Streamer + DAC help: Bluesound vs Eversolo (vs Others)

Look at Aurender and Innuos.   Two of the better manufacturers in streaming.   Also both are know for reliability and support.  

Eversoso has no support,  their user forum is basically their "support"    Lots of bugs with each firmware.   Customer service is the worst you will ever experience

 

Bluesound is great as a platform , hardware is good .   Mine always works.   

I have had a Vault 2i since 2019 and have had an Aurender N200 for about 2 years.   Both trouble free.     

Innuos streamers sound great, have the best app, and offer great customer service. Here’s a used Zen at a good price, or you could get a new Pulse Mini and add an LPS from SBooster, Teddy Pardo, or LHY for about the same price.

https://www.usaudiomart.com/details/650163113-innuos-zen-mk3-2tb/

You could pair it with this Denafrips Pontus 15th DAC and have a pretty damn strong streaming setup for around $4k.  At your budget you could even add an Iris DDC (highly recommended) and get a significant performance boost for not much $$$ or add it later.  Best of luck.

https://www.denafrips.com/product-page/denafrips-pontus-15th-r2r-dac

I have had the Eversolo DMP-A8 since it was first available, Dec of 23.

I love the DSP features that allow me to tweak the sound for the speakers of my preference. The internal Dac sounds better to me than the $1600 Gustard R26 Ladder Dac it replaced. Sold the Gustard.

The analog preamp in this unit bettered the tube pre I was using.

I have never had a single issue with this unit or the app/software. I find the app is intuitive and rock solid. They have a very helpful dedicated forum for this unit.

The support team continues to add new features to the software. They recently added automatic switching to the proper input when the TV (ARC) or the one of the streaming apps (internal player) are selected. They also recently updated with the new room correction software that just came out with the new A10 unit. The ARC input makes Youtube videos sound great, better than the Optical in I was using.

The A8 is probably the finest piece of kit I ever placed into my system.

I had problems with Bluesound, Cambridge, and Eversolo (A6).  The product support for the Eversolo was by far the worst I have ever experienced in audio.

I moved up the audio chain significantly by going with Innuos for the streamer and Bricasti for the DAC.  Both were purchased used.  The two items combined are over your budget.  I have heard great things regarding the Bricasti M3 with the built-in streamer.  If I were in your shoes I would take a serious look at the M3.

NAD C700 v2 or M3, blueos based. 

The new Bluesound line up of Nano, Node, and Icon have gotten some great reviews with some saying even the $299 Nano sounds better than the old Node and Node X by an easy to hear margin. So, I'd imagine the Node 132 and Icon would be very good, assuming you are wanting a one box solution at least right now, and *might* add a better DAC down the road (or not). Cambridge has their new EXN line out. That streamer is obviously a bit better than their CXN one. 

At the end of the day, a device you are happy to use (i.e. having a good user interface) will trump any slight increase in sound quality you might get by going upstream, (no pun intended). However, from many postings on here, the Innuos streamers get high marks for a good user experience too. 

I'd be leery of getting any streamer based on Android, not knowing if it will become an expensive paperweight in 3 to 5 years when the streaming apps from Tidal. Apple, Qobuz, and others move beyond whatever version of Android is running on it, i.e. like the Eversolo streamers or FiiO R7.  

You should absolutely consider Auralic their gear sounds great and is reliable and customer support is excellent. Also their LDS app is excellent and constantly updated.

@nathandfwacoustics Any idea why the Hifi Rose 150b is experiencing interruptions? I have one and haven’t experienced any issues like that and the SQ has been excellent.

i wouldn’t give up on the 150b. Are you using Tidal or Qobuz? Roon?

If your DAC will accept it, the WiiM Ultra has a USB out. The software for the WiiM is exemplary. Maybe the sound quality is not up to a Lumin or HiFi Rose equipment, yet the WiiM software works flawlessly. 

I have a Bluesound Node and am constantly have issues with a dropped connection even though it is a wired Ethernet connection. Don’t think I would buy another Bluesound.

I have the set up that SOIX suggested: Innuos mini pulse streamer feeding the Denafrips Iris to the Denafrips Pontus.  I don't think I could be happier with this combination for the $$$.  In the last week I added the LHY Linear Power Supply and got even better SQ.  If you go the Pontus route, you would enjoy even better SQ than I have since they upgraded to the 15th version.  The Innuos Sense app is very user friendly and I haven't experienced any issues.  I upgraded from the BlueSound to Innuos and it was a very easy transition.

I was looking at the Hifi Rose 130 but the techs at the dealer cautioned me that they are getting many returns. Display suddenly stops working, failure on the main board, etc. Not just the 130 but their other products as well. Rose seems to have a QV problem which shouldn’t be there given the price.

Happy Eversolo A8 user. I use it as a streamer, DAC and preamp. Sounds great and works flawlessly. The user interface on the app is very good.

I had Node 2i with updated power supply.  I used Amazon HD.  When I wanted to use QOBUZ, it was not good.  Several months later BLUOS was not upgraded to work with QOBUZ.  Some newer Bluesound may have QOBUZ loaded.  Irregardless,  I want to sit down and listen to music not get frustrated with software of all thing.

I bought an Innuous Zen Mark 3.  It has built in linear power supplies. You can rip and store CD.  QOBUZ is loaded through a browser.  Works flawlessly.  I bought a used one for $2000.  I think there is an upgraded one for $3800 new.  I never dreamed a streamer made such a difference.  Aurender and Innuous are the only ones that have good software at this price point.  Roon, Volumio, BLUOS are all buggy.  Several other streamers sound good but Innuous is a great spot to enter the next level

Thank you all very much for sharing your experiences with me. 

