Streamer Upgrade Bluesound Node To Aurender N10

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

@mgattmch

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 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.

“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

I am not sure what you’re trying to convey? Are you saying Node with PSU upgrade is just as good as N10 or N200? Or is it worth spending $4K on N10?

Getting AC out of the Node is a no brainer and could well satisfy your needs. There's unlikely to be many who can compare the two. In any case, considering the cost it'd be better to try it out for yourself.