@mattchanoff - I followed a similar path recently getting into streaming. I started with a Node2i (at the recommendation of Bes at Music Direct). It does have a well-executed user interface and lots of connections. Works well as a streamer. But there was a very noticeable improvement in SQ when I bypassed the Node 2i's DAC in favor of the DAC in a Cambridge CXA81 amp. IMHO, using a Node 2i as a streamer and adding a better DAC is a good option. But also, based on my experience, the recommendation earlier in this thread to consider a Cambridge CXN v2 streamer/DAC would probably work nicely for you, too, and save a big portion of your budget for other upgrades. Best of luck.
Another person going digital and full of questions
I'm yet another new member trying to figure out the digital streaming world. I've been streaming Tidal and Idagio from my desktop computer through an RME ADI-2 dac and into various headphones for a while. Now I'd like to add digital streaming on my main system. I'm just looking for a source that would provide streaming services to my existing preamp (Audible Illusions) amp (Audio Research) and speakers (Wilson Benesch Act 1). I'm looking for something to complement my other sources, a VPI turntable and a Rega CD player and Benchmark 1 DAC. I don't want to rip my CDs or play any stored music files. So far, I'm learning that there are more recent and better DACs out there than the old Benchmark, and that I should consider a quieter box than my computer to connect to ethernet. But I'm lost in a sea of streamers, servers, reclockers, power supplies, etcetera, most with unfamiliar brand names.
I'd appreciate any suggestions. budget in the $5k range but can stretch a little.
- ...
- 50 posts total
@mattchanoff Ditto on the long and winding road. Someday I will sit down and post the whole story, just not today. Many DAC's and streamers bought/sold, bought/returned priced up to 10k, auditioned 30 days at a time. I landed with a DAC that focused on the latest in USB design, kept my desktop as the streamer and am very pleased with the music. |
I been streaming for many moons. Started years ago with one of the first Sonos ZP90s and streaming Napster. Then added an external DAC. Then had the ZP90 upgraded by Wyred4Sound. Then got my hands on a Bryston BDP Pi to replace the ZP90. Then discovered ROONS and ran that on a Mac Mini with the Bryston as an endpoint. That was a problematic but the ROONS interface was a new game. Next step was to move the ROONS core to a SGC ST (dedicated device) and hardwire to the endpoint and deploy a mesh network with one of the nodes hardwired to the SGC ST. Then upgraded the network cables. Put in a power supply for the cable/modem. Through the process running trials on Spotify,Tidal, and running Deezer for a few years as it had exclusive on running 16/48 on Sonos then finally settling in on Qobuz. This is where I sit today and it is stable and sounds good. Always vulnerable to network vagaries but is part of the game. All along the way I been grinning like a possum eating saw briars.
|
Like several have said, Get a Bluesound Node 2 for starters and see where it leads you. A lot of people love the new DAC, a lot of people use and external DAC. Some people have changed the wall wart, some people have changed an internal board and use a linear power supply. Some people have just changed the power cord. All the best. JD |
- 50 posts total