Question What streamer? Node 2I, Yamaha wxad-10 or Other?

michaelgordon

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im in the market for a streamer and now the Bluesound is £399 its looking a little more attractive.

Is it worth three times more than the Yamaha WXAD-10? Is there something else i should consider?

Ill use it for Tidal, masters would be good but not essential and streaming from a nas also a good benefit.
 
In absolute audio terms as they stand, no it's not worth 3 times, it's not really worth much more in that regard - I own both and have A/B'd them on my main system and there is little to separate them.

However the 2i has digital outputs - so you can at a later date upgrade with an external DAC. I've got an inexpensive Schiit Modius that is marginally better than the internal 2i DAC. But of course you could always add something far more expensive later on which I intend to.

The BluOS software is however nicer than MusicCast - which is pretty poor and has no support for even Amazon.

I would say it mostly depends what the rest of your system is, and probably even more to the point what your longer term aspirations are for the system?
The 2i you may see the value in it with nicer software and potential to upgrade later on, thus making the 2i a very nice transport in effect. But the WXAD-10 is absolutely stellar for the money and you honestly would not be missing out if comparing both units as they come.

£399 for a 2i is a decent price: stylish, good and stable software, more than competent sounding internal DAC.
 
Cheers, i was planning on buying a Rega DAC and use my current player as the source but the prices and the fact is can only process the same as the Yamaha meant i started looking at streamers again.

I do like the Rega sound so possibly adding a DAC at another point is a possibility but TBH i use Vinyl for any proper listening and use Tidal currently through lineout through my player, a Hiby R6 to see if i like something but im not enamoured by the sound (its great with my LCD2 headphones)

I was also considering a chord mojo and again use my player as source.
 
You mentioned having a Denon AVR in your other current thread (regarding interconnects). Couldn't you use that as your TIDAL / own music files network streamer, especially given that access to TIDAL's MQA Masters tracks isn't essential?
 
The Hiby does digital out so adding a Rega or Chord DAC would probably be the way to go from an audio perspective - assuming of course they'll be better than the 2i's DAC. The 2i DAC is still very good in my opinion, I think the occasional report of it being poor is simply either misinformed people basing it from the (questionable) testing of it over on ASR, or those simply looking for purchase validation from buying an external DAC!
The draw backs to that setup using the Hiby with a DAC, are more likely to be focussed on convince, ease of use, keeping it charged, wires! etc. And that is where the 2i excels really, it's a very nicely productised bit of kit from all angles.

But the WXAD-10 would do most of that too, and if vinyl is your main source and love, it might just fit the bill perfectly being rather inexpensive! - As I alluded to before, I think other factors play a bigger part in simply deciding A/B in audio terms between them.
 
You mentioned having a Denon AVR in your other current thread (regarding interconnects). Couldn't you use that as your TIDAL / own music files network streamer, especially given that access to TIDAL's MQA Masters tracks isn't essential?

I dont like the Denon sound for music. My original stereo setup was a denon amp & CD and it never sounded good so i never used it. On trying the AVR it was very similar just flat and unengaging. Thats why i went with the Rega AMP and to run fronts in 7.1.4
 
The Hiby does digital out so adding a Rega or Chord DAC would probably be the way to go from an audio perspective - assuming of course they'll be better than the 2i's DAC. The 2i DAC is still very good in my opinion, I think the occasional report of it being poor is simply either misinformed people basing it from the (questionable) testing of it over on ASR, or those simply looking for purchase validation from buying an external DAC!
The draw backs to that setup using the Hiby with a DAC, are more likely to be focussed on convince, ease of use, keeping it charged, wires! etc. And that is where the 2i excels really, it's a very nicely productised bit of kit from all angles.

But the WXAD-10 would do most of that too, and if vinyl is your main source and love, it might just fit the bill perfectly being rather inexpensive! - As I alluded to before, I think other factors play a bigger part in simply deciding A/B in audio terms between them.

Yes it is seeming like the Yamaha is more and more looking to be the solution. Will see what happens prime day hoping there maybe something discounty wise.
 
I would look at the Cambridge Audio cxn v2 while is more expensive, it is a more complete solution and you're unlike to want to or need to upgrade the DAC
 
I dont like the Denon sound for music. My original stereo setup was a denon amp & CD and it never sounded good so i never used it. On trying the AVR it was very similar just flat and unengaging. Thats why i went with the Rega AMP and to run fronts in 7.1.4
I don't see how the sound of the AVR's amp, which led to you getting the Rega amp, is relevant - given that as a streamer you'll just be using the AVR's Internal network audio file player and DAC into the Rega amp, so not the AVR's own amp!

I wouldn't expect much, if any, improvement in sound quality if you used the Yamaha WXAD-10 instead of your current AVR as the streamer with DAC, expecially if the Denon is a relatively recent model.
 
I don't see how the sound of the AVR's amp, which led to you getting the Rega amp, is relevant - given that as a streamer you'll just be using the AVR's Internal network audio file player and DAC into the Rega amp, so not the AVR's own amp!
The DAC would still use the receiver's pre-amp circuit which is still the biggest influence if running, as I do, a Rega amp in HT by-pass. Denon receivers are pretty poor at stereo music, even some of the higher tier models. Best keep the film and music sides completely separate and any streamer should have it's own DAC which is connected to the stereo amp via RCA if you own a Denon receiver.
 
