I recommend a new (or open box) Bluesound Node over the older version (the Node 2i). I see it on sale now for $499. The new version has several improvements over the old, including USB audio out, HDMI ARC, and (apparently) a better DAC. This is assuming you have a HiFi set-up that accepts one of the Bluesound outputs, and (ideally) that you're willing to subscribe to a streaming service (such as Tidal/Qobuz) or else set up your own local digital music library (which you can host on a network-attached computer or on a drive/stick attached to the Node).
wanting to take a digital step
hello, more lately I have been discovering artists on Bandcamp and elsewhere who don't put things out on vinyl. More often new things I have bought on vinyl don't always sound that great. so with that I want to try a cheap set up of some kind to listen from my laptop connected to my system. I did have some cheap $10 interconnects that did the job, barely. just wondering what some digital vets would suggest. Any simple decent solutions for say <500 that would be ok? I have tried looking on different threads and it got confusing. Do I get a cheap CD player or some kind of better set of interconnects to listen from a laptop. I just don't know. thank you.