Bluesound Vault 2i and a Qutest DAC

Thanks to all for the comments and advice!!!

Hello,
At my local hifi store one of the employees and myself decided to test some DACs with the blu node 2i. BTW the Blu node Vault lets you rip cds and store them. It went in this order, Teac, Cambridge-really good bottom end, then Blu node 2i-no bottom end but good top end. The Teac was amazing, great top and bottom end. Also, try the Lyman streamer/ DAC. Just proving the DAC needs to be upgraded. Mark Levenson has the 5101. SACD/CD player, Streamer, and DAC all in one. It’s so new to the store the streamer is not setup as of yet. Maybe that’s an option. The speakers are probably the first thing you should start with, but the DAC should the second. Even my Oppo 205 was bettered by plugging into a better DAC. Plus you can use some DACs as a preamp to start with. 

Well, contrary to most of the posts here, my experience has been quite different. I set up both this past weekend and I cannot discern any difference in sound quality between the Vault by itself or when connected to the Qutest DAC. If anyone out there can offer suggestions… Here are my setups:
> Krell KAV 300i Integrated amp
> Thiel CS 2.2 speakers
> AudioQuest Cinnamon Optical Cable between Vault and DAC
> LAT International’s Interconnect RCA audio cables (2 sets)

My Test setup:
On Input 2 of the Krell is the Vault by itself with a pair of LAT interconnects
On input 3 of the Krell is the DAC (connected to the Vault via the Optical cable) using a 2nd pair of LAT interconnects.
On the Qutest, I’m using the “optical input” for the input and i’ve tried all the “selectable” options.

When I switch between the Krell inputs (2 & 3) while playing the same album/song, I do not hear a difference. There is, to my ears, maybe a very slightly warmer sound using the DAC, but no game changer.

And, neither setup compares any where near the sound quality of my Theta Miles CD player.

So, anyone?

An update to my November 10 posting: Some very interesting findings!

> Comparing the sound of the vault alone against the vault thru the Qutest DAC and both against the Theta Miles cd player. I used eight different people in my test. I used 2 Jazz tracks from Dave Brubeck’s album “young lions and old tigers“ One track was just piano and voice, the other track was the full band.

I did blind testing of all 3 scenarios. No one knew which device they were listening to. The results: 2 of the 8 heard no difference In quality between the three. 3 of the 8 felt the Vault alone was just slightly better than both the DAC or the CD player. 2 of the 8 said the CD player was the best of all three options. Another 2 of the 8 chose the Vault with the DAC as the best sound of the 3 options when listening to the track of just the piano and voice but they chose the Vault alone when listening to the full band track. 

I do believe I set up the DAC correctly, there wasn’t much set up to do. Their various tone controls did little to change the outcome.

My conclusions: use the vault to replace the CD player and all the CDs. NO need whatsoever to spend $1000 on a DAC (at least the one I was using, the Chord electronics Qutest DAC.)  

So, for now, I’m returning the DAC and living with the Vault alone until such time, in the near future, I’ll try a different DAC. 

llary..  Great way to start and finish the post.  I have a Vault 2 and I am very pleased with it.  Your double-blind report is priceless to me.

The Vault 2 is 2GB mass storage device that integrates a CD drive.  The CD drive’s only purpose is to rip CDs to FLAC. No buttons to push.  Just insert the CD, then wait for a rip and the subsequent repeat.  Don’t forget to clean the CD first.
The write goes to an easily understood filing system. Because the Node is connected to the Internet, it can access names and cover art.  The best way to make revisions to files or filing is via a PC or Mac.
The Vault incorporates the guts of a Node 2 without Wi-Fi or Bluetooth.  When not ripping, it’s the equivalent of a Node with attached storage.  You can control the Vault in play mode with a $60 accessory remote, with Mac or PC software, or via an app for iOS or Android.  BluOS functionality is built into the Vault.

I may consider an off board DAC, but it’s now a low priority.