Streaming 102

Hmm. Missing in action for three days - 25, 26, 27.

Best not to panic.

Hi, I just spoke with a rep. at Crutchfield and tried to establish or determine if i use an {ethernet cable from a switch} {coming from my router} and connect the bluesound via Coax to my DAC (Pontus II) which is connected to my pre-amp as well as my Amp. would that be considered hard wired. If so, how does the Bluesound Node connect with my BlueOS app or for that fact Roon on my computer other than wifi. Any thoughts or feedback would be greatly appreciated..    

@joeyfed55  - I’ve been through a similar journey. Initially I had a Node 2 (prior to 2i) but wondered how much better it could get. I ended up buying a Mytek Manhattan II DAC w/network card. I got a little bit of a deal during early COVID days - just north of your $5k target. I really couldn’t believe the difference. The Node sounds good but the Manhattan is just amazing. Soundstage, space between instruments, being able to understand lyrics I’ve been listening to all my life (think REM). 
 

The Manhattan II is being replaced by a unit that will act as a Roon core - my unit is just Roon compatible. I am very happy with Mytek, but my point is broader. I would strongly encourage you to sink the additional cask into digital - for me it was well worth the effort. 
 

Matt

I think you need to do some comparisons on your own to get a sense of how much difference a new DAC or streamer might make.

Do you have a CD player? If so, the first step is to compare a CD with the Qobuz stream of the same version. Do this with a few of your favorite CDs. I'm streaming through my ASUS laptop into a PS Audio PerfectWave MK II DAC and I can tell you that the Qobuz stream sounds virtually identical to a CD played through the same DAC with my PS Audio transport. I wouldn't expect a stream to actually sound better than a CD so I'm comfortable that my streaming setup is giving me good SQ.

If you get the Schiit DAC it will be easy to compare the new DAC with the one built into the Node. Again, try it and see how much difference it makes. I'm going to bet that it will be hard to tell them apart but please report your results if you do this. Each time you upgrade use your CD player as a reference to see how much difference it really made. This is a great way to bring yourself back to earth when your confirmation bias is telling you that the several thousand dollars you just spent has brought the lusty audio fairies into your listening room.

I'm skeptical that most audiophiles can actually hear the difference between an expensive streamer and a Node if they participated in a blind test. The other thing to consider is that the Node has one of the best operating systems of any streamer available. Even though my laptop is doing fine as a streamer I'm going to get a Node for the file system and its ability to handle Roon.

I stream a Bluesound Node 2i with a Topping D70 DAC using Qobuz. Really like it. I could spend more on a streamer and DAC and it might sound better than CDs or vinyl, but I’ve spent enough and that’s good enough for me.