[YesThisIs]

I need some suggestions on this.

So i have been looking couple of days for streamer for my HDV820 amp/dac. I have narrowed my search down to Mac Mini or Bluesound Node2. I would probably stream mostly Tidal, and for Mac Mini would be using Audirvana. Roon is too expensive.

Mac mini:
+ Support for streaming through USB
+ Supports DSD streaming
- Relatively tricky to use without monitor.
- Isn't designed to be a dedicated music streamer

Bluesound Node2:
+ Ease of use
+ Is designed to be designated music streamer
- Only supports TOSLINK or COAX for digital output, and because of that restricts the output to 24/192KHz (HDV820 dac can do much more)

What you guys would buy in my situation? Any help i can get would be appreciated.

 

[Stillhart]

I'd personally go for ease of use at the expense of higher bitrate files.

For one thing, I suspect if you're even asking that you don't have many (if any) files above 24/192 (like DSD). They're very expensive, there's not a lot of selection, and the marginal benefit over 24/192 is... debatable. DSD has been around for a while now and if it's not part of your collection already (and I'm assuming it's not since you didn't specify it as a requirement), you probably don't need to "future proof" for it.

(Of course if I'm wrong about your collection, that changes things!)

For another thing, the last thing you want when you're settling in for a good listen is to dick around with your gear. A nice dependable setup is so valuable in its ability to just do its job and get out of the way so you can enjoy the music.

Obviously, all this is my very biased opinion but hopefully it gives you some things to think about.