Streamer to go with the Denafrips Terminator?

Thanks, John. Yeah, I really lucked out finding the Sound Labs.

FYI, Andrew at Small Green Computer is a great guy, and will be able to answer any questions about the Rendus. He works closely with the Sonore team. Cheers,
Spencer

Thanks everyone.

I've heard the Pi Digione is definitely better than the Node 2i but definitely worse than a dedicated stream like the Sonore OpticalRendu, Aries G1, Lumin, etc.

Sonore OpticalRendu seems like my best option for a streamer, major step up in quality without breaking the bank.  (Which has already been broken to get the Terminator.)

@sbank Those Sound Labs A3's -- wow!

Agree the sound quality from Sonore opticalRendu (and even from microRendu) is miles ahead of the Blu Nodes. A good linear power supply is an important part of the equation and shouldn't be forgotten too. 
FWIW, I'm using a Pontus II fed by the opticalRendu. Details on my system page. Cheers,
Spencer

Why not just buy the Denefrips streamer which have i2S format. That is if you use a computer.

https://www.denafrips.com/ddc

Email Alvin and he will give you good advice. He told me the cheapest IRIS works great with the T+.

I also use the Sonore OpticalRendu with my music server in a different room. I have a PowerLine subnet for some of my streaming needs. This noisy infrastructure including an electronically noisy computer is tamed by the fibre optical wire going into the OpticalRendu.

other streamers won’t do anything better unless they have i2s format, which may (i emphasize may) be preferable as clock and bitstream are transmitted separately

I do not agree with this statement since my head-to-head comparisons with 3 different streamers, Sonore microRendu, RJ45 Network streaming in KRELL K-300i integrated, and Sonore OpticalRendu showed me that the OpticalRendu was miles ahead of the other 2. I tested this out on my floor standers and RAAL SR1a headphones.

A RasPi 4 can sound better than the Node 2i and cheaper. If you can do the work.
Wrong. I have sn i2s streamer and it sounds closer to the RasPi than the BluNode.
They both have better power supplies than the lowly 2i.

op

node 2i digital out is just fine to feed the pontus venus or terminator, so long as the wifi or ethernet feed used by the node is good

other streamers won’t do anything better unless they have i2s format, which may (i emphasize may) be preferable as clock and bitstream are transmitted separately

you can of course try more expensive streamers... please come back tell us what you find :)

Sonore Optical Rendu is a really good streamer. I preferred it over Lumin U1 Mini, Innuos Zen mk3, and Zen Mini. 
If you can stretch your budget, Aurender N10 or Lumin U1 is excellent as well but much more costly.