Upgrade Bluesound DAC or go to Aurrender?


I want to go up a good step in SQ, I listen mostly to my Bluesound Vault2 and LP’s, streaming only for background music. Do I get a outboard DAC for the Bluesound ($3-5k) or switch to an Aurrender like the A10? Vote here. 
deadhead1000

Showing 3 responses by deadhead1000

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.

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.