2. digital
  3. 163742-2116

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 2 responses by hshifi

hshifi
572 posts
 
Hello,
I have tested quite a few DACs with the BlueSound Node 2i. The DAC inside is ok and adequate, but not ideal. The Cambridge was good but light on the treble. The Teac mentioned above was very good. It’s right below 2k and has the streamer built in. The Mytek Liberty is very good as long as you add the SBooster power supply. In the end the jaw dropping is probably going to happen depending on the money spent. To start I really believe in a stout power supply. That’s going to give you the weight and bloom. Next is chip based or R2R or both. Last is MQA ready. The Mytek Liberty does MQA. Hopefully I will be testing out the M2Tech young DAC. It is $2400 so I hope it’s unbelievable for that money. Besides the Liberty the Denifrips Pontus is really good at $1700. Plus it has twice the resisters as the Ares and two isolated transformers. 
hshifi
572 posts
 
Hello,
Another idea or upgrade is the streamer it’s self. Upgrading the whole streamer/DAC itself. The Teac TN-505 all in one smokes the BlueSound. Not because Blue sound is bad. I added a BlueSound Node 2i and I really appreciate it for what it is. A $550 piece that is worth $1000. The Teac will set you back $1999 but the streamer and the DAC are on another level. Teac uses Lumin tech which is on the next level above Teac. If you are interested in Lumin streamers the shop I use will hardwire an SBooster to give you ultimate streamer/DAC.  You can sell the BlueSound since it is the most popular HiRez  streamer out there. Yes, a little over budget once you sell the BlueSound. Lets not try to turn you Honda Civic into an Acura NSX. Save up, sell the Honda, buy the NSX. No need to worry about a good cable from the DAC to streamer because it’s all built in the Teac TN-505. It’s also a better headphone amp. If you have a local store demo it. You will be jaw dropping wowed. If you are in the Chicagoland area I use Holm Audio. I wish all of us would recommend our local brick and mortar stores. We need to keep these places alive. Otherwise you can order all your stuff on Amzn in the future. Just a concerned patron. https://holmaudio.com/
More to discover