Why does my old CD player sound so much better than my new streamer?

lol  Bluetooth is better than ethernet... that's laughable...  nothing is better than direct connections period........ also cables make a HUGE difference don't let anyone ever tell you otherwise...... ever.... 

See post above PROBLEM SOLVED 

Again OP have you tried to run the D2 with DSD transcoding engaged?

Are you using a stock power cable?

How many hours are on the piece?

Are you using a stock ethernet cable?

All of these settings will affect sound quality. 

The DSD setting gives the D2 a much warmer fuller presentation.

Hey Rbsterno just wondering if you are going to be crying when PS comes out with their next version that magically won't be upgradable for a minor cost and you will be scrapping your DS. 

You will realize soon enough that FPGA doesn't get you as far as truly upgradable hardware, which is why we recommend the Aqua La Voice. 

Aqua will be introducing a totally bespoke custom designed and built streaming bridge that is designed by Aqua and not a  cheap "Chinese made streaming  board that many companies purchase instead of designing their own. 

Lets talk in six months and do a little head to head, our fully upgradable, modular dac with a bespoke streaming board of the highest quality, that is also FPGA based at the same price and see which you prefer. 

The future of digital is modular hardware, so what sounds good today can morph into what sounds even better tomorrow of course that is for the more expensive devices. For the less expensive ones that degree of modularity will be too expensive, for that reason a unit like the Lumin D2 which can morph into a pretty good streamer or the T2 which is basically a paired down Lumin U1 streamer makes a lot of sense, built in upgradablilty by virtue of becomming an excellent streamer to an even better dac. 

As per the OP he needs to play a bit more with the D2 or try an Ifi DSD Pro which is also tube based streamer which may be more full bodied for his taste and system's voicing. 

Dave and Troy
Audio Doctor NJ Lumin,. Ifi, and Aqua Dealers

I am by no means an expert on Computer / Streamer players. But this is what I have experienced - for anyone that cares about a layman's investment point of view.

I had sat on a Mac Mini for years before I made the commitment to send it off to have it modified to eliminate all the noise and erroneous programs that computers tend to automatically run in the background, etc. I had a separate power supply, clock, power and USB cable added. - I do use wifi to connect to the internet.

I took advantage of a Audrivana special and found that everything sounded OK. Upon giving my feed back a few months later to 3 very respected consumer audio industry professionals - they unequivocally said, at separate times - there is no way, that any computer audio/ streamer on the market today is going to be as good as,  let alone better than a 10k+ CDP.

Soon after getting that sobering dose of reality, while listening to the mac mini, curiosity prompted me to switch out the Analysis Plus Silver Oval power chord and attached a Stage 3 Concepts Kraken. The difference was not subtle.  I had a completely brand new unit that performed at an extremely higher level - by far the absolute best that I have ever heard computer audio sound to date. However it still did not sound as good as my Wadia S7i CDP. Maybe 75-80% as good. Will it get there time will tell.

The reference to cooking in one of the previous responses is a little off.
Great cooking is a result of the sum total manipulation of of the science associated with it. So by the example given what would be more accurate is that the adjustments suggested are more akin to using a different pot, pan, stove or oven to execute the process - rather than adding salt, pepper or herbs. - 

Anyway I believe everyone understood point being made.

I have been continually amazed by audiophiles who state that their streaming service doe o match  a good CD player.   Why?  Because I have never heard a streaming service/player that sounds as good a my CD player.  Can anyone here state that there in no doubt that your streamer sounds better than CD?  If so, what speakers and electronics do you have/

@ggc   all my music sounds better than CD , but its an elaborate system ...  as you noticed changing a power cord made a big difference, interconnects will also make a huge difference, usb cables (high quality) and of course a dedicated music player like an Antipodes or Innuos also make a difference a mac mini while good ; won't compete with those dedicated players... why you may ask... because they are noise treated at the board level and components etc.. special power supplies to eliminate noise...