A used Blue Sound Node.. Good luck.
@lanx0003 Only the Wiim pro has aynchronous USB out. It will use the OP’s DAC without getting bottlenecked by the streamer. It is a not so small detail that no goofy reviewer has ever mentioned!! They probably tested it with bottleneck toslink or coax if they ran it to a external dac (facepalm).....not to mention a full PEQ (enable or disable) that it comes with to tweak things to taste for whatever headphone he’s got....and a whole lot of other features (for $300 new). The Cambridge, Bluesound, whatever is simply no match... The Wiim Ultra build quality of course reflects the price...plasticky....but, that is to be expected..... but they definitely seem to have some technical expertise and a good software engineer on their payroll.
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I was setting up a budget system in one of my bedrooms to utilize a pair of Polk Audio Monitor 10's that I bought new in 1988 and a Reisong A10 EL34 Integrated Amp I bought in 2020. I was only doing streaming, and after some research I went with the Audioengine B1 Streamer for $189.00 and a Schiit Audio Modi+ DAC for $129.00. I have been absolutely thrilled with the ease of use and performance of both items. These together are under your budget, and since you don't need a DAC the Audioengine B1 would be well under your budget. Hope this was helpful. |
I believe you mean the Wiim Ultra. My Wiim Pro+ does not have a USB output. It is also galvanically isolated, just like the iFi Zen Stream. The main difference is that it supports only up to 24/192 PCM and doesn’t include DSD, which isn’t a big deal for me. In addition, unlike ifi ZS, It has just one USB port, so if it’s used for local SSD/HDD storage, it can’t be used as a digital output. My point here is that Ifi ZS does not sound better than MXN10 because of the reinforced USB port. MXN10’s noise floor is as good and its preamp section outperforms both BS and wiim pro+. Initially, I intended to buy the Ultra until I learned it doesn’t support AirPlay. That is another reason leading me to choose the MXN10 instead. Someday, I might find out how the Ultra compares sonically to the MXN10 when using USB out. Until then, I’m quite pleased with the MXN10. I also encourage you to do the same some day. Take a look at reviews from Stereophile, What Hi-Fi, Darko too to name a few. |
Node Nano, assuming you do not need to bring the big guns out as per your post, se we are going for convenience, price, and functionality. Bluesound has the best software in the business, which is why it is so damn popular, you can stream everything to it. I stream Amazon Music, SiriusXM, and Spotify to mine and a lot of background music from SiriusXM for me. See link here: Bluesound music services |
In your $350 price range, I'd order both, the Bluesound Node 130 which as @coronado2 said, is on "special" now for $349 since it will soon be discontinued for the three new models of "Nodes" they have come out with, AND the Wiim Ultra. Test them out within the return period at Amazon and see which one (if either) is demonstrably better sounding to you in your setup. |
I know this will get lost in the rah rah noise, but look at a Hollis Audio Labs MS6 streamer with a GAN power supply. Little nuc based running W10, streamlined for maximum audio performance. Better than a famed custom MacBook laptop and even beats any Node variety I've heard by quite a ways. You can run via traditional monitor screen and mouse or headless using your phone to control Foobar or via Chrome Remote Desktop. Lots of tweaks to the operating system to maximize performance on audio only. Don't expect to play games on this guy. HAL MS6 Server thread on Audiocircle In my opinion, worth looking at for sure. |
For my 2-ch system, I have BS N130, NAD C658, and NAD M12 streamers (all in their boxes), while I use my wife's (broken screen) Samsung phone running DeX to stream anything through a DeX dock and HDMI audio stripper to Coax S/PDIF output. Connect the Coax (or Toslink) to a DAC (volume controlled with the phone). DeX allows wireless keyboard control, and/or voice. Works great, sounds great, cost very little, practically invisible, and if you use a monitor (as I do) - then the phone and dock can be completely out of sight (as I have mine). |
@deep_333 , re: streamers Asynchronous output. Very interesting as I just picked up an Ayre QB9TWENTY. I'm absolutely loving it, just using with a laptop so far. Very special dac! I've wondered as I explore streamer options to pair how important it be that the streamer outputs in an Asynchronous path?? Sounds like it's vital. Is wimm one of the only ones? I would certainly upgrade to Lumin or Auralic's new S1 but didn't want to immediately disregard the ultra... The feature set looks fantastic for the price. And what about the new mac mini m4 optimized as streamer? |
@tenpop If a dac is taking an asynhronous input (USB) from a streamer's output, it does not rely on a clocking device inside the streamer. With other inputs, you have unnecessarily turned a streamer from just a rendering device into something else and created problems. You could empty your wallet, 20k, 30k on a streamer just to fix a problem that never had to be created (in the first place),. |
I need to self-correct it. Wiim Ultra's USB output is not electrically isolated. If you want to get the best USB output from a streamer under, say, $500, IFI ZS is probably only one you could get right now in the market. |
Thanks to everyone for some awesome recommendations. I am leaning towards increasing my budget and getting the new Bluesound Icon. I have a Node, Node2i, Vault and Node X and have been really happy with the GUI and the customer service. I usually run an external DAC but the new Icon has a Dual-Mono DAC design. It has two ESS SABRE ES9039Q2M DACs and balanced outputs. It it sounds good, I will move I into my main system and swap out the current streamer and DAC. |
I think the Icon looks awesome. After owning my Vault I would buy one sight unseen and that's something I rarely do. Bluesound are the best streamers under $1k. You are really buying into a platform that is copied by an entire industry. Lenbrook has tremendous resources and more experience than just about anyone in this space.
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