2. digital
  3. 186269-89071

Upgrade from BS Node 2i?

Wanted to get some honest opinions - in the past, I owned a Gold Note streamer, and an STR pre amp...all of which sounded wonderful. But, music was really a tertiary usage of mine. Since then my system, and preferences have gone through big changes. I am now running Revel 228bes w/ dual Rythmik G25HPs. Anthem avm90 processor and ATI amp.

I am really enjoying 2 channel much more now, so thinking about a bump in sound quality. I run coax, so I'm using the dac of the AVM90. I know that w/ high quality streamers, there are other things (clocks, power supply, etc) that make a difference as well, not just the dac. So, where do I go? I was thinking a Lumin D2 but not sure. I don't want to spend a ton, as I still don't do music enough to justify spending $2-4K again (done that twice). 

I know eventually the anthem will become a Roon endpoint so I was thinking about waiting for that as well. But...I also like streamers haha. I'm looking for something w/ a decent app too, as I don't really like BluOS.

Thanks for any input, I'm just starting my search so open to all sorts of ideas. 

128x128ethos4lyfe

Showing 1 response by hilde45

hilde45's avatar
hilde45
4,824 posts
 

It would be interesting to see if you can compare a new streamer with your Bluesound 2i. I have the 2i and also a newer streamer (a DIY built to very high standards), but in all my comparisons, the DAC is the component that made a noticeable difference. I honestly don’t see that a very large upgrade in sound can come from a streamer-only change compared with other weak points in the system. But if you think the rest of your system is as strong as it can be (including room acoustics), I suppose a streamer upgrade is the next logical step.

P.S. Perhaps the greatest improvement I have made in my system by a factor of 10x was to put my speakers on podiums. Not subtle.

More to discover