Lumin D2 Dac/Streamer Vs 2021 Node/Denafrips Ares ii or Chord Qutest

You can usually find a Lumin U1 mini for about 1700 or so at some dealers, that’s what I paid. Add the Ares II and you are in at your budget. I wouldn’t go with the D2  because the dac is almost an afterthought. But the Lumin streamers are a noticeable improvement over the node. And after living with a Pontus II for a short while, I’d have no problem recommending a Denafrips dac.

IMHO, the Blusound isn't in the same league as the Lumin or other alternatives in your budget SQ-wise. Many like the experience using the BlueOS, but if that's not your plan, there goes that benefit. 

I used the Lumin app with other gear for years, and while it's more intuitive & functional than most DLNA apps, reliable connectivity with network can be wonky & frustrating, even with a mesh wifi setup. (This drove me towards trying Roon which IMHO is best experience by far)

Qutest is priced more closely to Denafrips Pontus II (which I own); the Ares II is much lower priced. IMHO, all these are revealing, but that's a good thing. I'd say the the Pontus is relaxed in a way that most non-R2R dacs aren't...that might help with the poorly recorded music you mentioned. The Ares leans in the same direction but with less ability to untangle complex arrangements and less instrumental body. 

Lastly, whatever you do, please consider a plan that avoids Airplay for your library playback. It's limited sampling rate will invalidate your well thought out investments. It's junkyard tires on a new car. Cheers,

Spencer

I’ve used a Lumin D2 extensively while working part time at a local dealer. When it came time for a purchase I chose the Node2i because the user interface and stability of the app was so much better than the Lumin. I’m  not computer illiterate or anything but the Lumin app was frustrating. Blusound,  like all of my Apple products, is intuitive and reliable. Even with a generous discount on the Lumin I preferred the Node2i because it just works.  
 That said the DAC in the Node2i is definitely a limitation and I’m currently researching an separate one. Everything I’m reading points to the Denafrips Ares II for my budget.   

I like my D2 and its currently being used with Roon.

Be aware if you want the just use it as a streamer with Tidal you would have to use the Lumin app or Roon as the D2 does not work with Tidal Connect.

I’m hoping Spotify HiFi sounds good which would mean I can remove Roon.

The U1 Mini sounds like it would potentially be a nice fit for me! I love the fact it shares the same design features with the other Lumin streamers/Dacs as they are the most beautiful on the market today imo.
However, one of my biggest concerns with any streamer is constant connectivity issues and frequent dropouts, as Acaciaavenue and others have experienced. My time is limited for at-home listening, and constant disconnecting/reconnecting would really suck the fun out of it. I recently upgraded to the latest Verizon Gigabit modemn and mesh network extender so  I will mess around with that a little this weekend and see how stable it is. Luckily, if I did go the U1 mini route, it would be running on the mesh extender, which isn't incredibly far from the modem. Acacia, thanks for pointing out the D2 is not Tidal connect compatible, as that's a bit of a deal-breaker for me. I saw Lumin listed on the Tidal connect supported devices page and just assumed being the D2 is a newish model it would have been supported. It makes me wonder if the U1 Mini or any Current Lumin Devices will be compatible with Spotify Hifi once that's officially released. 

Spencer, I most certainly plan on phasing out airplay and Itunes classic out down the line once I'm settled in with my new system. Keep in mind that a lot of the non-streaming source material I listen to is 320KPS mp3 quality, so I'm unsure how much quality degradation I'm experiencing using airplay. This is one of the reasons I plan to integrate a transport eventually so I can rebuy a lot of the music I listen to on CD that isn't available in higher quality digital formats.