Eversolo dealers in Portland, Oregon area.

I hear you, but IMHO not always.  For example, I prefer the sound of the older DAC's then the new ones, Burr-Brown and Wolfson V. ESS as an example. 

In this case, the Gen 2 has a better power supply, which based on what I've read can make the streamers sound better.  At the same price, why not?  Of course, I want to listen first to make that determination, and not just "drink the Kool-Aid".

I get a kick out of hearing Burr-Brown. Didn't think I would still hear the word.  I worked for Burr-Brown for nearly twenty years. Nice to see their legacy continues. 

Yep, my buddy keeps accusing me of being a dinosaur. I like what I like, what can I say. His favorites are the AKM (which I would consider mid generation), but we know what happened there.

I listened to an Eversol A6 standard today. Much better sound than a Wiim Ultra they had. Deeper and wider soundstage and space between the instruments. Vocals had much more body, better articulation in the bass regions and a little deeper. The Wiim sounded flat and veiled in comparison. Even the wife instantly heard the difference, and she also preferred the Eversol. Unfortunately, the second dealer I went to no longer carries the Eversol and was sold out of the Bluesound Icon. I would really like to hear both together, but not possible at this point here in WA. I’m going to wait until the Gen 2 hits the shelves and A/B the A6 gen 2 and A6 Master Edition gen 2. I just hate having to listen to the Icon at a second dealer with totally different equipment. On the plus side, they sell McIntosh so I should be able to somewhat match the rest of the electronics but still have no idea how the Eversol units will sound on it.

There is a reason that dealer no longer carries Eversolo.  They are sticking dealers with units bricked by bad  FW.   They also have no repair or support in the US or any other country.  A real POS company to deal with. 

  Wait for the Icon or bump the budget and look at Innuos.   

I really like some of the features and components of the Eversolo and it had good sound. I have been getting negative vibes about their customer service during my research from just about every site. If you get a good one great, if not, stand by for pain. As I am just "dipping my toes in the pool" so to speak, I really don’t wish to spend more than the Icon or Eversolo units.

I should have probably started by explaining my journey. I am out of room for vinyl and CD’s. I have been really trying to resist buying new titles, but every time I hear something I like, I buy it, vinyl being first choice. I will continue to play my collection and look to stream to continue hearing new artists. As an example, my last 3-4 purchases were something I happened to hear while at a hifi shop they were playing on a streamer.  So I thought to myself, maybe I should try that.  Doing that, I can make playlists of the new stuff I hear.

We are also looking to downsize our living space and move out of our current state so we’d less have to move, but that will also limit our storage space at the new residence as a result.

Does trying a streamer make sense in that scenario?