Moving up from a Node 2i

@gelle, that’s what it’s about: find what works best with your gear. The 105 has a great DAC and Oppo always had good USB implementations in their universal players. Too bad their done; I have a 205 and it’s probably the last disc-spinner I’ll ever own.

Update.

After allowing the Lumin U1 mini to burn in for around 100 hours the gap widened between it and the Node 2i. I believe the Lumin is more transparent and tonally more natural than the Node. I am keeping the U1 mini and selling the Node. It's not a huge difference, but I find I enjoy music through the Lumin more when the dust settles.

Oz

@ozzy62 ...thanks for taking us on your odyssey. All of this has convinced me to just hang on to my Bluesound Node2 for awhile.

Everyone who posted said that they did improve upon the Node2’s performance, but it was not by a huge margin.

This is the fastest growing sector, (servers, streamers and DACs) of high-end audio, that tomorrow there will be something better.

My rig sounds absolutely wonderful that spending 4+ times the money for marginal improvement just doesn’t make sense "right now".

I’m hoping for a one-piece solution down the road that rivals what is available now. I have a high-end audio manufacturer friend of mine that has just gotten the new NAD C658, that he can’t shut up about. ESS Sabre DAC, BluOS, DIRAC Live, modular design. Maybe I might try one of these...

Thanks again OZ.

Just to be clear. If the improvement I heard out of the box was all there was,I wouldn't have spent the $$ either. That said, after some hours on the Lumin the improvement was great enough to justify the expense. If I only had 500.00 to spend on a streamer, the Node is a no brainer. But I don't regret shelling out the extra cash for the mini.

Yes, it was four times the cost. But I have paid more for less, as I think we all have at some point in our audio journey.

Oz