Streamer + DAC or streamer/dac all in one?

Gdnrbob, the Blue Sound Node is really a great starter dac/streamer it is not a great dac nor a great streamer it is a good piece for its price range.

The higher end dac/streamers are a huge step up in performance over the Node, these units are going to cost $1-2k ish in price. 

The Lumin D2 has the ability to act as a transport as it has a digital output as well.  

Dave and Troy
Audio Doctor NJ Lumin and Blue Sound dealers

I will second @audiotroy 's first post, the one that says, " the best bang for your buck will be a streamer/dac." (I haven't heard personally the gear mentioned in his second.) In theory at least, fewer boxes, fewer cables, less potential for jitter. I used to say, "Make sure it does gapless," but I think that the era of streamers that don't is past us now, thank goodness.

As to changes in technology making the streamer obsolete, I don't think that DLNA/UPnP, BluOS, or even Roon are going away any time soon.

Streamers and DACs are both progressing/evolving at a rapid rate, so combining both technologies in one box at least at this point seems a bit risky.  Then again, some of the better streamers come with DACs so there’s that little wrinkle.  Starting with the budget-friendly Node 2i makes some sense from that perspective, but stepping up to something like an Innuos Mini Mklll that’s not horribly expensive yet probably a good step up over the Node without overcommitting.  With the Mini you can upgrade to a separate DAC later and still be left with a darn good streamer to feed it.  Tough choices in a fast-moving category. 

Most dacs are advancing at rapid pace but LUMIN D2 uses a 13 yr old dac that came out same year original  iPhone released —ie, Stone Age tech. . Don’t buy a dac with such outdated tech as LUMIN d2

The lumin d1 outperformed benchmark and chord dacs in my setup.  Don’t discount having a one box solution.  Dac tech has slowed down while streamer tech seems to be seeing the most room for improvement.  That lumin humiliated the blue sound I was using as a streamer only.  Lumin >Lumin +Chord 2qute>Bluesound + Chord>Bluesound+ Bidat.   Benchmark and chord were somewhat equal but different