You could get a good DAC for that price. Schiit Modius, Topping E30, SMSL SU 8, Pro-Ject Pre box S2. |
i suggest more basic cables... you should save the extra money to upgrade your equipment when you are ready for the next move (e.g. a DAC)
get basic interconnects from tuneful cables or blue jeans or many other reasonable cable makers |
I don’t have a Node, but the Vault and I don’t find the internal DAC to be bright... if anything it’s not as revealing as a really good DAC. Definitely recommend purchasing a separate DAC later. You mentioned your Node sounds bright so I’m curious what streaming service are you using as that might be the issue more than cables or the Node. Your Kimbers are good cables and I don’t find those models bright. The DAC in the Node is good and you’re going to have to spend more than $250-300 to better it I think. Spotify Premium is the minimum to start with for sound quality and Tidal HiFi is noticeably better. If you’re using basic Spotify that could be the problem. |
Agreed with the previous comment. Take that money and buy a DAC now - you'll hear more differences with, for instance, a Topping D30 sitting between the Node 2i and your amp than you will spending that money on cables. I've got a Topping D90 with my Node 2i and it's a noticeable improvement all around. |
Thanks everyone, it makes sense. I am listening to Tidal mostly and really enjoy the MQA recordings, so I guess I would need a DAC that does MQA? I will still need slightly longer RCA cables to get the Node or eventual DAC away from the preamp, right now its on top. I should have no problem selling the pair of Hero RCA's with the WBT connector, I just need a longer pair to move the equipment as well as a DAC. |
Putting the cart before the horse?
DAC first, then cables. Cheap stuff is sufficient to find a DAC you can live with.
Only THEN can you determine the appropriate $$ allocation for ICs.
Morrow or Audio Envy should be plenty.
Both are better than my Kimbers for me.
Morrow balanced (on sale) are THE best value around.
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You might want to think about Qobuz instead of Tidal, better SQ and no worries about MQA decoding, also same price now, too.
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I would say dont worry about MQA decoding on your DAC purchase. If you find a DAC you like that has it, great, but I wouldn't make it a necessity. I have a Node 2i and a Benchmark DAC 2 HGC. Prior to the Benchmark I really thought MQA was impressive coming direct from the Node. After adding the Benchmark though, everything sounds good. I use Tidal and Qobuz with everything from CD quality, hi-res and MQA tracks. They all sound fantastic. I now wonder if the MQA tracks have a volume boost (or some other trickery) when played direct through the Node to make them seem more impressive. |
i would echo the prior response saying something is amiss if the internal dac of the node 2i sounds bright in your system
among dacs, the node's internal dac is dull and overly smoothed over
tidal hifi or masters in high res, also not bright in and of itself
if what you hear is bright now, wait till you get a properly good dac... better put earplugs in... |
When I purchased my Node2i, the dealer talked me into adding a ProJect S2 DAC. They convinced me the added DAC produced greater detail. When I hooked things up at home and did a test with and without the DAC, I found by adding the DAC the bass sounded too thin. I stream TIDAL and for some reason I can hear a difference when playing MQA when most in this group don't. Connecting an external DAC to the Node 2I is supposed to break up the MQA signal and by doing so you give up MQA. I somehow sense when playing MQA the sound stage sounds better. I did like the way the ProJect DAC displayed the level of resolution so I could tell when I was playing higher resolution. It seems like I have a lot to learn. |
First, do a free month trial of Qobuz and then drop Tidal and the ridiculously limiting MQA BS (that’s what I did). And l agree with others to put $ toward a DAC first then mess with interconnects — I’d recommend a Topping E30 that should be a nice sonic upgrade for only $130. Then for interconnects either Black Cat Coppertone (same designer as your D60 BTW) or Audio Envy would be great options to try at your price point. Just curious, what speakers/cables are you using?
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Soix, thank you. I will have to do a little more A/B since I still am doing trials of both Tidal and Qobuz. I am running Purist Audio Musaeus for speaker and I have an XLR pair of Kimber Hero on the amp and pre connection.
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@Larry5729,
That Project DAC is not exactly a desirable piece of kit in my opinion. I can certainty see why you thought the DAC in the Bluesound sounded better. At $330 for the project it is entry level at best and the internal DAC in the Bluesound is no slouch
That being said, you are missing out if you have never heard what a good DAC can do. The Bluesound does a decent job but can be greatly improved with a nice upgraded DAC. Topping and Mytek both make decently priced DACs with MQQ if that is important to you. I would be curious to see if you still thought MQA was as impressive once you heard the improvements that a good DAC can make (and again, that's not the project). Basic CD quality tracks through my Benchmark sound noticeably better than MQA track direct from the Bluesound. Ymmv. |
Hi jmphotography,
I have a Node 2,and Qobuz. I have had Spotify,and Tidal. I find Qobuz to have the best sound of the three. I ran the Node 2 straight to my preamp for a couple of years. I was very happy with the sound. However,I kept reading more and more about the benefits of having a DAC. I finally stepped up and purchased a used DAC. WOW! I was very surprised by the increase in sound quality. Better everything,especially imaging. I agree with other posters about holding off on cables,and get yourself a DAC. I promise you won’t be disappointed. |
The DAC in the Bluesound products are fairly good considering the price of these products, and I think one has to spend a decent amount to better but not break the bank. First I used my Vault 2 through the DAC input on my Cambridge 851C and it was a night and day difference, meaning improvement for the better. The Cambridge is more refined, better all around and open where by comparison the Bluesound is a little closed in.
Next up I picked up a RME ADI-2 fs and that was a major game changer and it pretty much walked all over my Cambridge which surprised me as I have a lot of respect for the Cambridge. The Cambridge 851C is still a fine player but it it’s not up to the RME.
Recently I picked up a Teddy Pardo power supply for my RME and it pushes it to another lever. RME with a Teddy Pardo is outstanding and I’m very happy with my Vault and Cambridge feeding it. If you haven’t changed out the stock power cable on your Node you should as that will improve things as well. I built mine from parts from VH Audio.
Agree you’re going to gain a lot more with a separate DAC over different cables. |
Thank you all for the suggestions. I have been listening to Qobuz the last couple nights and doing some strong A/B comparisons. Qobuz does IMHO sound better. Its more natural, organic, even more open. I was listening to a lot of female vocal, Alison Krauss and Norah Jones 2 of my favorites. The extra processing on the MQA version of Come Away with me makes her almost sound nasally and almost like she was in a tunnel, on Qobuz it was more natural, she had more presence. Alison Kraus on some louder vocal segments got too bright and her voice started to break up. On Qobuz it sounded more natural, softer. I am convinced. Now if I sell some of my older get I will get a DAC. Looking at maybe Topping D90 or its a budget stretch but a Mytek Liberty. |
@jmphotography Sent you a PM earlier.
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Larry, so just to clarify, your digital setup sounds best without a dac? |
