Upgrade from Bluesound Node


I currently have a Bluesound Node used as a streamer And a Denafrips Ares II DAC. I stream music from from Amazon. 
My system is Sonus Faber Guarneri Evolution and a Vitus MI100 integrated amp. 
I was thinking upgrading the front end of my system since I listen only to streaming music. 
I was considering a PS Audio PerfectWave Direct Stream Jr DAC with a Bridge II streamer. Do you think it is a worthy upgrade? I’m open to suggestions. The simpler the setup the better. I’m also thinking in getting something used, if it’s worth it. 
My room is about 13x17 ft. 

thank you

chemarcelo

Showing 2 responses by 2psyop

I bought a Bluesound Node X and it sounded fantastic to me. I moved my basic Node to another room. With both units I had replaced the power supply. In the older Node I had put in a PD Creative PS and in this newest Node X I opted for the Teddy Pardo unit. Both times it improved the sound by lowering noise floor. I like the Bluesound products because the GUI is an app on your phone. It is very intuitive. And the customer service is top notch with many, many troubleshooting guides if the user has a problem and a live support team to solve problems.

hheedah

Yeah there is a difference between the two power supplies with Teddy Pardo having a lower noise floor. The external box (Teddy Pardo) is the linear power supply which is not located in the Node X. The PD Creative is also very good but the power supply circuit board REPLACES the board directly in the space where the original PS board was. It is a very subtle difference and only in loud listening sessions when there was a break in music did I hear a difference. To be honest there were bigger differences in sound between the original Node (internal DAC) and the Node X (new internal DAC).

But I was very surprised that the newest Bluesound Node X is very, very good out of the box with its internal DAC and power supply. It far surpassed the original Node in performance. I did a head to head match informally and it was no contest.

Having said all that, I am fully aware there are better streamers in the audio world and at increasingly higher prices. What my point is with Bluesound is that in their price bracket they are great, offering ALSO longevity of customer service. Adding a better external DAC and power supply increases the performance.