Upgrade ....streamer or amp?

I was streaming through my computer into a Chord Qutest which I thought sounded good for about $2K. I tried it out against several Chinese DACs a little lower in price, and I thought the Chinese DACs sounded... too digital. Crispy critters.

I upgraded to a Moon 280D which is a lot better than the computer and Qutest. Much more lively fast sound. I think there is the issue of jitter to be considered. There should be less jitter in a single unit than two boxes connected by whatever.

The Moon was about $4k. But it's from Canada, so who knows? I compared the Moon to more expensive streamers and I really couldn't hear the difference. Or at least I didn't want to sit around waiting to hear the difference. If it didn't smack me in the face, then I wasn't going to spend an extra $5K. I have read audio forums in which audiophiles have said it is difficult in streamers to hear the difference between a relatively inexpensive one like mine and the higher-priced spreads.

Streamers are just Linux boxes with a custom front end.  Bits is bits.  But if you just have to spend more money to get the same exact bits coming down your wire, I'm not going to stop you.

Russ....thanks for the constructive comment!

I have a Node N130.  The DAC is not very good.  The streaming function alone with an external DAC is good, and adding a linear power supply to the Node (minor surgery required) upgraded the sound with an external DAC to very good/excellent. I mean upgradeitis curing very good.  So one route might be as suggested to add the best DAC you can afford now and a linear power supply from China with the Node 2 kit.  Of corse this route does require a lot more cables, and my experience is that they all make a difference.

Another route to potential satisfaction on a budget has also been mentioned and that is one of the newer Nodes.  I moved my office system to a public space and wanted a streamer to replace my laptop and Chord Mojo2 for streaming.  Based on reviews, I chose a Node Nano over a Wiim product.  I have to say it sounds terrific right out of the box.  I added a iFi iPowerX 5V power supply I had lying around to replace the stock tiny switching cube and it now sounds really, really good.  I don’t miss the Chord DAC at all which I am now using with headphones in my office, a win-win.  I have ordered an R-core power supply ($108) to try with the Nano and will report back on whether that beats the iPowerX.

If the Nano is that good, I am guessing the Icon is also good/better sounding, although measurements I’ve seen indicate the Icon also performs much better as a streamer than as a streaming DAC. If that is the case in terms of perceived sound quality, you might be better off with those resolving speakers you have going with a good stand alone DAC and upgrading the power supply on your Node2.

kn