2. digital
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Ditching Lumin T2 - Lumin U1 Mini or Bluesound Node 2i

Live and you learn.  I love this streamer, BUT, I'm not convinced I'm getting the most from it's excellent DAC because my Anthem STR is converting the signal back to digital (for subwoofers and ARC) then reconverting using the Anthem's DACs. 

The Anthem does sound excellent mind you!  But I really wanted the pure Lumin sound and there's no way to not double process the signal if I want to use subs or ARC. 

So now the question is......  Would a Lumin U1 mini (streamer only) really be that much better than a Bluesound Node 2i just for streaming?
I do like BluOS better than Lumin's app but I also use Roon which is love/hate.
dtximages

Showing 2 responses by crn3371

crn3371
224 posts
 
The Anthem STR integrated is still going to benefit from a good DAC, this coming from a happy STR owner. I’m currently using a Bel Canto e.One Stream feeding a W4S DAC-2DSDse and love the sound. I briefly tried the Node2i but returned it as I preferred the sound of my MacBook Pro and the Anthems internal DAC over that of the Node. I try not to overthink the whole digital conversion process of the Anthem, as the benefits I gain from the room correction and subwoofer integration far outweighs any possible signal degradation inherent in the digitizing process. YMMV
crn3371
224 posts
 
The bottom line with the STR is whether or not you’re happy with the end product, I happen to be ok with all the internal machinations. The internal DAC in the STR integrated is pretty decent, but I had an appreciable increase in SQ when I upgraded my digital sources, regardless of what was happening internally with the STR. There’s a lot of people out there with good gear who are feeding that gear through some type of dsp and are quite happy with the results. To the OP, by your logic I wouldn’t invest much in a turntable or cartridge either, nor buy any LP that was digitally mastered.  
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