That’s a question?
I vote for dCs Bartok. |
Yes, may not be a great question, but it’s mine! Thanks. One vote for new DAC. |
I have the Bluesound Vault 2i with Ayre Codex sounds very good but the Aurender n100 with same DAC sounds better
I'm looking at Aurender N10 |
Aurender A10, keep it simple! |
+1 for Node and Codex.
I used that for 3 years.
I tried the Aurender N100 with the Codex and didn't find it a significant upgrade (though it sounded better at Audioconnection so YMMV).
Bob
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I just upgraded bluesound node to an Aurender A100. Not only is it a Marked improvement in SQ but the Aurender app is light years better than blueOS.
If you’re thinking about A10, consider A100, essentially identical units with addition of coax out and balanced connections in A10 with a considerable price difference |
Love my N10 wonderful sound. |
if i understand the question right, I’d sure not spend thousands on upgrading a five hundred dollar Blue sound node.
in nearly every instance of moddifying/upgradinfg a device, the outcome regularly varies either subjectively or synergistically.
i’ve only heard upscale servers at shows, but more often than not, in numerous setups, those with aurender came off sounding more tangible and real.
then too, the dA’s in play were nothing to sneeze at either and many ranged from near 10k to well beyond 30K in a few cases.
i doubt too the particular Aurdnder in play was one of their lower end units.
i’ve not owned Aurender but have heard theior support arm is fabulos and maybe that is important to you.
IMO it comes down to how important is it given its application and the surrounding gear in play at the time?
I’ll be crossing this river soon enough as I only have the BSN 2I myself.
good luck!
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Thanks to all, I believe I will first upgrade to an outboard DAC, then go to the N10 at some future date. Although the A10 will get me a very nice improvement, if I did ever want to upgrade from the A10, I'd have to start from scratch. This way I get a nice improvement now with a nice DAC, then another one with the N10 when the cash flow improves. I think that is reasonably logical at least for me. |
I agree that adding an outboard DAC to the Node will certainly improve the sound. But don't discount what a good streamer brings to the party. Something like the Aurender or a Lumin will be a nice upgrade too.
Oz
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Add Innuos to that list.
B |
The Lumin T2 may sound better in your system if you go that route. I had an A10 and a Lumin T2 at the same time. The Lumin T2 would kick the Aurender ass 7 out of 10 songs but in my system it would get fatiguing. But in the right system it would be the choice. I moved on from them to a Cary DMS 600 which beats them both pretty handily. Just moved to the Cary DMS 700 which is another level in performance but with a price
The DMS 600 will be on Audiogon tomorrow. Really nice all in one. |
Ask anyone if they like their $2000 or $5000 or $10,000 item of any high-tech category, and 90% of time they'll say how great it is, UNLESS OF COURSE, they've already decided to dump it. The above discussion is nearly pointless. I've conducted blind listening tests between Blue Sound and streamers costing 8x the amount of the Blue Sound. If you use the same external DAC in the test, no one can consistently pick better than 50/50 a $5000 streamer over a $600 Blue Sound. Audiophiles like to believe they have golden ears. However, the differences between an inexpensive and more expensive streamer, when using a high quality DAC, are always going to be negligible. OR put another way, digital differences will never be as discernible in scope as the sonic differences between analog gear.
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The one caveat may be the noise floor associated with a power supply comparison between streamers. However, hook up an S-Booster power supply to the Blue Sound Node 2i ($350 bucks??), and I'd challenge anyone to a sizable bet that you could not do better than 50/50 in selecting a $5000 steamer over a Node 2i. The problem with the above argument is you are not comparing just streaming functionality, as you're being influenced by the superiority of the DACs built into some higher priced streamers.
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I am confused. I thought that the node 2i takes a direct AC input. The S booster is a DC power supply. Please explain.
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In order of value for money and SQ:
1.N20
2.N10 Second hand bargain
3.N100
I've never heard the W20/SE but the N30 is over twice the price of the N20 and it doesn't beat the N20 by much plus it's two boxes.
Any Aurender will give stellar performance with a $1000.00 DAC, the A Series except for the ACS100 have internal DACs.
You must audition them don't buy just on recommendations.
Good Luck.
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OP here, so this is what happened... I had the Bluesound Vault 2, it got me introduced into streaming and getting my CD’s ripped. It sounded great, was easy to set up and use and cost-effective way to get into streaming. I then upgraded to a external DAC, which did make a very nice improvement for the Bluesound. I have now switched to an Aurender N200 (their newest model without an internal DAC) and that was another very nice boost in sound quality. In either case, I don’t listen to my CD’s any longer.
I thought about going to the "A" series, the Aurenders has a very good DAC built in compared to the Bluesound, but realized that DAC’s are always improving and I would end up eventually wanting a better DAC for the Aurender, so I went with their "N" series. You can’t go wrong either way, just depends on the level of the rest of your system and how much cash your willing to spend. Hope telling you my journey helps someone else.
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@deadhead1000
Great call and congratulations on moving to N200. If streaming done right, CD playback is pretty much irrelevant.
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