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Upgrade from BS Node 2i?

Wanted to get some honest opinions - in the past, I owned a Gold Note streamer, and an STR pre amp...all of which sounded wonderful. But, music was really a tertiary usage of mine. Since then my system, and preferences have gone through big changes. I am now running Revel 228bes w/ dual Rythmik G25HPs. Anthem avm90 processor and ATI amp.

I am really enjoying 2 channel much more now, so thinking about a bump in sound quality. I run coax, so I'm using the dac of the AVM90. I know that w/ high quality streamers, there are other things (clocks, power supply, etc) that make a difference as well, not just the dac. So, where do I go? I was thinking a Lumin D2 but not sure. I don't want to spend a ton, as I still don't do music enough to justify spending $2-4K again (done that twice). 

I know eventually the anthem will become a Roon endpoint so I was thinking about waiting for that as well. But...I also like streamers haha. I'm looking for something w/ a decent app too, as I don't really like BluOS.

Thanks for any input, I'm just starting my search so open to all sorts of ideas. 

128x128ethos4lyfe
kota1
2,706 posts
 

OP,

Congrats on your current system. Before you pay for upgrades there are some freebees that are very important. I have an Anthem preamp with ARC, when you run it you get a nice graph (which you can see in my profile). If you could post your ARC results that is a good place to begin. As far as streamers I use both a Paradigm Link and a Martin Logan Unison, both Anthem companies. You paid about $3K more than the AVM70 because the 90 has better DAC’s in it. I don’t know that buying a new DAC will be as much as an upgrade than just being different. I would get the acoustics in your room super dialed in before spending more $. If you could post your system it will help, when I checked your profile the link is empty.

The ARC graph will look like this, yours will probably include charts for your subs and other speakers as well. If you need help posting it just reply:

ethos4lyfe's avatar
ethos4lyfe OP
74 posts
 

@kota1 i plan on using the 90s dacs still. I was looking for something  better than bluesound but not in the stratosphere. I’ve spoken to so many that say other parts of the streamer contribute to the sound quality as much or more than just the dacs. I honestly don’t know how much stock I put in that, but I’m typically a HT guy. Thats why I’m curious what, if any, sonic improvements I’ll gain when still running coax 

goldprintaudio's avatar
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goldprintaudio
502 posts
 

If you plan on using the dac in your Anthem, then you may want to consider the Lumin U2 Mini versus the D2.  

hilde45's avatar
hilde45
4,815 posts
 

It would be interesting to see if you can compare a new streamer with your Bluesound 2i. I have the 2i and also a newer streamer (a DIY built to very high standards), but in all my comparisons, the DAC is the component that made a noticeable difference. I honestly don’t see that a very large upgrade in sound can come from a streamer-only change compared with other weak points in the system. But if you think the rest of your system is as strong as it can be (including room acoustics), I suppose a streamer upgrade is the next logical step.

P.S. Perhaps the greatest improvement I have made in my system by a factor of 10x was to put my speakers on podiums. Not subtle.

kota1
2,706 posts
 

OK, you may want to watch this review of the Eversolo DMP-A6 where the reviewer compares it to the Lumin and the Bluesound Node. It’s made by a Chinese company called Zidoo, I own one of their media players and they deliver good quality.

https://youtu.be/vniWmD-HAoU?feature=shared

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