up is a valid. You have excellent gear. Streamer should be at same level of your system. $1k is not going to get you anywhere near there.

Did anyone mention WiiM yet?

Oops 🤫...just above ^

Stick with Apple Music until you make the big move. You are not going to notice the difference with a lower end streamers and even then it’s not going to be leap. Apple does offer hi res. You can spend up to $50k on a streamer and be able to play Apple Music. Very limited. It’s not always straight forward however and in many cases you will not be able play Hi Res. Over time more companies with be offering Air Play for they see there is a growing market. There are folks entering the HIFI but are going to stick with Apple Music for awhile. 

Again, stick with Apple until you make the big move. On the other hand you could get Qobuz or Tidal now and start to build your play list over time. You get the best of both of options

if you’re going to step into big boy streamers look at Aurender or InnuOs. I highly doubt you will get anyone to say anything negative about them. Great customer service and their stuff sounds great. 

Bluesound Node 2i with Linear Power Supply LPS For Sale - US Audio Mart https://share.google/sX3Bl58kkHMPJOaor

No Apple music but has Wi-Fi, Ethernet, Bluetooth and a good ESS DAC. The LPS improves the sound quality a lot. 

+1 @2psyop 

I did a little searching and it looks like there is a way to import your Apple playlists into Qobuz: a one month subscription to Soundiiz.  I would get a streaming device without a built in DAC and use the DAC in your McIntosh.  Then down the road you start trying other DACs. 

+1 @boulder_bob as long as your pre has the DAC2 module and not the DAC1. 

1. If you want audiophile sound from streaming you need to start with hires files like Tidal or Qobuz.  https://www.tunemymusic.com can help you transfer your Apple Music playlists. Any blue sound node streamer will be a big improvement. If you get one of the later models with usb digital out you can add a better DAC later. There’s no reason not to get a used one on eBay as if it works on arrival it is unlikely to go bad later, so last year’s model will be in your price range.

I'm in the camp with the Bluesound Node. Especially if you pair it up with a LPS which makes a significant improvement in SQ.  The BluOS operating system is stable and user friendly and supports a wide variety of streaming services.  I use Amazon HD and Idagio with my Node2i.  It's moded with a TeddyPardo LPS,  and I use the coaxial digital out into a PS Audio Directstream DAC moded by APS Transformers.  IMHO,  it sounds great.  I tried putting a Denafrips Hermes DDC between the streamer and DAC,  but didn't see any real improvement in SQ. That's a great deal on US Audio that mashif posted.  Get that,  then save for a really good external dac, and you will be on your way to a significant upgrade!!

I recently bought a Bluesound Node as my first streamer and added a Quobuz subscription for a year for under $1000. It’s connected to a Luxman L 550AX MkII and sounds excellent. It will be quite awhile before I will upgrade to the next level on both components, but in the meantime I’m very satisfied.

dman777

As has already been suggested, get on Qobuz.....the quality improvement can be startling.

A BlueSound Node (model 130 or newer only) or better yet a Wiim Ultra are both great places to start, and will tide you over until you can save for better.....but be very happy in the meantime

I used Soundiiz to export from Tidal and import to Qobuz.  There was a little legwork on my part as not all the titles aligned completely but it worked seamlessly for at least 98% of content on all my playlists.  It will import from Apple to both Tidal and Qobuz.  Another vote for Bluesound or WiiM both are solid choices.