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Please be gentle with me! 🙏

I am a vinyl diehard and know very little of the streaming world.

My son has just bought his 1st amp and speakers a Leak 230 integrated and some JBL 4312G speakers and is currently streaming his music using an Android phone via the USB C on his phone into the USB B input on the amp, using the built in DAC on the amp. So the question is would something like a Bluesound Node N130 as a straight streamer be an audible improvement to his phone?

128x128alan60
soix
9,456 posts
 

Oops.  I misread and thought he was using the DAC in the phone.  Not sure if DAC in the Node would be an improvement or not.  My bad.

littleman
37 posts
 

What works for me....Fiio M11 DAP, line out Y cable into back of Bel Canto AMP, wired to speakers.....sounds perfect. More details here...

....recently acquired a very nice condition used Bel Canto 300 i class D for the recently added ML Ethos. Have tried and compared 3 three chains...
1. Sony STR da5700ES Pre / Amp only as before...
2. Sony Pre into Bel Canto AMP (Theater Bypass)...
3. Bel Canto Pre / Amp on it;s own.

Not knowing anything different...1 was very enjoyable.

2 improved the top and mids....much cleaner / clearer, better soundstage, depth, lower mids into bass more "fuzzy / whooly" by comparison to 1.

3 initially sounded very bright on top....fatiguing...almost unlistenable on some tracks.

Left Bel Canto on with CD repeat for 100+ hours...

3 now is far better up and down the frequency range including the bass with bass cabinets set at "0". Rocket 33 speaker cables gave a nice boost to mids and tampered down the top just enough.
 
alan60's avatar
alan60 OP
178 posts
 

All the Bluesound Node N130 is a streamer only and he is using the DAC in the Leak, so it's a case of is his phone as good a streamer as say a Bluesound Node N130?

alan60's avatar
alan60 OP
178 posts
 

Correction to the above the N130 does have a DAC, my apologies.

mahler123
3,318 posts
 

Your son is probably bypassing the internal DAC in the Bluesound , but perhaps not and he may be using the DAC in the Bluesound.  We know for sure he isn’t using the phone DAC, right?

  As to whether the Bluesound is a better digital transport than the phone, see my earlier answer.  The phone may actually be a good transport.  It depends.  Can’t make the answer more basic than that.

  Now, if you upgrade from the Node into better streamers, I am going to feel fairly certain that the phone will come in second place.  The Bluesound is an entry level product, and a well built phone might match it as a transport, but I haven’t seen a phone that will compete with a higher level streamer than the Node

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