"...my IRA in a shambles..." You still have money 
A couple thoughts/questions-
What's your time frame?
And are your upgrades lateral moves?
David
Upgrade ....streamer or amp?
Having decided to keep my Merlin TSM MMs, I was going to upgrade my streamer (Bluesound Node 2 ---original version) and my amp ( Billie....original version). However, recent stock market activity has my IRA in a shambles, so I am only going to upgrade only one of the two.
Any thoughts on which to start with? I was considering both the Bluesound Node Icon, and an upgraded Billie (used....after new one comes out)
What say you?
39 responses Add your response
f it was my money, I'd recommend you upgrade to an outboard DAC, I do not see the sound improving much doing another streamer. A quality DAC is going to have the largest increase in sound considering your options. A streamer’s internal DAC is generally not that great overall. And the streamer itself is a minor improvement if at all within a reasonable budget. The Blue OS is actually quite good as far as streamer OS’s go. Better than the Aurender conductor app by far from my experience. I’ve had a few streamers now and after my time with an overpriced Aurender I ended up back to the Blue-sound streamer (Vault2i), I have an excellent DAC so it’s not that noticeable. And if I'm honest the OS/App for the streamer to me is the number one thing to consider when buying a streamer. Try an outboard quality DAC and see how things sound. I’m betting that’s your sweet spot in your choices. |
I’m with you there. I am really enjoying listening to music two to three hours a day. My streaming system is as good as my vinyl and CD. Well worth it. I am not familiar with the Billie. But there are some tube amps know to be very synergistic with the speakers.
I am familiar with your speakers. They are worthy of a very good components. |
You were gonna cash out your IRA to buy a streamer?? That’s sounds like the worst financial decision of all time... The stocks have not even dropped to the level they were after Trump won the election... Remember after he won the stock market exploded, now it’s barely back to Nov 3rd levels and rising... you only lose money if you panic sell like a fool anyway... They will all be back up higher than ever in a few months anyway.. I would look into getting a Aurender streamer, that was one of the biggest upgrades I ever did. I couldn’t believe how much better everything sounded through it, and I have hundreds of CDs in full WAV format on its internal SSD which sounds amazing and blows away streaming quality, although streaming is very good with qobuz. My only complaint is that it doesn’t come with a remote, you can only control it with the app and it should have come with a basic play/pause skip tracks buttons.
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Whoa!,,,,If I only had enough money in my IRA to buy a streamer, I'd probably look at a used pistol with one bullet instead.. I'm 77 and live off my IRA withdrawals. However, when you drop almost $50k in a matter of a week, it does cause you some pause when buying expensive toys you only want..not need. I panicked to some extent in 2008....I won't do it again. I'll look into that Aurender. I was going to get the new Bluesound Node Icon. It has gotten very good reviews, and, apparently, the DAC is way above what they had been using. Then, there are those who say just get a separate DAC. Hurts my 77 year old brain. |
suuuure
yes, I am with @ghdprentice |
@troutbum I have the BS Icon and have a Gustard X18 DAC and Gustard U18 DDC. You can get both Gustard units for under 1K. Sounds amazing with the Icon |
Given your money I would buy the streamer. I went from a Bluesound Node N130 to a used Innuos Zen MK3 and it made a noticeable difference in sound. Now given my money I’d put it under my mattress and wait until it’s safe to come out. Seriously a used streamer is the way to go if you can in my experience. |
@mdalton In 2022 the dow Jones crashed to 28k, in November 24 it skyrocketed to 44k after Trump won, now it’s a 39k today... Point is, it always rebounds, and these tariffs are onshoring trillions in new USA manufacturing and construction... Nvidia now going to USA manufacturing for its AI supercomputer chips with a $500 billion investment, AMD now going to build CPUs in the USA for the first time, TSMC moving chip production to the USA, multiple auto makers moving production back to the USA... Oil prices plummeting, inflation down to almost zero, tax cuts for USA made manufacturers, all a recipe for economic boom It takes some time, but the stock market will break all records over the next couple years... The people that might lose out are some day traders, hedge fund managers and fools that panic sell, normal people with stocks and retirement accounts will make a lot of money... This is all about isolating the CCP who have done much evil to the world and incredible damage to the USA, better to have a short trade war, than a protracted military conflict with the CCP who hate us... And if your so worried about tariffs there is a simple hack to not pay any tariffs, buy American made goods... Better quality anyway
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I’m not debating politics, just your faulty facts. What you claimed in your first post was not factually correct, either for dow or s&p. but just for your awareness, s&p is always a much better indicator because it’s a broader index (500 stocks, by definition). Dow Jones only has 30 stocks. Regardless, from January 20, 2017 to January 19, 2021, S&P went from 2300 to 3750, which is an increase of 63%. From January 20, 2021 to January 19, 2025, S&P went from 3750 to 6100, which is an increase of 63%. |
There current P/E ratio of the SP500 is around 26, while the average is 19 with dips well below, typically over correcting in a downturn and upturn. It periodically reverts to the mean. Current governmental moves are reducing economic activity and increase inflation. I am retired, so am very conservatively positioned. |
There you go with your half truths @mdalton , GDP "grew" 13.7% because the country was shut down thanks to a virus from china, like how they kept telling us biden "created" millions of jobs when it was just millions of people who were forced to stay home went back to work after fighting against pointless lockdowns... And almost all actual new jobs went to illegals and govt buracracy expansion, and effectively zero private sector job growth |
Putting all the political and economic discussion aside... and getting back to @troutbum 's original question.... The general concensus so far seems to be either a new streamer, new DAC or possibly a combination of both. And there a benefits, and downsides, to all three. Obviously, a $2000 streamer without a good DAC isn't going solve anything, visa versa. The key is what is your acutal budget?
-Jeff |
@fpomposo in the half truth department you win, none of what you said is true. You are making stuff up And unfortunately there is no such thing as purely american made, everything has components from all over the World, tariffs will affect everything in Target, Home Depot, Best Buy, wherever |
@gano Wrong, I have 4 divisions with 40,000 sku's that have zero offshore content 100% American . Bless your heart. Enjoy your Easter.
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wow, you’ve got an excuse for everything don’t you. So let’s just eliminate 2020 and 2021 from the statistics due to pandemic anomalies, and look at private sector job creation. From January 2017 thru December 2019, the net private sector jobs created was 5.6 million. From January 2022 thru June 2024 (latest data available), the net private sector jobs created was 5.5 million and this number will be significantly higher when the third and fourth quarter 2024 numbers come out). So sorry, again you’re just wrong on the facts. |
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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. |
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 |
