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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.
kalali

Showing 5 responses by mahler123

mahler123
3,475 posts
 
I use Bluesound.  I started with the Vault 2, subsequently added a Node 2 for a system in another room, then a Pulse Mini for my kitchen .
  Do you have more than 1 system?  The Node was intended to be part of a whole home unit, similar to Sonos but better quality.  If you do I would but the Vault and rip your CDs with that.  It is possible but not easy to integrate the Blu Sound with another Source of files, such as a PC.  Since you haven't started saving music to another system I think you will find it easier to keep it all under 1 roof
. If you only have 1 system, and you want to rip your CDs, I would suggest buy the Vault anyway and sell the Node.  You will take a slight beating on this but since you already like what the Blusound sounds like with Tidal this is still an easier and potentially less expensive than going the PC route--and certainly less frustrating .
mahler123
3,475 posts
 

OP--it sounds like you just need a better dac.  The DAC in the Node is good, better than the dacs in the receiver that mine is hooked up with, but the Node 2 costs around $500, and that doesn't leave much in the budget for a high quality dac.

From the first post you appear to be a newbie, so if you don't understand what I am talking about, don't be afraid to say s  

  However, one cause for pause...Tidal is supposedly going to add a lot of MQA content, and Blue sound dacs are MQA compatible.  If that is important to you, then you might want to use the Bluesound Dac.  My suggestion would be to upgrade to a better DAC now, and if MQA ever actually hits the market place, you can always switch on your preamp between the two dacs .

  Again, if you are trying to figure out what I've just written...don't be afraid to ask.


mofi--regrettably the answer to your question is no, the favorites section tends to be helter skelter.  However, blusound itself keeps alist of Artists

in alphabetical order.  I listen primarily to classical music so the bluesound organization scheme winds up being haphazard, but it probably works well for non classical

mahler123
3,475 posts
 
@mofimadness 
Looking back I see that your question was about Tidal on Blusound. My answer pertained more to Blusound itself.
  I did try the free trial of Tidal and for me, it was simply awful, but I listen to Classical, and Tidal doesn't seem to care about Classical
mahler123
3,475 posts
 
Yes, I meant the interface .  Another poster here described the Classical Interface on Tidal as appearing to have been designed by a Chimpanzee ; that is probably an insult to chimpanzees. Fwiw I didn't think the sonics on Tidal were anything special.  A great streaming site for Classical is ClassicsOnline.
mahler123
3,475 posts
 
I compared the Oppo 105--and perhaps you are not interested in that-to the Bluesound Vault 2, which I believe has the same DAC chip as the Node 2.  The Oppo is better but it was subtle.  Presumably the 205 would widen that gap a bit.
it should be noted that the price difference between the Oppo 205 and the Node 2 is almost a grand.  If you don't need the other functionality of the Oppo, I know which way my wallet would lean...
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