While the 150b has some incredibly great sound-quality, the interface isn't working as expected for me. I see on their website that others have complained as well (Qobuz, especially). I've had it for over a month but finally gave up so I asked the questions here. 

After posting here, I spent two more days on it (about 18 hours each day), just playing and experimenting: the issues persisted. So it's definitely going back. Maybe I received a brick. But I've had enough. 

I also really dislike that I put my dealer through an ordeal because he'd never run in to issues like this before. 

OP

Sorry you have had such and ordeal. But you should be sending it back. There is really no excuse for that. I have two Aurender and used to own a Aurlic Aries G2 and tested a couple other high end streamers. Plop them down, plug them in and put the code on the screen into your iPhone app and that is it. Works every time instantly. Not a wasted five minutes... certainly not hours. 

I've had my bluesound for a few years and i'd be hard pressed to change it out.  It's just very easy to use.  I do have an upgraded power supply and am running a chord qutest DAC with it.  Overall very good sound for less than $5K. 

I’ve had good experiences with both Bluesound, the Node N130, and Innuos.  The BluOs and Sense apps respectively are the best I’ve used streaming Qobuz.  I had problems with the Eversolo A6 and A8 and a poor customer service experience.  I tried Cambridge Audio but didn’t like the app.  Tried Roon and it wasn’t for me.  I like to control my music with one app on my iPad.  The Innuos has better sound and it’s within your budget.  That’s what I’d do with my 5K.  

Contact Juan @Bliss Hifi and talk to him about an Aurender unit within your budget. (He is an Aurender and Eversolo dealer) An A200 comes to mind for an All in One.  I have done business with Juan and he is very knowledgeable and helpful. You can't go wrong.

If you go with something like the Bluesound then you could do a trial with a ROON core on a PC device for 0 spend.  Always fun to play around with.  If you fall in love with the interface , as many do , then you got the cash to dial in a proper hifi host for the core and network infrastructure to have a killer settup.

What are you looking for? Best sound, or ease of use? I know everyone loves the Bluesound, and Eversolo. But the Cambridge Audio stuff always gets better sound test in reviews. 

My vote would be to try Cambridge Audio, the software is good, it has all the native app integration. You also can use just the streaming apps. I only open the CA software when I'm doing internet radio, or listing to music on my NAS. 

we sell a few great dac/streamers 

 

We sell Bricast,  Atoll, Naim teac, esoteric,and Nad.

It all comes down to which features are important to you:

Is a headphone amp important?

Is a true preamp important? or is volume sufficient or desirable?

Are analog inputs required?

is Roon compatibility important?

What streaming services are required?

Is Bluetooth important?

How stable is the firmware?

Is a display important?

We are not Eversolo or Rose dealers we have heard issues with service and reliability for them.

 

Naim's starter streamer the nd5xs 2 isn't sexy but has a warm full bodied sound, is very reliable, has an incredible app and is part of an entire streaming echo system, and it is both Apple airplay and Google compatible.

The step up NAC 222 offers an incredible analog preamp, and a really good headphone amplifier, as well and even has a decent phono stage and can be further improved by adding an external power supply. the 222 is a way of upgrading and consolidating an entire system in one easy step, just add amplifier and you a are good to gohttps://www.whathifi.com/reviews/naim-nsc-222

https://www.avforums.com/reviews/naim-nsc222-and-nap250-review.21100/

 

the Nad m66 is  also a wonder: state of he art Dac, with dual ESS Sabre pro chips, true analog preamp, room correction, blue sound streamer built in, headphone amp and phono stage 

 

These two amazing dac preamplifiers, represent a paradigm shift in system design and evolution, with a new found  elegant simplification. of two components dac/preamp/streamer. plus amplifier making up a modern high performance  music playback system.

So instead of just improving your DAC, you get improvements in your preamp as well.

 

we also sel the incredibile 432evo servers these incredible servers coupled to a great dac is also an option

 

dave and troy

Audio intellect NJ

blesound,naim,atoll,bricasti nad,esoteric and 432evo dealers

 

We have two Bluesound devices, a Node, and the new Icon. I'd suggest either to friends after using the older Node for a few years now, both using the internal DAC and a variety of external DACs as well. Now using the Icon and its internal DAC to my system via XLR and Pure Direct on my pre amp. I could spend more, but have not found a reason to do such a thing. 

With a $5K budget, streamer dac option I would be strongly considering the Lumin P1 Mini. You may also be able to find a used Lumin P1 if you are patient. Or you could get a Lumin U2 mini + the dac of your choice. 

I have not used Aurlic products in several years, but their Vega S1 has had me curious, or you could go Aries S1 + $2K Dac of your choice. Or bump up to one of their G line of products. 

Thank you all for the continued responses; I am still shopping around and so your input is valuable. 

Not gonna go with eversolo. The user experience & support seems to be all over the place :)
got the Bluesound icon and it’s a little disappointing. Maybe it needs to breakin or something. idk

innuos is so high on my list but i can’t demo it anywhere! apparently the sound quality through even their most basic device is top-notch and the user experience with the sense app is one of the best. apparently it’s even better than roon for managing music

I agree on Eversolo, and although I’d definitely give the Icon at least 150 hours to burn in I think what you’re running into is that a combo DAC/streamer at that price point has limitations.  With your budget I’ll reiterate that I’d go with a separate DAC and streamer, and this Zen is still available and if it doesn’t work out you could easily sell it for about what you paid so very little risk. 

https://www.usaudiomart.com/details/650163113-innuos-zen-mk3-2tb/

For a DAC you might wanna contact member audioman58 about a Pontus 15th as he’s a Denafrips dealer and may be able to work something out with you for a demo and a possible discount. 

https://www.audiogon.com/stores/audioman58

@soix very kind of you to give me the recommendations; I will pursue them - thank you.