I have been in the process of simplifying my system and selling off unused gear. I recently purchased a Naim Supernait 2 and a Node 2i. I am running the Node into my MHDT Labs Orchid. It sounds really good. I would definitely like to know if changing out the streamer would make an improvement. My local dealer loves the Innuos, but I don't need to rip CD's and I already have a NAS for music storage. I'm sure he will let me borrow one and it would be interesting to see if the SQ is better.
Moving up from a Node 2i
I want to keep it between 1K and 1500.00, closer to a grand if at all possible. I don't care about onboard DACs, since I have a keen liking for mine. What is out there for a streamer, new or used, that will sound better than the Node when outputting to an external DAC? I like the functionality of the Node, don't want something with a sketchy user interface. But honestly, I think my old Allo Digione (Raspberry Pi) might have sounded a little more organic and fleshed out than the Node.
What say ye, Audiogon?
Oz
What say ye, Audiogon?
Oz
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- 146 posts total
One of the better upgrades I've made to the digital front end of my system was getting a Roon Nucleus to feed my DAC. Anyone who says the streamer makes no difference is speaking from lack of experience (or lack of resolution in their system). In my case, I'm using the Nucleus as both server core and end point, as my Ayre Codex is pre-Roon. I did build a linear power supply to run the Nucleus and my router - eliminating wall warts made a small, but noticeable improvement. The only network transports I've heard (and I've heard many) are part of Ayre QX-5, QX-8 or DCS BartoK, Rossini, Vivaldi DACs. The best streamer, by far, is the DCS Network Bridge! I've seen jaw drops at how much better it made a Berkeley Reference DAC (and others) sound. |
Regarding streaming services, do these streamer apps have Internet browser functionality? Specifically, the Lumin App uses TuneIn to list radio streams, but Radio Paradise requires direct interaction with their website to set your stream quality to FLAC. Would you have that navigation and interaction with these Streamer apps?I'm not sure about Lumin, but with my Bluesound Node 2 streaming to my Sony headphone amp / DAC it shows the signal as 44.1 kHz which is CD / FLAC quality. |
Here you'll find the music services Bluesound supports (including the Radio Paradise flac stream): https://www.bluesound.com/music/ Incidentally, there's actually 4 Radio Paradise flac streams .. Main, Mellow, Rock, and World/Etc. built into the Bluesound platform. Nice sound quality. |
- 146 posts total