Jaw Dropping Improvement?


60-something, intermittent earner here (Read “mostly starving-artist with the rare, unexpected windfall here and there.”) who has just acquired a Bluesound Node 2i.  I’d be very interested to hear what external DAC, in your experience-and-opinion gave such a dramatic improvement in SQ over that of a stock Bluesound streaming device as to be jaw dropping...an absolute game changer.  Does such an animal exist for less than $2000 U.S. or are improvements at this price point more in the nature of subtleties?  Somewhere in between?  To be sure these things are subjective but your take on this would give me a running start on researching things here with a fairly tight budget being considered — If subtle-to-low/moderate level “tweaks” to SQ are all I can expect from, say, a Qutest or Gungnir Multibit, I’ll probably stay with just the streamer and be happy.

Thanks in advance.
lg1

Showing 1 response by chopandchange

It’s certainly worthwhile experimenting with DACs to put on the end of your Bluesound - I find that if the rest of the system is balanced with a good pair of revealing speakers (mine are Role Audio Enterprise I highly recommend these!) - then an upgrade in your digital upstream makes a very worthwhile difference.
I am partial to a good R-2R DAC in my experiences so far, although many have jumped onto the Chord bandwagon. Digital can more incisive and impactful without being harsh when you get it right.
The streamer does make a difference too - I have had the Bluesound Node 2i in my system before - but preferred the sound of an Auralic Mini (as a transport) but it did have the advantage of Auralic's Linear PSU - however I do agree that the Node has a better GUI.