New to Streaming

I agree Qobuz is best but Tidal works too if there is some reason you prefer it. I highly recommend the bluesound node to start. Great value at its price point. It's very easy to use- good interface and I found it to be very stable. While there will be a time to upgrade, I had one and thought the dac was fine. I think the biggest considerations as you start this journey are stability and ease of use. Bluesound will give you that and I think the sound quality is plenty good for the money.

Enjoy the music 

Welcome to streaming. I was a stubborn hold out for to long and missed many years of the hi-fidelity sound of streaming. So glad I ate my pride. Streaming,,,, your gonna love it.

In your budget you can't go wrong with a bluesound node. Just be prepared though cuz your gonna love it and want more sound quality and move up faster than you expected. If i was you, I'd spend $1500 +/- off the bat on a Audiolab, NAD, Cambridge Audio etc. unit.

I can only recommend Tidal. I tried Qobuz and found no difference in sound quality. Both basically same monthly price. I really like the Tidal connect app.

The Bluesound Node (or Node X) is a good suggestion.

One alternative is Matrix Audio's new Mini-I 4.  For $649.99, it offers an LCD touch screen, the ES9039Q2M DAC chip, and balanced analog outputs. However, it has no headphone jack, no Wifi, no Bluetooth, no digital output, and is not Roon Ready yet.  The Mini-I PRO 4  version does add headphone support and WiFi, for $959.

For someone new to streaming, I'd probably lean toward the Bluesound Node X. Bluesound has a very large user base, which can be helpful when you run into setup or playback glitches.

@shiner3237 

A Bluesound Node X is the best way to start BECAUSE of their OS, bluos. Simple as that. Reliable and user friendly. That is the primary thing you need to get your feet wet in the streaming world. A poor OS and you'll pull out plenty of hair.

Also concurr, Qobuz is the best music service.

I had a Bluesound Node 2i in my main 2 channel system, then a Bluesound Powernode in a second home where I try and keep the number of boxes to a minimum, I also have my TV running thru the Powernode. 

I decided to try the Eversolo DMP-6, because I liked the internal storage as well as the sexy interface. I set this up in a residence where I can't really listen loud, and I just have an inexpensive HT receiver and a cheap pair of Dynaudio speakers that have the tweeter cones pushed in. My wife doesn't pay much attention to this stuff, so I was amazed to hear her say (regarding the Eversolo), 'wow, that sounds really good, much better than the other thing we had' (regarding the Bluesound). When I moved the Eversolo to my main system, it didn't take much at all to hear the superiority of it over the Node 2i. However it should be noted that BlueSound has just released a new streamer which is supposed to sound better. So you might want to get some opinions based on it. 

You seem to be interested in streaming only, if you also had your own collection of ripped CDs, as I do,  there are other things to consider. I had a lot of trouble keeping my library connected to the 2i over wifi. Some of that may be since I switched from PC to Mac and I don't have the depth of knowledge of the Mac I had with the PC. This is exacerbated by the fact that I move between different residences so have multiple things that can go wrong. In fact I finally gave up and have an m.2 drive in an enclosure that I connect to the Bluesound units via USB. I have to say that works flawlessly. The fact that the Eversolo has the internal SSD for a library was a big plus. 

The OS of anything Bluesound is better than the Eversolo. That may change with time since Eversolo can be updated by firmware. The Eversolo does not work with my M3U playlists that work just find with the Bluesound if the playlists contain foreign characters. My Edith Piaf list? Gone. My 1970s Salsa playlist? Ditto. My Bossa Nova playlist? Ouch. There are workarounds, but still. 

Also, more native apps in the Bluesound, although that too may change with time. If you want to add apps to the Eversolo, they have to be 'sideloaded' and they are not as pretty as the native apps. I listen to classical as well as everything else, and it took some doing to sideload Idagio and Apple Classical, although at the end of the day, it's done and they are working. 

I use Idagio for classical and Tidal for everything else. I do have a free Spotify account, but I don't use it much. There's no particular reason I use Tidal over Quobuz, only that I heard of it first and it suits my needs.