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New streamer

I recently opened a discussion on upgrading my DAC. I started at the beginning of that discussion, that I was a vinyl guy, but with my purchase of the Chord Qutest, I realized that digital music can be outstanding and want to now upgrade my Node.

That will provide 2 benefits: Maximizing my current systems digital, and allow me to move the Node & Schiit Modi Multibit 2 to the family room, a small HT setup with a Yamaha AVR driving a Goldenear soundbar. Streaming there is currently MusicCast using the AVR DAC.  The improvement there should be very nice. 

My 2 channel equipment is as follows: 

Rogue RP-1 w/ NOS Brimar’s, LSA Warp 1, KEF R11’s, Rhythmic F12SE, Pro-ject 1Xpression w/Hana ML, Rega Aria, Bluesound Node w/Qubuz, Marantz CD6007, Chord Qutest. Good to very good power, speaker, interconnect cables.  
My weakest link (I believe) is now my Node. 
I don’t want or need amplification or volume control, ripping storage, nor an internal DAC. Sound signature should be neutral. 
My budget is $2,500, but willing to spend less. My current favorites are:

Lumin U2 mini. Very well reviewed, beautiful, perfect form factor, good app & controllable via my Harmony One remote. It is currently my #1 choice.

Auralic Aris. If new, the G1.1, if used G2.0 or 2.1. Very well reviewed, good app, OK form factor, but not controllable via harmony.  
Naim ND5 XS2. Considered the best high end streamer by What Hi Fi  Would need to buy used to stay close to budget.

EverSolo DMP-A6. Included based upon reviews, but may not be a serious contender. 
HiFi Rose RS250A. The streamer EverSolo seemed to copy  

Aurender. Don’t think they have anything within my budget, but included for discussion.

 LPS upgrade for Node. Included because I know it will come up. Plan to reuse my node downstairs, so out. Would prefer LPS upgrade for one of the above.  

Please let me know your thoughts and/or recommendations. Thanks!

 

 

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audphile1's avatar
audphile1
5,177 posts
 

@zlone there’s no simple answer. With spdif, the clock before the DAC matters the most, be it in the transport/streamer or a re-clocker that will take in USB and output either i2s or spdif or both.
with USB, your DAC’s USB processing is what you will rely on. The lower line Aurender models focus on USB and the design ensures galvanic and noise isolation so that your DAC can get as clean of a data stream as possible.

The reason why the higher Aurender models offer both USB and spdif is because of thr inclusion of clock that processes the digital signal before the spdif output. There’s a basic/decent clock in the N200, and sn excellent OCXO clock in the N20 and above.

So with streamers like Lumin U2 Mini, or U2, or Aurender N150 and N200, USB is the optimized and preferred interface to your DAC. Provided the DAC has a good USB section. Clear as mud? Lol

zlone
687 posts
 

@audphile1 Very clear, thanks for the explanation. It now makes sense why they do not include SPDIF in the lower models, do it right, or not at all.

audphile1's avatar
audphile1
5,177 posts
 

Comparing N200 outputs into the Bricasti M3 DAC in my system using DH Labs D750 coax cable and the “stock” Aurender USB cable, I prefer USB that sounds more open and dynamic witj bigger images and larger soundstage. And the DH Labs D750 is no slouch! Introducing AQ Diamond USB cable widens that gap even further. Don’t get me wrong, the SPDIF output sounds great! It’s smooth and natural. It still lacks behind USB though. I had exactly the same experience with Lumin - I preferred USB even to the AES/EBU using a fairly expensive digital AES cable.
So as long ss your DAC has a very good USB section, you should be fine with N150

zlone
687 posts
 

@audphile1 That is very helpful, thanks. My DAC is due for replacement as well, but trying to spread things out a bit.

marco1's avatar
marco1
528 posts
 

@zlone you probably are already aware but Schiit has a USB upgrade available for a very reasonable price. I had an older Yiggy a few years back and the SPDIF was better than the old USB at that time. You don’t say what model/edition Schiit you have but if an older version the upgrade could hold you over for a while. I have tried my N150 with a friends upgraded Yiggy and it was an improvement over the version I had.

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