I have questions about upgrading from my Node2, Dacs, and more...

Hi All. I am currently using a Bluesound Node 2 into a McIntosh C47 preamp, and 100% of the time, I am streaming TIDAL.

That sentence right there may mean I am doing all I can to get the best sound for my ears from the source, but I always have a degree of upgrade-itis, and can't help but wonder if the Node is the best I can do?

I am running the Node so that I am using the DAC in the C47. I found it FAR superior to the one in the Node2. Night and day.

All of that said, I keep seeing streamers that look great, and I know nothing about DACs. At all. And I wonder two things (keeping in mind, I expect I should be wondering about more, and feel free to educate me!)...

1. How high up the food chain do I have to go to get a streamer with a DAC that exceeds the one built into the C47?

2. If I am streaming Tidal, does any of this matter? Is what I have the best I can do with Tidal?

I tend to buy music on vinyl, and listen to streaming, so I don't think I will go the route of buying HDTracks and such.

What are your thoughts?

I know and recognize Tidal has varying quality depending on the tracks you select, but in general, when it is good it is really good. Just curious if there is "great" to be heard via new hardware.

Thanks!

 

That Mc retails for $4000.00. I don't know how much you would have to spend to get better sound. I have ordered a Node2/Vault2 and will use a Schiit Gungnir DAC (non GUMBY for now) with the Vault2 to stream Tidal. I do know that the Gungnir crushed my heavily modded 90's era Rotel RCD-971 cd player. None of the Schiit's do DSD. You will have to do some homework.

 

My understanding is that the DAC in my C47 is a Wadia that retails for around $1200ish? I may be VERY wrong, but I recall that being the case. So the benchmark would be the DAC itself, as the $4k on my preamp is a bundled price for all of its many components and features That said, there ARE DACs that cost far more than my preamp, but it goes back to my original question of whether I need anything better based on TIDAL being 100% of what I listen to digitally.

 

Not to rain on your parade @Wired4Fun, but what are you going to do if Tidal goes belly up?

I, too, now listen to 98% of my music streaming (Spotify Premium and Tidal Hifi) off my Apple devices - mostly iPhone through an Airport Express - and find the sound on Tidal Hifi to be damn good. Hard to beat the convenience of an almost limitless library of music that can be remotely controlled by one's phone and or watch! That said, I was loving my vinyl setup too, until @Warren Jarrett subbed in a Music First 632 phono preamp that took it to a whole new level. So I will be watching this thread closely...

 

Enjoy my massive vinyl collection LOL!

Nah, I mean, there will always be a streaming service of one type or another to enjoy

 

One time bump... I was really hoping some DAC experts would weigh in