I’ve got a Bluesound Node 2i that is a Roon endpoint being fed bits from an M1 Mac Mini (in another room) over Ethernet. Then the Roon bits go from the Bluesound over Coax to my McIntosh MA8900’s DAC. So I don’t need my streamer to have a DAC.
I do have a Qobuz account connected to Roon, but mostly I listen to my ripped CDs. Or I just play the CDs on my CDP.
Everything sounds just peachy.
But, I’ve had this Node 2i a few years and I am wondering…am I missing out on some greatness from a different streamer? Is there something else that’s just really cool I should check out?
I probably should just be happy. Then again, if I wanted to just be happy I wouldn’t be an audiophile.
Be happy. The Bluesound is just a transfer from ethernet to coax. You might try a DigiOne Player, I have both and think the DigiOne sounds better. Or get a Wiim Pro. Either will be cheaper than the node, get them and sell the node off
If you are using the Node as purely a digital converter to feed (presumably well-designed) McIntosh, and with mostly CD rips do not need to play at a resolution higher than what S/PDIF interface supports, exchanging Node for anything else will not make any difference in sound. It might look better, be more ergonomic, or has fewer “Bluesound updated firmware and nothing works again” issues, but no audible difference.
As Rugby mentioned, you could even “downgrade” the Node to something cheaper and still get exactly the same results. Of course only makes sense if you can sell off the Node for more money than the cost of DigiOne/Wiim etc., and have it worth the bother.
Since Qobuz doesn’t stream anything above 24/192, which goes over coax fine, I wouldn’t bother changing it yet. If you decide to collect high-res albums, then yes, you’d need a different streamer, with higher res output, and there are multiple options at any price range.
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Bill_Janssen
(Wigwam wool socks now on asymmetrical isolation feet!)
5
I think to call it an “upgrade”, you need to have a specific improvement or two in mind, and already know how to get them. Otherwise, it’s just a “change”, and as likely to be a downgrade as an upgrade.
You’ll never know unless you try. But do work with a dealer that will accept returns.
I love the ‘sounds good’ canard. Sounds good compared to what? Everything ‘sounds good’ unless one has baselines/alts to compare with (and it may be that you can’t better the sound, or it’s just different and not necessarily better). My wife thinks the echo dot sounds good and why should one bother with the hassle of streaming Roon etc through the Ls50W II’s that are five feet away.
Of course it’s going to be said by some on this forum that digital sources cannot make any discernible differences in sound though I don’t concur, having actually compared (but it can be quite subtle) so it’s up to you to try.
We had friends round last weekend for a barbecue and they asked about my acoustic treatments. My wife replied " Allegedly, they improve sound quality". If she actually sat down and just listened to music instead of it being a background accompaniment to other tasks, she might notice the difference…
Whether a streamer makes a subtle difference to sound or not depends entirely on the DAC. The best DACs (not necessarily the most expensive) are immune to incoming noise/jitter
More and more I think this is probably the case, though even when I had a Matrix Mini-i Pro 3 for a short while, I preferred the sound of a dedicated external streamer plugged into it vs the onboard one. My ten year old Naim DAC V1 may be ‘flawed’ though I don’t care, it’s not going anywhere, and sounds great being fed an opticalRendu into a near fifty year old Naim amp. I could hear it getting better as I improved the streamer source. As it is, I have zero upgrade plans for the foreseeable future as long as it’s all working. Though did add a turntable a couple of weeks ago to the KEF LS50WII’s in the living room, a Music Hall Classic. Forgot how much fun actual records can be.
Not familiar with the OP’s McIntosh DAC. I still think he’s going to have to scratch the itch and try vs just listening to opposing opinions on a forum.
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Bill_Janssen
(Wigwam wool socks now on asymmetrical isolation feet!)
10
I still don’t understand this “itching to make a change” thing. Wouldn’t it make more sense to consult a psychiatrist to have the itch removed?
It’s called boys and their toys. Have you never been on a gear oriented forum before, Bill, lol? Human nature to yearn for something ‘better,’ and since that is no longer a safer cave or cleaner water, and people seem to have plenty of disposable cash these days, it’s what they/we all do, unless you’re monastic. I’m not justifying it, but it’s no mystery.
As a photographer, I see it all the time with amateurs. By the time they’ve actually figured the damn menu system and controls, they’re trading the camera in on the next model six months later, with the ‘testing’ process starting all over again, and never really getting around to making meaningful photos. They never really move out of the testing/learning process. I say pick a body, one prime lens, and come back in five years and then start to talk about adding lenses or switching up bodies.
Anyway, psychiatry makes hifi look cheap, lol. Might as well ‘change it up’ if that makes you happy vs the $200/hour trying to convince you it’s all in your head.
I had the second version of the Bluesound Node in one of my set ups. It worked very well, subject to occasional dropouts and file loading slowly messages. I replaced it last week with a WiiM Pro. I don’t think there is any change in sound quality that I can detect, but I am hoping for fewer dropouts due the fact that the WiiM Pro seems to be more robust over wifi. This could be because the Wiim Pro allows selection of the 5g band.
McIntosh makes a streamer and I might could buy that so it matches my system, but looks like it wants to be controlled by a McIntosh app and isn’t really a Roon endpoint.
A cool screen would be nice. (The McIntosh doesn’t have one)
The bluesound is fine. Honestly I’m just bored with it.
I probably just need to calm down and read my Bible
Bill_Janssen
(Wigwam wool socks now on asymmetrical isolation feet!)
17
Exactly! Quash the itch!
Besides, buying more gear doesn’t really address the itch. It just builds up resistance, so you need to spend more next time.
There’s the EverSolo that has a cool screen, and is, now, a proper Roon endpoint. Orr, at the more audiophile level, there’s Rose, which had announced a streamer-only model recently. But even the one with DAC, in black, would look fine next to a Mac. And you can still get it to show blue VU meters
I fi had to purchase a streamer right now it would probably be the Eversolo DM6 Master Edition. I think it would look pretty nice with a McIntosh as well, if that was my thing.
I have two RPi4’s and an Oppo 203 with no desire to replace either of them. The Oppo feeds my Bose Soundtouch 300 system. One RPi4 feeds a Chord Mojo 2 for headphone use and the other feeds a Meridian Prime in my new listening room with a Denon receiver and Pioneer HPM-60 speakers.
or room treatments maybe.