Stepping into streaming, finally

The Wiim and Node are entry level.  I haven’t heard the Wiim but have seen enough negative comments about SQ to not want to investigate, although the price of admission makes it tempting.  I have a lot of experience with the Node and it gets most things right but you do notice the improvement when you go up the ladder 

I had the Node into an external DAC and upgraded the streamer. I cannot say the streamer alone made much of a difference in sound. For me, the differences always come back to the DAC. Streamers always fed with ethernet and the BluOS interface is very very stable and convenient. 

@mahler123 No question about Wiim and Node being entry level and definitely going up the ladder will make improvements. I am sure all of us experienced it in our ladder climbing process.

@hilde45 I was very much surprised how much improvements were due to only different streamer designs, all other components were the same. Virtually every aspect has been affected, mostly totally black background and expansion of the stage. The streamers are ether fed with ethernet or WiFi, this is undisputable fact.

@knock1 the $249 streamer you’re talking about?

this?

https://earmen-shop.com/products/earmen-staccato

@knock1 I had modded my streamer with an LPS. Should have mentioned that. Once that was done, I have not heard much difference. People spend thousands on their streamers, even with external DACs. I am putting those $$s into places in the system where I can hear a greater difference. To each his/her own.