Doesn"t using zone 2 out with a fixed volume level setting bypass the Denon AVR"s main pre-amp circuit?
 
im in the market for a streamer and now the Bluesound is £399 its looking a little more attractive.

Is it worth three times more than the Yamaha WXAD-10? Is there something else i should consider?

Ill use it for Tidal, masters would be good but not essential and streaming from a nas also a good benefit.
Could a Raspberry Pi Streamer (with DAC HAT or external DAC) possibly be on your radar?
I currently use mine with a Schiit Modi 3 (RCA cable into aux on my Rega Brio amp). Delighted with SQ.
Although my “streaming” is limited to FLAC files on a USB pen drive, there is so much more that this set up can do In terms of streaming.
 
Evening all, I'm resurrecting this thread. Given the increase in price of the Node I would be interested to hear comments in comparison with the Yamaha WXAD 10 and other potential upgrades to the WXAD-10.
 
i eventually ended up with the Node. The WXAD was fine but nothing great. I got the Node mainly for the Tidal master integration and it sounds really good.
 
@michaelgordon - Thanks for the reply.

My streaming tends to be BBC Radio Apps Amazon (streams of vinyl LP’s Ive bought) and whatever free trial I can pick up.
I’ve used Free Spotify for years also.

From your own listening experience with those sources, would I hear any difference between the Yamaha and Node ?
 
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i dont think so. the yamaha would be fine for that useage A NODE would be overkill i think, lots of nice features but i dont really need them
 
I’m in a similar dilemma with choosing a streamer for my Elicit. I just want basic streaming which is better than plugging in your phone, and because I mainly listen to vinyl. What I find annoying that the jump in costs from a mere £135 for the WXAD10 then the next Yamaha WXA50 at £289, then Bluesound at £550 and then Cambridge Audio at £800. Then it’s into £000s for NAD/Naim/Arcam etc. The jumps in costs are massive. Just want a no frills streamer.
 
I’m in a similar dilemma with choosing a streamer for my Elicit. I just want basic streaming which is better than plugging in your phone, and because I mainly listen to vinyl. What I find annoying that the jump in costs from a mere £135 for the WXAD10 then the next Yamaha WXA50 at £289, then Bluesound at £550 and then Cambridge Audio at £800. Then it’s into £000s for NAD/Naim/Arcam etc. The jumps in costs are massive. Just want a no frills streamer.

Take a look at the Arylic S10 then for about £60, by all accounts very good for the money. There is the S50+ too for about £140ish I think, even has digital outs so could connect to an external DAC - in theory that should really then put it on a parity with any of the other’s like a Node.

There’s also Tibo, the Bond 3 is about £60 ish and is also probably about the cheapest streamer I can think of that has an Optical out on it, again if ever wanting to venture in to the world of external DAC’s.
 
Ok, here's my take on the Bluesound Node.
First off, I have very limited experience with streamers, the only streamer I've ever had, and still have, is a six year old Pioneer NP01. I used this for years with it's built in Dac, very happy.
Also used it with the Dac in a Yamaha AS801, Exposure XM5, Denon PMA. 1600 and with a Chord Mojo. And to be honest didn’t find a big difference between any of them.
So I kept the Pioneer thinking not much point in changing.
Anyway, the old Pioneer has started to play up. Still works, but has an intermittent crackle..
So I decided to treat myself to a new one, the Node ticked all the boxes, not the cheapest, but probably one of the easiest to set up. And it was, it set itself up, dead easy.
I started streaming using Tidal and the Dac in the Denon PMA1600.

And to my surprise, big improvement, I wasn’t really expecting this, because I was only using the the Node as a transport. However, using the the Node as a transport was a huge improvement over the Pioneer used as a transport.

If fact, using the the Node was a far greater upgrade than any of the Dacs I tried with the Pioneer.
The sound stage is much bigger, it really jumps out at you, it's far more open. In comparison the Pioneer sounded congested and the Node has much more low level detail.
The Node is also smoother and if anything the high frequencies are more extended.
I'm not good at describing sound differences.
Just to say it is far better than the old Pioneer in every respect.

In summery, the Node is not cheap,at £549 I paid £295 for the Pioneer six years ago, I think it's cost me about a pound week.
The Node is a really nice piece of kit, it looks good, sounds good, well made and, so far flawless in operation.
And at the moment I'm only using it as a transport. I'm going to try the internal Dac over the weekend. Before this, even though the Pioneer was old I thought all streamer transports would sound more or less the same. May the newer ones do, I don't know.

Anyway HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

Moral of the story
Be happy with what you have and for a few years before upgrading your digital source.
 
I started streaming using Tidal and the Dac in the Denon PMA1600.

And to my surprise, big improvement, I wasn’t really expecting this, because I was only using the the Node as a transport. However, using the the Node as a transport was a huge improvement over the Pioneer used as a transport.
Ah, not all streamers are created equal when it comes to supporting the TIDAL online music streaming service, known for its Masters (MQA encoded) tracks - you really ought to be using MQA supporting hardware, which is precisely what you have with the Bluesound Node.

It's unlikely you'll notice such a discrepancy with any other online music streaming service or streaming your own music files (assuming your files aren't MQA encoded ones, that is).
 
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What's the best streamer which is cheaper than Bluesound Node (new or 2i)?
 
Cebolla, I tried with SpotyFi it is an improvemet.
Just trying it now with internal Dac with Tidal.
SUPERB
The more I listen to the Node, the better it sounds.
This could be the best bit of kit I've ever bought.
 

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