Streaming questions

I use a Lumin U1 Mini and pair it with a couple of DACs by Line Magnetic and Canor. I also have an SBooster on the Lumin with a JPS Labs PC. I don't want a screen for album art and or any of the other features some models have. Just a top quality streamer (app is just OK), Power Supply and DAC team. Couldn't be happier. Lots of options out there, these are just mine. Enjoy! 

+1 on Mahler123's recommendation on WiiM streamers.  While my main system has an Innuos Stream 1, my second system uses a WiiM Pro Plus for streaming, and I am quite pleased with it.  The price was modest--just over $200 with an internal DAC. The build quality appears to be good, and the sound is quite nice.

I've tried quite a few budget streamers & think for your price range the Node Icon is extremely good. App has been flawless with WiFi & LAN connection. Quboz connect is a beautiful thing. The sound quality was indeed better than expected. Preferred it over the more budget priced WiiM Ultra & my slightly more expensive IFI Neo Stream. Using the Icon as an All-in-one threw a very enjoyable soundstage between & beyond the speakers. I have paired the unit with my cheaper R2R dac but the internal dac in the Icon is quite capable. 

I use the Icon in my living room & have hooked my TV into it & it spits out the TV signal digitally to a downstream dac. I feel that feeding my TV into the Icon instead of straight to Dac brings an improvement..I have no idea why as it shouldn't make a difference. Brings me a taller TV soundstage though. Navigation of switching from TV to streaming service is smooth, easy, & quick. I press on Quboz, Tidal, or Spotify & it cuts the TV volume & goes straight to streaming my selected music track. 

I prefer devices that allow me to use my own 3rd party power supplies & I was curious as to how I would perceive the noise floor from the Icon device. I was pleasantly surprised that the Icon has a nice dark background & clear separation of instruments..space. 

I easily perceive the difference when upgrading to a more expensive R2R dac which makes the Icon future proof if you ever want to step up your performance. Teddy Pardo has already released a better regulator & power supply for an even better future upgrade. The Dirac upgrade option from Bluesound is another bonus. I have not used the Icon Dirac option but I've owned a few minidsp devices in the past. The results that Dirac can have on your lower frequencies & phase issues is something everyone should experience in my opinion. Fixing any phase issues, flattening your rooms frequency response in the mid & low bass range, removing any boominess & muddiness will greatly improve your soundstage & focus..also allowing one to clearly hear the details & texture in bass strums & plucks. Cleaning your bass up. 

Otherwise I would say save up or do what you have to do & go for the big boys like Lumin, Aurrender, Innous. I would skip their lower base models though. Go all the way or half way but if you can't swing the extra bread like many of us right now then pull back &  look at things like the Icon, Rivo +, or the list of other streamers already mentioned. 

If you have never owned a streamer almost any of the competent ones mentioned here is going to be a revelation. It's totally convenient..the amount of music at your fingertips is staggering. Fantastic for finding new music. And no matter which unit you go for it will be much better than something like Bluetooth & more a long the lines of a good CD player. 

Streaming changed everything for me. But opened a world of digital that turned out to be more complicated than what I had been taught & believed for years. These devices do not all sound or perform the same..even when just simply using them as a transport...In My Opinion

retiredaudioguy: Yes, I listen almost exclusively to classical. I have put together a playlist that puts me in musical nirvana. I'll check out Presto. Thanks

kingbr: Several years ago I sold my Krell integrated and Harbeth SuperHL5Plus speakers when I moved into my girlfriend's tiny (and I mean tiny) apartment in D.C. I live in a house now and thought I would dip my toes back into the hobby. I got a good deal on the Revels and was blown away by the sound. In my opinion the punch was above their price. With streaming they should sound even better. 

I'm looking at the Wii ultra and Bluesound Node Icon, but not eliminating any of the other suggestions. I have to say I have enjoyed this experience on Audiogon Forums. Everyone has been helpful and nobody got nasty. Maybe it's because I didn't ask about fuses or cables. 

with the widespread availabilty of power supply upgrades for the nodes i have set up several friends’ systems using them (as well as my own second system), as the sonic performance is greatly raised by getting the internal smps out and affording a clean lps 5v dc feed

a few important things to note about the various b-s nodes given the above

- the node icon still uses a factory internal smps although they say there is more internal power filtering now... the unit is new enough that the usual suspects in china eastern europe israel for aftermarket kits have not yet come out with the lps retrofit/upgrades but they are likely on their way ... am sure an even higher sonic level can be achieved with the icon if/once these arrive

- the new node nano is of interest as there is no screen like on the icon to add noise and complexity... AND b-s smartly removed the internal smps opting for an outboard wart... and so a smart user can immediately use an lps to cleanly power the unit for best sound without an internal retrofit!  well done blue sound!  -- so if you can live with the nano’s basic connectivity it is just a terrific, focused unit to make great stereo music or feed your dac

- the node n130 n132 (and current node) all need the fairly simple retrofit to defeat the smps and plug in an extra lps... and once this is done, the sonic benefit is quite substantial, and without exaggeration, the sound closely approaches that of much much more expensive dacs and streamer/dacs.... this from fairly extensive personal listening comparisons -- i see these modded lps-ed nodes as real steals as they are excellent all-arounders with a wealth of connectivity options (streamer, streamer/dac, hdmi, subwoofer etc etc)