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This is good Schiit...

Hang on... this is a long one...

So I had never tried anything from Schiit Audio before in my nearly 30 years messing around in mid-fi gear.  I have owned many, many amps, preamps, integrated amps, CD players, DACs, etc.  Most individual units were ranged between $500 to maybe $6,000 (retail), but the majority were purchased used.

So I was messing around on YouTube one day and saw some videos on the Schiit Freya+ tube preamp.  I have always been a fan of a tube preamp + big SS amplifier.... just always preferred this setup generally.  So after seeing what these were selling for used (and the fact that I much preferred the black finish - harder to find), I decided to just order a new one from Schiit and give it a try.  Even if it suck or was Schiity, I could sell it for a decent price and only lose maybe $200 or so.  At the same time, I ordered a couple matched quads of old NOS RCA & Sylvania tubes.

Having owned much more expensive SS & tube preamps in the past, I was fairly surprised with the sound straight out of the box.  As a few music sessions went by over the next month or so, it got better and better sounding.  I was using a Parasound A23+ amp with it at the time and a Bluesound Node 2i for a streamer/DAC up front. 

Then seeing several other videos on YouTube about the Schiit Aegir amplifiers... I decided to buy a pair of those and give them a try.  I was also shocked at what they sounded like, especially at that asking price... HUGE bank for the buck in my opinion. 

Then, after watching more videos on YouTube about the new Tyr mono blocks, I bought a pair of those to try.  I have been going back-n-forth between these amps on/off for the last few weeks - still trying to decide which ones I prefer... they both sound fantastic and are a ridiculous value I feel.

So this brings me to my question (finally, I know)... since I seem to have a serious fondness so far for this Schiit and I am only running a Bluesound Node 2i for both streamer & DAC duty... maybe I give one of their DACs a try also???  Would it make a significant difference???

My experiences with DACs (and I have tried many) left me satisfied with the sound from the BS Node 2i alone.  When trying different DACs in the past, with decent cables, etc., the sonic differences were very minor to my ears. 

One specific comparison was when I had the BS Node 2i hooked up with both a pair of Clear Day silver RCA cables out and a nice Furutech digital cable out.  I sent the digital stream into an MHDT Orchid tube DAC w/ the highly recommend NOS Western Electric tube, then the same Clear Day RCA cables continued onto the integrated amplifier (Plinius 8100).  The other Clear Day silver RCA went directly from the BS Node 2i into the integrated amplifier.  The power cord on the BS Node 2i was a Nordost Purple Flare and the power cords on the MHDT DAC and the Plinius integrated were both LessLoss DFPC Signature (so I am not hooking all this up with basic/cheap cables at all).  All of this was plugged into a BPT line conditioner.

So cue up some music stream from Tidal and go back-n-forth on the two different inputs on-the-fly....differences?  Yes, but not that much...  not NEARLY enough to justify the additional costs of the DAC, tube & cables I felt.

So does anyone have actual experience with using a Bluesound Node 2i alone and then upgrading to a better external DAC and just using the BS Node 2i for streaming duty?  I understand that there are many out there that downplay the BS Node capabilities as a DAC, but let's not make a comparison to a streamer/DAC that cost $8,000... let's really compare apples to apples.

I do not have a huge issue with buying Schiit's best DAC, but I feel like it would take that unit to have me hearing a worthwhile difference.

Thanks for your attention and any/all advice is much appreciated.

128x128audiofreak32
audiofreak32's avatar
audiofreak32 OP
281 posts
 

I feel that the BS Node 2i (especially that version - not the newer one) sounds very good already as a streamer+DAC.  Sure, you can definitely get better sound... but for how much?  Maybe $2k AT LEAST in my opinion to get a worthwhile upgrade.  The issue I have is the app that controls things and the BlueOS is superb, while many others are not.  I am using another 2i on my other system with a pair of Devialet Phantom 1 (108) active speakers, so I am not using the on-board Bluesound DAC, just streaming duty only.

When people slam the sound of the BS alone... my question would be:  what are you comparing it to for $550 that beats it?  The answer is nothing.  I have tried various outboard DACs with this BS Node 2i and even dropping near $2k in DAC _ cables got a BARELY better sound for my ears.  I guess if you are comparing it to a streamer/DAC that is $12,000 USD, then, sure the Bluesound sucks in comparison maybe.

Don't care about how many "bits" or DSD.... I care about the sound - looking for natural and non-fatiguing.

audiofreak32's avatar
audiofreak32 OP
281 posts
 

I am going to try the Yggy DAC and see what happens... the good news is the resale value... compare that to these high-end DACs that people are buying for $8k-15k and then trying to unload for half that (or less)... no thanks.

acmaier3's avatar
acmaier3
55 posts
 

You’re right that for under $1k BS 2i is hard to beat. I run a perfectwave directstream which gently used is $3k and light years better.

2psyop's avatar
Ag insider logo xs@2x
2psyop
1,557 posts
 

I have a Bluesound Node2 (not Node2i) and Bluesound Vault. I have found that when I play TIDAL MQA albums, about 80% of them sound better then when my external DAC (a Schiit Bifrost Uber and/or Bifrost 2 is running).

I think Bluesound and internal DAC is underrated unless you step up to over $700 in external DAC choices and with Tidal MQA running on Bluesound I would have to say you have to go over $1K in external DAC choices.

YMMV and many don’t like MQA at all, but I have heard Qubuz HF, Tidal and CD quality (not DSD) and the Bluesound playing TIDAL MQA sounds very good.

BTW. I have the Schiit Bifrost Uber, Schiit Bifrost 2 and Schit Freya Plus with NOS tubes and I really like them all.

marco1's avatar
marco1
518 posts
 

Considering the improvement I hear going to a Gumby from the inboard Node DAC, if you don't hear a significant difference going to the Yiggy I'd say you're in the wrong hobby :-)  All kidding aside though if you don't hear a difference I think you need to start looking at other things going on in your system.

 

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