Streaming Curious

I don’t know how you are with dipping toes in. But that is a ticket to spend a lot more money by incrementally climbing to get to where your satisfied with digital. well, at least that is the way it would work for me.

Let’s start with the current state of technology:  Streaming can sound as good or better than your vinyl rig. If it sounds as good, then it is likely to completely change your life… for the better.

So if you have a cheap Walmart turntable and phonostage, then the BlueSound will sound better. Streamers / DACs generally conform to the same constrains that all the other components of a system do. In general, you must carefully research and choose wisely compatible equipment of the highest quality for the investment, and you get what you pay for.

My really good vinyl leg (see my virtual systems) sounds nearly identical to my digital end… and the investment level (TT / Phonostage and misc vs DAC and Streamer) is the same… and each roughly the same as preamp and amp.

So, it is really a great idea to add a digital end… but expect to be disappointed if you try it on the cheap.

I may do that although I am pretty content with the sound.  How is the audio quality better?

@ellajeanelle  I have both Qobuz and Ultra HD Amazon and find Qobuz superior listening to the same recordings.  It’s clearer, more 3 dimensional, more dynamic, and just better overall.  Hey, it’s a free trial so why not?  I will say that the Qobuz search function is not very good, but I’ll take that relatively minor hit for the better sound quality any day.

The Bluesound Node is a decent inexpensive starting point to try streaming, but its user interface is just one of many options so the sound quality and user experience, which are the two most important parts of a streamer, aren't necessarily going to match what you are looking for. Particularly since you said i would be sound quality that sells you on it.

I recommend looking into, and trying out before buying anything if possible, the software of various products to first figure out if there's a user experience that appeals to you. Lumin, Auralic, Roon, Bluesound, etc. all have software you can download and for some of them, parts of the UI will work even if you haven't bought anything yet.

After that, figure out what hardware works with the software you like. Personally I'm a fan of Lumin hardware and the Roon software.

I do agree with others that Qobuz would be an excellent source. Versus other services that only offer lossy sound quality. Qobuz has their own app, of course, and will work over AirPlay and Google Cast.

Thanks to all...  The Node is on CL for 1/2 price.  It's the current version (3) and essentially new.  For the price I think I'll give it a try.  I can put it in the shop later and stream some variety out there even if it doesn't lead to a better SQ streamer.

I really like the vinyl ritual and listening to an entire album or at least a side...  even with the CD remote I tend to jump around and feel less satisfied when I'm done listening, so I'm really just seeing if this class of source is interesting or overly distracting for me at this point.

Thanks again

OP -- you mentioned a desire to test drive a "modern interface." I think your idea of getting simple hardware (the Node at a good price on CL) is great. After you’ve had it for a month or two, and are familiar with the BluOS app, I’d encourage you, like @nekoaudio did, to do the free trial of Roon. If you’re the kind of person who can go down a rabbit hole of "XXX played bass on album YYY; what else did he play on?", "what else has ZZZ produced?", "I didn’t know AAA and BBB collaborated together", etc., then you will love Roon. Agree on Qobuz as a streaming subscription. Don’t get ambitious with upgrading hardware until you know you will like streaming. For me, it was game-changing...