2. digital
  3. 153801-4660

Moving up from a Node 2i

I want to keep it between 1K and 1500.00, closer to a grand if at all possible. I don't care about onboard DACs, since I have a keen liking for mine. What is out there for a streamer, new or used, that will sound better than the Node when outputting to an external DAC? I like the functionality of the Node, don't want something with a sketchy user interface. But honestly, I think my old Allo Digione (Raspberry Pi) might have sounded a little more organic and fleshed out than the Node.

What say ye, Audiogon?

Oz



128x128ozzy62

Showing 12 responses by m1k3

m1k3
23 posts
 
I have the older RME ADI-2 DAC (AK4490 vs AK4493) connected to both the Node 2i and the LUMIN U1 Mini. Node 2i uses coax into the DAC; U1mini uses USB.

I love them both. I think the LUMIN app is better than the BluOS app and I like the OpenHome implementation of UPnP/DLNA that is uses. But I also use the Node 2i because it supports many more streaming services.

IMHO I do believe the LUMIN sounds better (but it’s not a huge difference), so I use the U1mini for all my TIDAL and Qobuz streaming. I don’t have a Roon core and therefore don’t use Roon (I don’t have a local library of ripped CDs or downloaded digital purchases so I don’t see the value in Roon).

FWIW, I don’t think the U1mini is an upgrade as much as a nice side-grade to get a great app and excellent support. Upgrades to DAC, amp, speakers/headphones would yield more significant improvements.
m1k3
23 posts
 
I love the “Dark” theme on the Lumin app. It’s cool that in the last couple of months they added Dark mode then Black Mode and White Mode. The multi-room support they just added sounds like a cool feature if you have multiple Lumin or Linn devices.
m1k3
23 posts
 

One of the things I like about the Lumin app over BluOS is adding multiple songs that are not in order on an album or playlist to the Play Queue in one go. 

In the Lumin app’s settings, I have “Tap on Song List” = “Double Tap” and “Play Now”.

This allows a multi-selection playlist-building process that makes it really easy to quickly build a play queue.  With this setup, I can bring up an album or playlist in Qobuz, single tap on all the songs I want (tap again to unselect something) and the “Add to Playlist” bottom menu appears with icons for Play Now, Play Next, Play Later, and Play and Replace. 

The support page for the app was usefull at figuring out what some of the icons meant in the UI:

http://www.luminmusic.com/support-app.html

I also like the popup you get when pressing and holding anything (album, song, artist). Tap the thumbnail of the image in that popup and you get the high-resolution artwork full screen.


m1k3
23 posts
 
Application wise it seems very old school and in need of a redesign, I’ve decided not to use it and use Roon as the front end.

It is a bit of a non-standard interface, and no arguing that Roon is far superior, but for non-Roon users, despite its quirks, the app does a number of things better than BluOS. Here are some:

—Lumin app updates TIDAL and Qobuz favorites on any refresh. BluOS takes forever to show things I’ve added via the native apps in my favorites, whether it’s artists, albums, playlist updates, etc. So I can curate and discover on the native apps while playing anything newly added on the Lumin right away via the Lumin app.

—Lumin app will show bit depth and sample rate of the track playing. BluOS refuses to add this data (read their forums) and instead insist that the user wants to have that info simplified to just some icons that show HR or CD or the squiggly MQA logo; in fairness, some like the icons better than numbers, but I wish they made it an option to show us the actual bit-depth/SR that is being streamed.

Cheers,

Mike


m1k3
23 posts
 
@highpeakrider I agree with everything you say about Roon to include the ease you can select other endpoints. The Roon radio and new music discovery features look very useful too. I’m removing the computer and NAS completely from my audio chain so Roon is out for me without a “core”. That’s why I’ve been trying these streamers and their apps. I sort of reproduce your method of saving related-song selections as playlists by saving TIDAL’s “My Mix” playlists (which are list of related songs I should like based on my playing and favoriting history) and duplicating the songs I like/fav to Qobuz. I’m thinking about trying Soundiiz Premium and doing that “sync” automatically across multiple services.
m1k3
23 posts
 
I also have Apple Music and prefer its playlists over the Tidal ones, i’m also using Soundiiz to transfer from AM to Tidal which then flow into Roon.

