I saved alot of money.

Whatever floats your boat.

fuzztone, 
Evidently I sunk yours. 

The Hegel H390 DAC is just fine, and that int really is great, especially t it’s price point. Don’t sweat the naysayer’s. If you like it that’s all that matters! Enjoy!

I stream Spotify Premium and Tidal from my laptop to my system with the Auris BluME HD Bluetooth receiver. I also connect from the Auris to my DAC via toslink. The results are just fine and good enough that I've not been compelled to buy a dedicated streamer. At some point I will get a streamer, but I'm too busy enjoying my system and pursuing other activities to worry about buying/integrating a new component into the mix.

Don't worry, be happy........

I don't care what makes my ears happy.. Simple as that..

You ever CUP your ear so you can hear that song in the distance?

Yup, that's me..

Regards

A common experience. Here is a fun account:

https://www.stereophile.com/news/011004ces/

”We also heard David Wilson's fascinating presentation of his conception of system hierarchy. He compared a pair of Wilson Sophias driven by a Parasound stereo power amplifier with a competitor's flagship speaker and an extremely powerful premium-priced amplifier. Not, as he explained, because he thought the Sophias sounded better, but to prove that meaningful comparisons could be made between systems assembled according to different priorities. This was a demo aimed at his hi-fi dealer clientele, after all (it's a trade show, remember?), but there's a kicker: after we all confirmed that we could hear meaningful differences, Wilson whipped a fake component shell off the digital source and revealed that with the Wilson speakers we weren't listening to the $20,000 CD player that had been used for the competitor's speakers, but an Apple iPod playing uncompressed WAV files!”

Airplay is red book standard now, and blind testing tells us differences in rates above that are inaudible. 

Anytime you can find sound you enjoy, that is all that matters. Happy listening!

I didn’t know that BT devices could be run through a conventional DAC.  I thought that they had their own internal DACs.  What kind of music does the OP listen to?

@mahler123  - The Auris BluME HD has an internal DAC and a digital optical output. I have both the analog and digital outputs connected to my system. Honestly, not a big sound quality difference between the two. It's a great bluetooth receiver for anyone who needs such.....

If it makes you happy, do it twice, three times if non one is looking, four times on Sunday.

Listen to the music no mater what the format. 
Stop listening to your gear.

I am confused.  In your original post you stated that the CD player and the BT were connected to the Hegel DAC, and you were comparing the sound from those 2 inputs.  In your last post, you seem to indicate that you have connected the BT device digitally  to the DAC of the Hegel, and that you also have connected the analog output of the BT to your preamp ( I am not familiar with the Hegel 390; for this discussion I am assuming that it is an integrated amp with DAC included).  If you are comparing the analog vs the digital output of the BT, then presumably the digital output is being converted by the Hegel DAC, and the analog is being converted by the BT DAC and then being outputted to the preamp section of the Hegel.  I would not expect the latter situation to sound alike.

Oops....I mistook the post by @reubent  to be coming from the OP, @golden210...

Satisfy yourself, that is what it’s about. You have a good system but the CD player is the weak link. So don’t take your test as the final answer. This is a hobby where we keep learning what works.

mahler123, to add to reubent's comment, when you connect the Auris Bluetooth via the digital output you are bypassing the Auris's internal DAC. So my Hegel's internal DAC is doing the work.
Thank you russ69 for you saying my NAD CD player is the weak link. I've had it for a couple of years. It was a huge improvement over my Technics carousel player that was under $200.00 20 years ago. I have never listened to a high end player. Since I'm only using the NAD as a transport would a much more expensive CD player give better results?
Thanks to all for your comments.

