Ditching Lumin T2 - Lumin U1 Mini or Bluesound Node 2i

The Node 2i is a solid choice generally at its price point but in your case given your budget and your experience with a good streamer, I think you'll be happy with it only if you upgrade the power supply.  This makes a substantial difference for the Node 2i as the crappy SMPS it has from the factory is really holding it back (it sounds a lot better just using a better SMPS like an ifi).  You can go from high two figures for a quality Chinese LPS all the way up to something top of the line like the Paul Hynes SR4 which is mid three figures.  To use a new PS you'll need to swap out the PS board in the Node 2i (10 min of work with a screwdriver).

If you are running the LUMIN’s analog out into the Anthem, you could try the SPDIF out or USB out, and set the streamer to “pass through” the digital signal to get a very similar experience to the U1 MinI or U1. 

rockrider, yeah I think i'll play around with that for a while.  

I think most people would be very "irked" to know their $$$$ streamer dac is being reprocessed and you're now hearing two dacs.  

Also, I think Anthem recommends NOT doing this which tells me there's something nefarious going on in the signal path.  

The Anthem is a nice piece, and ARC is kind of cool, but it doesn't sound natural to me when engaged. If you can't bypass all that crap in the Anthem, I would consider a different integrated that lets you enjoy the high quality source you have rather than downgrade your source. 

big_greg I can bypass it all... But I can't use bass management or ARC if I do.