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 williewonka

@lg1 - I simply added GREAT cables to my Bluesound Node 2i - granted, the cables cost more than the Node 2i, but I didn’t introduce yet another device with all of its associated noisy cables into the mix

The Bluesound has a great DAC and an excellent analogue stage - trouble is - it is so good that if there is any noise in the cables it will process that noise as it does the music. Get rid of that noise and it treats you to
  • stunning clarity and details
  • an expansive and airy image
  • amazing dynamics
  • a deep textured bass (not boomy)

These are the cables...
My Audio Alchemy (image99.net)

If you are not into DIY then there are some members here on Audiogon that will build them for you.

Take a look at this thread to read their impressions of these cables
https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/duelund-conversion-to-diy-helix-geometry-cabling

Each time we add a component into the chain we are simply adding to a complex noise problem - I like to keep things simple - limit the components and and get rid of the noise :-)

Regards - Steve