Streamer + DAC help: Bluesound vs Eversolo (vs Others)

Look at Aurender and Innuos.   Two of the better manufacturers in streaming.   Also both are know for reliability and support.  

Eversoso has no support,  their user forum is basically their "support"    Lots of bugs with each firmware.   Customer service is the worst you will ever experience

Bluesound is great as a platform , hardware is good .   Mine always works.   

I have had a Vault 2i since 2019 and have had an Aurender N200 for about 2 years.   Both trouble free.     

Innuos streamers sound great, have the best app, and offer great customer service. Here’s a used Zen at a good price, or you could get a new Pulse Mini and add an LPS from SBooster, Teddy Pardo, or LHY for about the same price.

https://www.usaudiomart.com/details/650163113-innuos-zen-mk3-2tb/

You could pair it with this Denafrips Pontus 15th DAC and have a pretty damn strong streaming setup for around $4k.  At your budget you could even add an Iris DDC (highly recommended) and get a significant performance boost for not much $$$ or add it later.  Best of luck.

https://www.denafrips.com/product-page/denafrips-pontus-15th-r2r-dac

I have had the Eversolo DMP-A8 since it was first available, Dec of 23.

I love the DSP features that allow me to tweak the sound for the speakers of my preference. The internal Dac sounds better to me than the $1600 Gustard R26 Ladder Dac it replaced. Sold the Gustard.

The analog preamp in this unit bettered the tube pre I was using.

I have never had a single issue with this unit or the app/software. I find the app is intuitive and rock solid. They have a very helpful dedicated forum for this unit.

The support team continues to add new features to the software. They recently added automatic switching to the proper input when the TV (ARC) or the one of the streaming apps (internal player) are selected. They also recently updated with the new room correction software that just came out with the new A10 unit. The ARC input makes Youtube videos sound great, better than the Optical in I was using.

The A8 is probably the finest piece of kit I ever placed into my system.

I had problems with Bluesound, Cambridge, and Eversolo (A6).  The product support for the Eversolo was by far the worst I have ever experienced in audio.

I moved up the audio chain significantly by going with Innuos for the streamer and Bricasti for the DAC.  Both were purchased used.  The two items combined are over your budget.  I have heard great things regarding the Bricasti M3 with the built-in streamer.  If I were in your shoes I would take a serious look at the M3.

NAD C700 v2 or M3, blueos based. 

The new Bluesound line up of Nano, Node, and Icon have gotten some great reviews with some saying even the $299 Nano sounds better than the old Node and Node X by an easy to hear margin. So, I'd imagine the Node 132 and Icon would be very good, assuming you are wanting a one box solution at least right now, and *might* add a better DAC down the road (or not). Cambridge has their new EXN line out. That streamer is obviously a bit better than their CXN one. 

At the end of the day, a device you are happy to use (i.e. having a good user interface) will trump any slight increase in sound quality you might get by going upstream, (no pun intended). However, from many postings on here, the Innuos streamers get high marks for a good user experience too. 

I'd be leery of getting any streamer based on Android, not knowing if it will become an expensive paperweight in 3 to 5 years when the streaming apps from Tidal. Apple, Qobuz, and others move beyond whatever version of Android is running on it, i.e. like the Eversolo streamers or FiiO R7.  

You should absolutely consider Auralic their gear sounds great and is reliable and customer support is excellent. Also their LDS app is excellent and constantly updated.

@nathandfwacoustics Any idea why the Hifi Rose 150b is experiencing interruptions? I have one and haven’t experienced any issues like that and the SQ has been excellent.

i wouldn’t give up on the 150b. Are you using Tidal or Qobuz? Roon?

If your DAC will accept it, the WiiM Ultra has a USB out. The software for the WiiM is exemplary. Maybe the sound quality is not up to a Lumin or HiFi Rose equipment, yet the WiiM software works flawlessly. 

I have a Bluesound Node and am constantly have issues with a dropped connection even though it is a wired Ethernet connection. Don’t think I would buy another Bluesound.

I have the set up that SOIX suggested: Innuos mini pulse streamer feeding the Denafrips Iris to the Denafrips Pontus.  I don't think I could be happier with this combination for the $$$.  In the last week I added the LHY Linear Power Supply and got even better SQ.  If you go the Pontus route, you would enjoy even better SQ than I have since they upgraded to the 15th version.  The Innuos Sense app is very user friendly and I haven't experienced any issues.  I upgraded from the BlueSound to Innuos and it was a very easy transition.

I was looking at the Hifi Rose 130 but the techs at the dealer cautioned me that they are getting many returns. Display suddenly stops working, failure on the main board, etc. Not just the 130 but their other products as well. Rose seems to have a QV problem which shouldn’t be there given the price.

Happy Eversolo A8 user. I use it as a streamer, DAC and preamp. Sounds great and works flawlessly. The user interface on the app is very good.

I had Node 2i with updated power supply.  I used Amazon HD.  When I wanted to use QOBUZ, it was not good.  Several months later BLUOS was not upgraded to work with QOBUZ.  Some newer Bluesound may have QOBUZ loaded.  Irregardless,  I want to sit down and listen to music not get frustrated with software of all thing.

I bought an Innuous Zen Mark 3.  It has built in linear power supplies. You can rip and store CD.  QOBUZ is loaded through a browser.  Works flawlessly.  I bought a used one for $2000.  I think there is an upgraded one for $3800 new.  I never dreamed a streamer made such a difference.  Aurender and Innuous are the only ones that have good software at this price point.  Roon, Volumio, BLUOS are all buggy.  Several other streamers sound good but Innuous is a great spot to enter the next level