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Any advantage to Bluesound Node 2i Versus Streaming from PC

I'm trying a loaner Bluesound Node 2i streamer which salesperson said will sound better than streaming from my PC.  I doubted this since both are just feeding a digital signal to my Amp.  It's just zeros and ones right?   I have the Bluesound connected with a decent (not high end) digital coaxial cable to my Lyngdorf 3400.  The PC is connected with a cheap USB cable to the same Lyngdorf.  The sensitivity of both inputs is set to 0dB.  The bluesound is set to fixed volume and the PC volume is set to max.  I am playing Tidal through both input devices.  I am trying to discern if there is any difference in sound quality.  When played through the amp the bluesound volume is a whole lot louder than the PC.  I have not found a way to level match the two inputs for comparison.  The bluesound sounds good and is a lot louder per any particular volume setting on the amp.  Does this mean the Bluesound is sending a better signal to the amp?  Is the  coaxial cable a better medium to transmit the  audio signal?  Is this the reason it's louder?  Could the Tidal feed through Bluesound be better than the Tidal Desktop app on my PC?  I need some help as I have to decide by Saturday whether to keep the Bluesound or return it. Other than sound quality there are only minor advantages to owning the Bluesound which don't warrant the purchase.  My amp has a built in streamer but no built in Tidal (which is the reason I'm using the PC.)
ppack

Showing 7 responses by ppack

ppack's avatar
ppack OP
26 posts
 
I curious about Roon and thinking about giving it a try.  They say computer should have solid state drive and mine has spinning disk.  However if the computer is on 24/7 does it matter if it has a spinning drive?  Also I'm using the computer to access entertainment from Amazon Prime, YouTube websites, etc.  Does it matter if the computer is not entirely dedicated to Roon?  I don't use if for any actual computing but it does Microsoft Office suite, Itunes etc? 

What do you mean Lyngdorf won't provide full experience.  Master tracks playing through Tidal show up as 24/96.  Assume  I would get at least equal quality using Lyngdorf as Roon endpoint?
ppack's avatar
ppack OP
26 posts
 
With Roon and my Roon ready amp with built in Streamer and playing Tidal How do the audio files get to the amp. If I’m still passing the audio files through the PC via USB what’s the advantage of “Roon ready” amp and Roon itself?  I don’t really need library management.  The DAC is within the amp.  The goal with considering Roon would be to stop passing the music files through the PC. Maybe I’m missing something. 
ppack's avatar
ppack OP
26 posts
 
Thanks everyone for all the good input. Tonight I discovered Tidal desktop app has a feature called Exclusive mode.  It says “with exclusive mode Tidal has exclusive use of the audio device.”  “This setting only has effect on Master and Hi-Fi mode”. Toggle this on and the volume goes up substantially to the level coming out of the Bluesound streamer and seems like quality improves too.  All this time I never knew about this setting.  I haven’t tried finding an SPL but with the sound Now audibly close between the two devices I’ve been doing some A/B.  Very close between the two devices but I will do some more listening even though I will likely return the Bluesound for now.  Upgraded USB Cable coming tomorrow. Thank you Amazon Prime.   I also discovered the Bluesound has a very good headphone amp which adequately drives my Sennheiser 660s which are difficult to drive. This is a very good device which I would definitely recommend but seems it’s duplicative for me. 
ppack's avatar
ppack OP
26 posts
 
jjss49

i read through quite a few posts and they are all over the place. Certainly no overwhelming majority in one camp or the other.  In my case it is a higher end PC ((not that this matters).  Really hard to discern a real difference in sound quality  especially given the difference in volume.   Some people reference noise, power switching etc produced by the PC to say streamer is better. I could understand that explanation if I was trying to take analog out of the PC but it’s digital data and in my case it doesn’t appear to be affected. And many audiophiles are using PCs as their source which I don’t think would be the case if streamers were that much better an option.   I was actually predisposed to hearing an improvement In SQ.  Maybe my ear Is not well developed.   I will try to see if I can run it through my headphone dac/amp versus PC to see if I can get a matching sound level for comparison. 
ppack's avatar
ppack OP
26 posts
 
Thanks.  Also wondering if upgrading my USB cable may help in my system.  Currently using a generic bundled printer cable.  Would something like audio quest Forest be worthwhile investment.  Many claim noticeable improvement over generic cable.
ppack's avatar
ppack OP
26 posts
 
I’m unaware of the Lyngdorf Directly supporting any other service the offers MQA files. It has Roon but that’s another investment on top of a streaming service and adds complexity. Too bad as I’m sure streaming directly through the amp is a better option. 
ppack's avatar
ppack OP
26 posts
 
My Lyngdorf amp has built in streamer but does not handle Tidal or any streaming service with MQA quality. The amp is listed as “Roon ready” and Roon shows up as one of the inputs.  If I had Roon does this mean I can stream directly to the amp without going through my PC as I’m doing now?  If so what are the advantages?  I’m not terribly concerned about managing an off line library though I have some cd quality music I’ve purchased over the years. I mainly listen to Tidal. Can anyone explain how this works or provide any tips?  I hope this question is not too elementary for this forum. 
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