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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



128x128ozzy62
ozzy62's avatar
ozzy62 OP
3,240 posts
 
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



mofimadness's avatar
mofimadness
5,121 posts
 
@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.
ozzy62's avatar
ozzy62 OP
3,240 posts
 
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


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sofaman
24 posts
 
Right, the consensus is the Node 2i is the perfect $500 device. I had a basic Emotiva XDA-2 and had been focused on upgrading speakers and amps. Once that was done, I was in a dilemma into how much more would be needed to show notable performance over the Node. The answer seemed to be more like $1,500+. Wanting to stick to the $1,000 range I found a used Lumin D1. Wow, that is very much a sweet spot of performance value. 
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