Network Bridge now a Legacy Product?

Cellindo:

The dealer was actually not surprised by my reaction. He knew what he did when replacing a N.B. with a Vivaldi Upsampler. Anyway, unfortunately too expensive for me…

Absolutely. As I have warned a couple of times, once you own a Vivaldi DAC you will want the other components , or at least clock and upsampler. I have therefore suggested to others that if you cannot afford it all in one go ( I couldn’t) you should make a plan for the future as to how and when you will be able to finance it. Frankly if it is totally out of reach you may eventually find some frustration or even regret ( like a friend who bought a used Ferrari then found he couldn’t afford to fully insure it). On the bright side once Vivaldi is replaced by a new flagship there are likely to be quite a few good used examples of the components on the market.

Incidentally I did move from a Vivaldi DAC, Clock, NB combination to Vivaldi DAC, Clock, Upsampler system as soon as I had the wherewithal. I admit that I didn’t find the contrast between the two quite as stark as you however I am not disagreeing in any way. I felt more that the Network Bridge provided a magnificent outcome given the fact that it cost only a fraction of the big box. But there is no doubting the superiority of the Vivaldi Upsampler as network streamer.