2. digital
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Digital front end upgrade options

Hey everyone,

want to get some opinions and advice as to what may be the best upgrade path for my system.

my digital front end is currently lacking quite a bit. It’s my primary playback out of pure convenience. I currently stream tidal and qobuz through a MacBook Pro into a dragonfly cobalt. I would like to invest into a dedicated streamer. I have been looking at two units that are in different leagues. The first option would be the bluesound node 2i (more budget option) and the second would be a lumin u2 mini. So with that being said if I went with the cheaper option of the bluesound node 2i would I see any real sonic improvements over my current setup? Or would I be better suited to just pony up for the more expensive lumin u2 mini? And if I went with the u2 mini would the sonic improvements be significant over my dragonfly cobalt? I would like to think either option would be a significant upgrade but unfortunately I don’t have the option to test gear to find out for myself. Hoping to get a little insight here. Thank you all!

james1911

Showing 1 response by mahler123

mahler123
3,502 posts
 

OP

 

  you will definitely note an improvement with either streamer that you are considering, primarily because the DAC in either will be a huge upgrade.  So you could just buy a DAC and keep using the computer as a source.  I think that you may be happiest with a dedicated streamer-DAC combination, as ease of use seems to be important, but if you like using the computer from a purely sonic perspective the biggest need that you have is for a decent DAC

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