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Discerning a difference between streamers is difficult...only me or common for all?

I have struggled to appreciate the upgrade to the streamer in my system. A couple years ago I had an Audio Research DAC 8 being fed by a Bluesound Node 2i. I picked up an Aurender N10 and did not appreciate anything so sold the N10. I tried a couple all-in-one units. First was the Aurender A20 and I was happy but curious about dCS. I got a Bartok 2.0 and felt the music was more natural sounding from the Bartok and sold the A20. I have always wanted the Audio Research DAC 9 to match all my other AR gear so got one that showed up on eBay a couple weeks ago. Since I couldn’t use the Bartok to stream I ordered a new Bluesound Node Nano so I could utilize the DAC 9 immediately. The pair sounded wonderful but I did not compare it to the Bartok. I ended up getting a quick buyer and it was already gone. The following week I purchase an Aurender W20. I was prepared to have my mind blown....but no. Some albums I could not tell any difference in the sound and others I think the W20 sounded slightly better but again...nothing huge. For the money and the space the W20 took on my shelf, I sold it. Over the years I always appreciate upgrades for all other components. This makes me feel like I am losing my mind. Have any others experienced this regarding streamers? I want to try more. Auralic and Lumin are on my list.

Thanks,

Dana

dhite71

Showing 1 response by daledeee1

daledeee1's avatar
daledeee1
610 posts
 

I have basically the same system for 5 yrs but added several things to make it sound better. I have a Node 2i with a Pd Creative power supply and aftermarket power cord. It sits on Herbie’s dots. The router has a linear power supply. I run a Cat 6 Blue Jeans Cable from the router to the streamer. There is a noise filter on each end of the ethernet cable. DX Engineering filters $50. I am using a Topping D 90 with aftermarket power cord. It also has Herbie’s under it. This was good sounding. Then I added a Furman Elite power conditioner. Also bought Furman power strips and plugged all the noisy phone chargers etc. Into the strips. I tried silver coated interconnects and OCC copper. Ended up with a mix of each for the cabling.

All the extras have added quite a bit to the sound of my system. If one of these changes were added it made a difference, but cumulatively made a huge improvement. Power, detailed pleasant 25 Hz bass, transients I never knew were there. The sound is just smooth and not fatiguing. Bear in mind component isolation,  cords, cables, power conditioning all are on the budget side.  You could easily spend thousands more for more expensive brands.

I will save all the software issues for a later date. QOBUZ and BLUOS has been nothing but problems.

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