Have had the N200 about a month or so and love it. Much better sounding than the Vault 2i it replaced
Streamer Upgrade Bluesound Node To Aurender N10
Just got into streaming via a Bluesound Node running Tidal and Qobuz, streaming from an iPad Air via wifi. Very impressed by the simplicity, convenience, incredible choice of music and sound quality. My question is; if I replace the Bluesound Node with an Aurender N10 will there be a noticeable difference in SQ?
Rest of the system is a McIntosh C52 pre amp, MC312 power amp and Magico A5 speakers. I feed the digital optical output from the Bluesound Node to the C52. A/D conversion is done in the C52. If I do upgrade to the Aurender N10, what is the best way to connect the system together? A/D in the Aurender N10 or C52, type of cable connection between the two units etc?
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- 49 posts total
Which Node do you have? The NODE 130 is noticeably better sounding (though not profoundly so) than the 2i. An upgraded PSU in 2i or 130 makes a big improvement. Pedroeb’s post had a photo of the Polish Creative module. I myself liked the British Fidelity Module with one of their LPSUs. That also allows use of good power cords, which is not an option with the standard bluesound units. |
“I previously moved from the internal DAC 2 of my McIntosh MA12000 to a Holo May DC KTE and this was even a greater improvement than the streamer change. +1, @vonhelmholtz In your current setup, your weakest link is Digital to Analog Converter (DAC) in C52. You won’t realize the full potential of Aurender N10 or N200 unless you switch to a better DAC. I would first invest in a better DAC before upgrading the streamer. Secondly, use a high quality COAX cable from Node to a DAC (SPDIF). I would only consider upgrading the power supply in Node as suggested by @pedroeb if you plan on keeping the Node otherwise you’re better off moving to better streamer like Aurender N200 or N10 once you have upgraded the DAC. |
I upgraded the power on my Node for $214 -- that includes the board from PD Creative plus an excellent deal on an Acopian LPS from eBay. I see the Aurender N200 new out there for around $6000 and I'm seeing the N10 out there, used, around $4000 and up. If your Node was $600 to start, you're only at about, say, $850 with the power supply upgrade. That's still a far, far way from $4000 and $6000.
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“If your Node was $600 to start, you’re only at about, say, $850 with the power supply upgrade. That’s still a far, far way from $4000 and $6000.” @hilde45 |
- 49 posts total