Streamer Recommendation.


Budget 7000US$.  (+/-)

System: Amplification: Luxman L 509X.  Speakers: Joseph Audio Perspective.  DAC:  PS Audio Perfect Wave.  CD/SACD PS Audio Perfect Wave.  Streamer:  BlueSound Node 2.I

I am limited to WiFi, due to my router location.   I would like a high quality streamer without DAC that will provide a noticeable improvement over the entry level Node.

Any assistance would be very helpful.

 

 

rbsaudio

@rbsaudio should you follow through on the mesh wifi recommendation, be sure you do not place the mesh node too close to your music rig!

By definition a mesh node, or any wifi extender for that matter, generates RF which can interfere with your system. When I acquired a mesh node for my living room I originally made the grave error of putting it in the same cabinet as my gear. My moving coil head amp was unusable! I wound up putting the node in a book case across the room and running some good quality Cat8 to my Node2. The improvement in sound quality using a cable vs wifi, even that close to the node was immediately discernible.

Maybe give that a try before $pending thou$sand$ of dollar$? 😉

Happy listening.

 

PS: I still have my Node2i...

+1 for LUMIN if looking for streamer only. I have a U1 and it is very reliable, firmware is updated over the net, excellent sound quality. Is Roon ready but LUMIN software is as easy to use as BluO. I prefer Roon for a variety of reasons related to search capabilities, but sound quality of LUMIN software is just as good if not slightly better to my ears

Would agree with those suggesting spending some of your budget on Ethernet wire to the LUMIN. As others have suggested, add mesh wifi at a minimum. The mesh units have an Ethernet port for the streamer. Linksys and Eero make reliable units I’ve owned.

Happy listening.

I had an Ethernet cable run about 75 feet from my router to my listening room for $600.  Much better idea than the mesh router path.

 

If you’re handy, you could do it yourself for under $100.

@rbsaudio 

I was Wi-Fi limited and tried extenders that sort of worked and finally ended up with the Netgear Powerline 2000. Had it about a year and it works great! Not one blip in a year! 
ZyXEL Pass-Thru Ethernet Adapter AV2000 Powerline 2-port Gigabit 2-Pack [PLA54https://a.co/d/2YNtgNY

All the best.

+1 @musicfan2349 on keeping the mesh satellite at least a few feet away from other audio electronics, especially tube preamps, and plan to use a good quality Ethernet cable to connect from the satellite into the unit.