Apologies if this has been asked before:
What would be an alternative to the Node 2i - competing in that price range?
I have noted here and on other forums some unhappiness about the internal dac, but I do know that most still use the the Node as a transport as their UI is presumably second to one. Whereas others continue to sing their praises.
I have used stand alone dacs being fed from a server/laptop/hdd using JRIver and Foobar - beautiful sound, very clunky in terms of steps to start getting music playing (waiting for pc to boot up - downloads / software updates etc).
So far the HEOS app on my SR 7015 is very user friendly and probably better, easier and quicker out of the blocks in starting up and listening to music.
But it is not a proper stereo rig... so there...
The Cambridge Audio CXN V2 at 10k more comes to mind, but I have a mate who has this but uses this as a transport into a dCs dac.
If the funds were available, yes, streamer and standalone dac, as that seems to be the best option - well according to audiophiles....
But what else competes in this price range? How much more do you have to spend to get better?
And how much is the difference?
I do know that if the user experience is crap, depending on your tolerance levels, it doesn't matter how good the unit is, at some stage the clunkiness of the UI is going to grate your tits - and you stop enjoying the music...
What would be an alternative to the Node 2i - competing in that price range?
I have noted here and on other forums some unhappiness about the internal dac, but I do know that most still use the the Node as a transport as their UI is presumably second to one. Whereas others continue to sing their praises.
I have used stand alone dacs being fed from a server/laptop/hdd using JRIver and Foobar - beautiful sound, very clunky in terms of steps to start getting music playing (waiting for pc to boot up - downloads / software updates etc).
So far the HEOS app on my SR 7015 is very user friendly and probably better, easier and quicker out of the blocks in starting up and listening to music.
But it is not a proper stereo rig... so there...
The Cambridge Audio CXN V2 at 10k more comes to mind, but I have a mate who has this but uses this as a transport into a dCs dac.
If the funds were available, yes, streamer and standalone dac, as that seems to be the best option - well according to audiophiles....
But what else competes in this price range? How much more do you have to spend to get better?
And how much is the difference?
I do know that if the user experience is crap, depending on your tolerance levels, it doesn't matter how good the unit is, at some stage the clunkiness of the UI is going to grate your tits - and you stop enjoying the music...
