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Bluesound icon vs Nad c700

I currently have a McIntosh 352 which I plan to use with either of these setups. I am looking for a streamer for my digital playback that I can use tidal/ roon ect.   The new icon seems to fit what I am looking for but I found a Nad c 700 in my local area for sale for a great price.  It has preouts so I believe I could feed it into my McIntosh and use it in the same way.   At this time I wouldn’t be utilizing its power side but it’s nice to know it has it.   Any reason not to get the nad (especially since I can get it for a lot less ) ? 
 

Powering a set of b&w 703s if it matters 

 

spread5150
oddiofyl's avatar
oddiofyl
3,878 posts
 

I'm betting the Icon sounds great for the money.   Is it the best source for that amp?  Not sure.  I have a Vault 2i and its been great.   No real issues in 5 years.  I also have an Aurender which is in a different league in my experience.  I

Do without a screen and buy an Innuos at your budget , way better sound and support than most companies in the streamer space at this price .

petaluman
156 posts
 

You should be able to get a used Aurender N100 for around a grand, also, if you don't need a Roon-capable streamer.

woots's avatar
Ag insider logo xs@2x
woots
295 posts
 

Check out Lumin, both new and used. 

marquis4099
3 posts
 

I am using a Bluesound Node X and the sound is incredible. My Node X is hooked up to a McIntosh C55 which feeds into my MA 462 power amp. The rendition of the music is incredible from what mu ears can discern. I am looking for an incredible speaker in the high 5000 $ range to hook to my McIntosh MA 462 amplifier. Any recommendations?

moonwatcher
464 posts
 

Not out yet I think. But soon. Bluesound had to up their game because they were being eaten for lunch by lower cost options from WiiM and Cambridge, so they did. By all accounts, the new Node Nano, Node N132, and Node Icon are steps up in audio quality. No a screen isn’t a requirement, but hey, it is nice to have and the one on the Icon is large enough to see across the room. If you listen alone you’ll have your phone to look at, but if you listen with others, they too can see what the heck is playing and I think it helps to see the album artwork so you can mentally associate it with the music (sure helps me find it again when scrolling through my playlists). And some people like the idea of throwing their phone in another room so they aren’t disturbed by texts, Facebook Messenger, and calls.

The two main things to know are its use of dual DACs that are the latest from ESS and a better, beefier, power supply to the point you won’t need to worry about modifying it with a LPS later on.

Also note that even though these reviewers seldom mention it, on both the Node N132 and Node Icon, the USB-A input can be software selected to be an OUTPUT for connection to an outboard DAC and use the presumably better clock chip in it.

Just be aware that according to the manuals, if you do so, all analog outputs are deactivated including (I assume) the subwoofer output. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xu_IEvNmbFg

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