@goldern210.....No need to have to make excuses for using your cell for a 'head unit' to this immoral mortal....*G*  Been using a cell to drive the audio in 3 vehicles (Focus, Landcruiser, Dodge dually) and the 'shop' audio system with Spotify Premium.  The same service frequently drives my office system and the 'main' system.  (The latter too big to be mobile, anyway....office and main running Ryzen 5 processors...*L*)

Updated the cell to a Pixel 4A recently; haven't nosed around for any 'enhancements' as yet (usually an eq that has more bands 'cause of the varied 'environments') but will get around to it soon enough.

Understand a limited budget; although 'retired' in concept only, I've not free rein as to what I can spend on 'audio only' pursuits.  But there's no reasonable rationale to apologize for what one enjoys or the means of attaining such.  The 'digital realm' of audio is expanding daily, especially in terms of the device that's in your hand.

BTW...I do like analog, but since it gets 'run through' a primarily digital process en route to my speakers.....one begins to wonder and doubt....;)

That is the beauty of digital. It is just numbers. Does not matter where the numbers come from. Only the final clocking is important. 
I just did a similar comparison of a high res file to the same file being played over my Sonos network. Could not tell the difference.

Golden210, I think it is because you and I have crappy hearing:-)

What a great concept buy what you can afford and enjoy what you have. It’s all about the music in the end.

@bluemoodriver,

"..but there's a kicker: after we all confirmed that we could hear meaningful differences, Wilson whipped a fake component shell off the digital source and revealed that with the Wilson speakers we weren't listening to the $20,000 CD player that had been used for the competitor's speakers, but an Apple iPod playing uncompressed WAV files!”

"Airplay is red book standard now, and blind testing tells us differences in rates above that are inaudible."



Even through premium priced products.

That was a little naughty of Dave, but he proved his point though, didn't he?

Perhaps we would all do well to remember these valuable little lessons?

Otherwise we can risk ending up like the art critic that was extolling the qualities of a particular work of art. 

Only to later discover that it was created by a chimp. Beauty might well be in the eye of the beholder, but apparently not if they are wearing a blindfold.

In another thread I said that effectively, a good $150 DAC is far more accurate than a $10K (or much higher) turntable setup, and that a $150 DAC playing a well digitized version of R-R, would be much closer to that R-R than any turntable would be. I consider those to be honest statements. They are about communicating the recording, not preference. It does not take massive spend to communicate the music in the data. If you want a particular flavor to that communication of the music, that is where the big dollars comes in.

Audio2design - another posting of perfection. 

Yes ....... Audio2design nailed it !

"...Thank you russ69 for you saying my NAD CD player is the weak link. I've had it for a couple of years... Since I'm only using the NAD as a transport would a much more expensive CD player give better results?.."

Sorry, my opinion was based on using the CD players D/A converter and analog amp. In your system I guess it's down to how good the Hegal D/A converter is.  

I've found that once you enter into the "high end" the reward ratio can be a slippery slope.  If your room treatment and layout is not perfect, you just end up chasing small gains, which is fine, but few of them have any substance. YMMV.

@golden210,

I’d agree with @bjesien, price and performance are not necessarily linked. Certainly not at the so-called high-end.

Neither would I like to say that the extremely versatile NAD C546 BEE can in any way be considered as a weak link.

Especially not when only used as a transport.

I’ve got the well regarded Marantz CD6000ki and as far as I can tell, it sounds identical to my portable Sony MP3 player. So I’m not surprised that your comparison delivered similar conclusion to mine.

So I’d say you already have a very well balanced system.

That’s an upside.

The downside is that improvements (outside the usual suspects - masterings, room, speakers etc) are difficult to suggest.

It’s always up to the individual to decide whether they can settle with their current system or feel it’s worthwhile striving for more.

Anyone can easily suggest improvements for an unbalanced system but the going gets seriously difficult with one that’s as well balanced as yours is.

@cd318....*L*  One has to pull back the curtain occasionally to discover the Wizard behind the Oz....;)

We are in an era where good not only can appear in small packages, but can challenge the giants at the game....

Remember that attempt to have a laser reading an LP?  I'm waiting for someone to take another shot at that....;)