Streamer wanted

@rvpiano -- just wondering if you ordered the U1 Mini with an external power supply. My friend who owns the U1 Mini mentioned that adding one had a pretty substantial improvement in performance. I know some dealers can modify the unit to make it work with something like the sbooster. 

Teac NT-505 would be bigger animal at this price range. 

I canceled my order
I determined that the Lumin is too sophisticated for my needs. I only want a streamer that is hi res capable (which for whatever reason my Arcam RPlay is not) and has improved SQ. I don’t need to access stored files or transfer a CD collection. Also, I learned that I would need an external WiFi source to run the Lumin. I don’t want to make this so complicated.
So, I’m just looking for a simple streamer with better sound quality.
I would consider retrying the Bluesound because I know it is hi res capable, but when I made a head to head comparison with my Arcam, the Arcam sounded better.
.

Arcam has a better DAC but a total crap user interface.

@rvpaino: not sure what youre looking for and your process seems random.
On one hand, you dropped $2K on a Lumin then cancelled it. Then, OTOH, you bash the $500 BS without even trying to find the right DAC for it that would actually get you to around $2K and some righteous SQ.

Chord Qutest, Benchmark, Mytek...get a DAC, man.
Plus, do some research!

Yiu get what you give you and your details and goals are hidden hence your results here are dubious.

Youre making apples/bananas comparisons.

Love the Bluesound 2i. Works great with Amazon (for me, at least). Connected to a decent DAC and ethernet cable, it sounds very good, even if my cd's and vinyl sound better. But for $549 it's a tremendous bargain.