Streaming 102

For my money, there's hardly a better value in HiFi than the Bluesound Node2.

Expect to spend at least 5x-10x more for an equivalent feature set with better SQ.

Sure, the new Lumin P1 looks wonderful. At ~$10K, it ought to. Although it doesn't even use the top of the line ESS DAC chip (two ES9028PRO instead of one or two ES9038PRO chips).

If you're convinced you'll hear a significant difference with a separate, dedicated DAC (compared to the one built into the Node), then there may be no need for a new streamer.  Just pipe the Node 2 into the DAC. 

Another option would be a new integrated streamer/DAC/pre-amp to replace the Node entirely. Possibilities:

Bryston BDA 3.14, Matrix Element X, Exasound S88 (or the new S82 when it's out), Cambridge Edge NQ.  These all have different strengths/weaknesses relative to each other.   I have the Element X, which is the least expensive of these options at ~$3400.  The Edge NQ seems to offer the best feature set and usability.  Bryston has the longest warranty.  Stereophile gives the S88 an A+ rating;  I've never heard it, but suspect it would be the best of the bunch for sound quality (or if you ever want to venture into multichannel sound). For whatever it's worth, the Element X and the Exasound S88 both use the ES9038PRO DAC chip.

If you do want a separate, dedicated streamer then I'd agree the Sonore products (ultraRendu etc.) are worth a look. They are Roon-ready and also can function as  HQ Player network audio adaptors.

mrdon

If you are using a Ethernet connection to your Node, that is hardwired.  If instead you are using the Nodes WiFi, then you are not hardwired.  
 

OP

do you play SACDs?

The t2 does gave a usb input which can also be set as an put put

An amazing dac is the bricasti m3

It too has a network card and digital inputs

Dave and troy

AUDIO INTELLECT NJ

LUMIN MYTEK, BLUESOUND BRICASTI DEALERS

Its a bit of a nuanced issue. At its simplest, the DAC has a greater impact on sound than the streamer. But a really well engineered DAC with well isolated USB input, and really good FIFO re-clocking will obviate the differences between most streamers (sources).

As to DAC quality - the BlueSound, while nice, and you like it, is a low bar. I have done extensive comparisons with the Schiit Modi 3 even (that’s the $99 one) and the Modi outperforms it, driven from a Mac.

As you probably know, i firmly believe the future of digital will be on computers, and the sooner you move to such a platform and then work out the kinks, the better. So a DAC (Denefrips, Yggy, Mytek, blah, your call) would be my string first priority. Get it right and you can fiddle around with what feeds it for ages.

Hey, people enter this hobby to mess around with setup. Here’s your chance to fiddle in digital :-)

Never, ever underestimate the sonic value of really good electrical isolation and jitter control. And don’t be fooled by the fact that everyone lists "galvanic isolation" of the input. There are good ($$$) ways and cheap ways to (not) accomplish this.

Evidence: I took an old DAC with SPDIF input. It was $4k in the day. Sounded OK compared to the same designer’s modern products at a similar pricepoint ($2800) and better than his $700 current product (With SPDIF). Then i built an installed (design! build! fix! drill! dremel! action!) a USB --> SPDIF/I2S interface board, built a really clean isolated power supply for it, made sure it had extensive jitter reduction, and installed. The 30 year old product rocketed to first place; maybe a shade behind the $2800 modern product, but with better "weight" to the sound, and maybe a shade less detail and 3-dimensionality. But this is 30+ years old!!!!

Its not magic. Its engineering. And care. yea, there are some unexplained mysteries in that digital feed, but every year they get smaller.

G

I own the Yggdrasil and give it two thumbs wayyyy up. 

what hasn’t been discussed to you so far is the ease of streaming with associated software. I own a Bluesound Node in a bedroom system, and the Beaty of it is bulletproof software that doesn’t crash and hardware that robustly comes back from being accidentally turned off (like with loss of power). The software interface matters a lot.

 I use an Aurender N100H with my Yggdrasil, and one reason I got it is that the controlling software was intuitive and easy to use, a bit more sophisticated than the Bluesound but with a steeper learning curve. This combo sounds much, much better than the Bluesound. However, when this unit loses power, the return to functionality is not graceful. Often several reboots are required, and I mean hard reboots. It is not possible to follow the software commands from a controlling iPad, as the unit doesn’t communicate after losing power. The Bluesound is a much more robust consumer product.

so my recommendation is to play around with controlling the server before you buy.