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Bluesound Node 2

I'm a complete newbie in the digital space, not counting CD players of course. I'm also on a path to upgrade my system from other various angles, mostly preamp and speakers. All that said, I'm currently using a Bluesound Node 2 with a hifi Tidal subscription. No computer files or hardwired USB connections. My first question is where does Bluesound fit in the digital wireless streaming quality hierarchy. And a related question is what would be a good upgrade path, again assuming only wireless streaming as the source. I see a lot of high end DACs out there, some several thousand dollars and wonder if those are only used for connection to a laptop and running computer hirez files, etc. Not a whole lot about wireless streaming. All in all, some guidance in the digital wireless streaming space would be appreciated. Thanks.
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Showing 2 responses by 2psyop

2psyop's avatar
2psyop
1,503 posts
 
I have a Bluesound Node 2. It replaced an older Logitech Squeezebox that was glitchy but worked fine. I like the sound of the Node 2 and with it:
1. I can bypass using my Macbook Pro computer to play music stored from Itunes on my HDD. Now I can play that same stored music directly streamed to the Node 2 into my stereo and use my Iphone as the controller.
2. Additionally, I can stream music from Spotify or Tidal
3. I can also try MQA files on Tidal.

2psyop's avatar
2psyop
1,503 posts
 
bondmanp
2psyop: Did you use the DAC in the SBT, or anexternal DAC? Do you use the Node 2’s built-in DAC or an external DAC? How would you compare the sound of the SBT to the Node 2 in your system? TIA.

Sorry for the very late reply!!! I did use the original SB dac. not the SBT. I have used both the Node 2 DAC and an external DAC with it. The sound of the Bluesound Node 2 is much better than the SB. The Node 2 playing MQA files is very very nice. The Node 2 playing with an ext DAC is also very good, but BS Internal DAC with MQA still the best sound. I think the Node 2 as a budget streamer/DAC is an exceptional value. My experience with the customer suppport has been outstanding. They have been able to help me with many issues.
I use the Node 2 to play these kind of audio files;
1 Straight streaming of Tidal and Spotify albums via Benchmark DAC
2 Streaming of Tidal MQA albums via Node 2 DAC
3 Wired streaming of AIff files on Western Digital MyCloud HDD through Benchmark DAC
4 Wireless streaming of AIFF files on Western Digital MyCloud through Benchmark.
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