Phil, that’s very interesting. I have Apple Music too. Do you use the “Sync” feature of Soundiiz or do you manually select the Apple Music (AM) playlists you want to convert to playlists in TIDAL for one-way transfer?

With Soundiiz, can I move my TIDAL favorites *into* Apple Music or is it only AM *out* to other services. I read somewhere that the Soundiiz implementation of the Apple Music API’s didn’t allow modification of AM playlists but I think that’s only deletions, not additions. Trying to get some confirmation from someone who has done AM-TIDAL-Qobuz sync via Soundiiz.

Cheers,
Mike
m1k3
23 posts
 
hilde45 said:
So for those of us getting their first streamer and feeling a bit gun-shy about big expenditures, is the consensus that the Node2i does a decent job, in its class?

I love the Node 2i (even if I do at times mention a competitor’s feature I like better). It was my first stand-alone streamer. I would probably still be feeding my DAC via USB from my Mac and Audirvana, but the reasonable price made it easy to try it. I got the Lumin U1 Mini next, but kept the Node 2i because it has so many supported streaming services (Bluesound is very good at adding these). Oh, and Bluesound was quick to support AirPlay 2 for many of their players if that matters to you; most streamers only support AirPlay [1] if they support it at all.
m1k3
23 posts
 
...but most of us are curious about a solution that is between $1,000 and $2,000 and if that will produce objectively better SQ.
True.  Outside of measurements it’s all subjective though; I’ll just quote myself from the first page of this thread:
FWIW, I don’t think the U1mini is an upgrade as much as a nice side-grade to get a great app and excellent support. Upgrades to DAC, amp, speakers/headphones would yield more significant improvements.
Some don’t like the Lumin app, but it was one of the selling points for me.
m1k3
23 posts
 
laserjock1963 said:
Different digital methods could make the difference.
Do it over using same methods of transfer.

It’s hard to compare with all the permutations we have for connecting our streamers and DACs. Finding the most synergistic digital path is key for me when testing, not necessarily comparing the same connections. The Lumin U1 Mini has 5 ways to output digital; the Node 2i has 2.

I’ve read many forum posts that say the Lumin U1 Mini’s AES/EBU output may be the best sounding. I couldn’t test that; I don’t have a DAC with an XLR input for AES.

I found the best synergy, and subsequent sound quality, for the U1 Mini to my RME ADI-2 DAC was USB. A DAC with a lesser USB implementation may do better with S/PDIF or AES.

The best sound quality out of the Node 2i for my setup was S/PDIF-Coax to the ADI-2 DAC.

Sound quality between the two connected this way, subjectively: I like the U1 Mini better than the Node 2i, but it isn’t a huge difference. They are both very good.

Cheers,
Mike
m1k3
23 posts
 
Chris,
Totally agree. BTW, appreciate your posts on AVS Forums as well. And, FWIW, I could not tell the difference between the Node 2i via coax and the U1 Mini via coax into the same DAC. Great value in the Node 2i.

But Lumin U1 Mini via USB was a little better than the Node 2i via coax into the same DAC.

Cheers,
Mike
m1k3
23 posts
 
@gelle said:
From my limited knowledge of streaming, it’s seems the consensus is USB seems better than coax?
Actually, my experience has been...it depends. Some of my equipment is too noisy on its USB output (on that system I use Toslink due to the galvanic isolation). And as @laserjock1963 pointed out, my Node 2i doesn’t have USB so I had to decide if I liked the Coax or the Toslink better. So, my stance is choose the interconnects between your gear that provides the best experience for you.


m1k3
23 posts
 
@gelle, that’s what it’s about: find what works best with your gear. The 105 has a great DAC and Oppo always had good USB implementations in their universal players. Too bad their done; I have a 205 and it’s probably the last disc-spinner I’ll ever own.
More to discover