In general, one of the major benefits of i2S is that the data and clock signals are carried separately so the DAC doesn’t need to go through the extra process of having to separate them when the signal comes in as it does with all other inputs. The downside is that It was originally designed to transmit signals within a component, not externally between components, so it does not do well with distance and the signal degrades rapidly with distance. The implication is the cable (usually HDMI) that you use to transmit i2S should be as short as possible. The experts I’ve read say the cable should optimally be 1 foot or even less — mine is 6”. The good news is many have reported that significantly upgrading the cable only produces marginal improvements so you likely don’t need to spend big $$$ to still get great sound with i2S (my cable cost $6 from Monoprice and I’m getting great sound). I got a large improvement implementing a DDC to take advantage of i2S with my DAC compared to just going USB straight from my streamer. However, I don’t know how much of the benefit was due to i2S or how much was due to the clock and galvanic isolation the DDC also provides. All I know is adding the DDC and using i2S made improvements on the level of making a significant DAC upgrade — it was really that significant. Hope that helps.
Bluesound Node Icon
I currently use Bluesound products because of their multiroom capabilities.
In my main system I have a bluesound node N130 hooked up to a Mcintosh D1100 preamp dac.
Thinking about buying the new Node Icon but I would be by-passing the built in dual dacs so I am not sure if there is any reason to upgrade to the ICON?
If anyone knows the new ICON and can give me some advice I would appreciate it.
Showing 3 responses by soix
@davegolf2424 Unfortunately I don’t have direct experience with them as I use an IFi iPowerX (not optimal but better than wall wart), but going by what others have said and in order I’d look at Teddy Pardo, SBooster, and LHY but I have no info on which may be any better than the other. Congrats on the new streamer, and I’m sure you’ll be happy with any of these power supplies as they all get strong feedback from users. |
If you’re going to upgrade I’d suggest going to an Innuos Pulse mini with an external LPS. Their Sense app is outstanding as is their customer support, and with Innuos your benefitting from trickle-down tech from their much pricier models whereas Bluesound is working from the bottom up. It’s just a higher-level company IMHO. Best of luck. |