Bluesound Node 2021 DAC - I sold my Denafrips Ares II

@riccitone "Also happy you you’ve added a Rel t5/x to good effect. Was considering one of those for my own next purchase."

I feel supplementing the LFs on the Quads opens up another dimension in how you listen to your music. For all the Quads pleasing qualities, I really couldn't have comprehended how much I was missing until I added the sub; when I did it was quite revelatory.

Back on the Node again; I'm using its "sub out", and it's sub crossover settings at 80hz. This has relieved my amp, and the Quads of all duties at 80hz and below, and it frees up the Quads to do what they do best as small form stand mounts. They sound much more effortless and relaxed in their presentation without being fed all those LFs <80hz, and struggling to reproduce them. 

@treynolds155 yes, it's the version that was launched last summer.

Kind regards

@mahler123 worth a try. I can’t comment on the previous version of the Node as I’ve never heard them, but I have no further inclination to put an external DAC between my Node and amp following my experience. I must stress that this is very subjective and you may find a different conclusion. But, for me and my ears, in my system/room.......

What I have done recently which has made a difference is to try and clean up the Internet feed in to my Node.

@wlutke you may be right. But, at that point in time, and where I was, the Ares II paid for my REL, which is definitely an overall improvement.

However, I definitely take your point regarding modding the Node; I’ve been tossing around the idea in my head of ordering the Teddy Pardo upgrade kit/PSU for the Node. It may have kicked the Ares II into full blown glory, but that chapter’s closed. I may still opt for the Teddy Pardo in the next few months as the logic of removing the in-built SMPS for an outboard PSU seems pretty nailed on.

Thanks for all your thoughts, some great insights.

Just to re-iterate, this isn't meant as a criticism of the Ares II, but for me, and the difference it made to my enjoyment of my system, it just wasn't cutting it. After my epiphany, all I could think was, I have hundreds of £££ worth of electronics sat there that's not really giving me that return in sonic terms. So as I was assessing what sub to buy, it seemed logical to make the trade off that I did. 

It may be that my amp/speakers, ICs, SCs are not allowing the Ares to really shine; other systems may well do just that. 

But, I love the Naim character innate in the Nait 5si, and my Quad S2s have a real sweetness and  character that I find very pleasing. So, I really don't want to break up this pairing right now, as they work extremely well together, As for the Node (DAC), I feel it is much improved by "cleaning-up" the Internet signal fed to it, plus 3rd party PC. (I know you could probably say that about any streaming component) 

Posted here in another thread, I have my router in the next room, sat with the TV, TV box, Sonos speakers, BluRay player, Smart light hub, ISP modem and network switch. Quite congested 😊. Anyway, I have a 15m run of Cat 6a into the listening room terminating in a TP-Link ethernet/optical converter, and another converter, taking the signal back to ethernet. This made a big change to the signal fed the Node, positively. I know I'm still getting noise from the last TP-Link converter's switch mode PS, but not as mutch as I was getting from the jungle of electronics in the other room where the router lives 😊. 

I think to improve the Node further, as I mentioned in an earlier post, I'll look to mod it with one of the available kits/PSUs; probably Teddy Pardo. 

I conclusion, I think, as @melvinjames mentioned, the Node is a bargain, maybe a little unduly criticised. But with a little attention to the ethernet signal fed to it a PC, it can be elevated to something that I feel is an absolute steal for someone working with a similar budget to myself. 

I'm not saying I'll never look at DACs again, but right now, I'm ok👌😊

@rhljazz ​​​​​​

Hand on heart, I can honestly say I never even considered the point you've just made; it makes total sense. I should have thought of it. But hey, no going back now.

In hindsight, I probably should have bought the sub way back, rather than looking at external DACs.

I guess as the cliche says "every day's a school day", especially with this crazy hobby 😊

@williewonka thanks for your post.

I’ve recently started using an AQ NRG-Z2 C17 PC, which has made a nice difference.

As for ICs, we’ll, I’m a bit of a hoarder; I posted earlier in the thread, I buy used or stock clearance from that auction site. I currently have a pair of VDH The First Ultimate MKII plugged in, which I really like, they will be staying there for the foreseeable.

@joshindc ​​​​​​

I’ve never heard the Node 2i so I can’t comment on how that sounds with the Ares II. But what other issues do you feel I could have had?

I was using 1 of 3 digital coax RCA cables;

Wireworld Silver Starlight 7

QED Reference Audio 40

VDH The First {the first iteration of this line)

Regards

@jin78 ​​​​​​

Hi, I tried 3 different cables, all digital coax RCA cables;

Wireworld Silver Starlight 7

QED Reference Audio 40

VDH The First (the first iteration of this line)

I tend to scour auction sites, scooping up any good used or stock clearance cables I can find. Only cables I've paid retail for are my speaker cables and a pair of Chord entry level, C-line? 

@williewonka Hi Steve, the 5si was fresh from the Naim factory in September to my dealer. I had a demo unit on loan for a couple of months until the new stock arrived. 

Yep, the unit will probably need re-capping after x number of years, my dealers parting words when I picked up my new unit was, "see you in 20yrs".

I know it was tongue in cheek, but if I get 10 to 20 years before I have to re-cap; for me personally, that's fine. I live in England, so not too much hassle, plus there's a company called Witch Hat Servicing ran by ex-Naim engineers in England that also carry out repairs and upgrades on Naim gear, I believe they are less expensive. They also make 2 alternative speaker cable lines as alternatives to the NACA4 & 5

 Kind Regards

Hi, 

Just one last share from me in this thread; not related to the Ares II but the Node and the effect of using its sub-out and inbuilt crossover. 

The REL was a new experience for me, I've never owned a Subwoofer before. That was an eye (or ear) opener in and of itself, but initially I hooked it up via the Nait 5si speaker outputs and the hi level connection on the REL, which was great, no problem. Took a bit of trial and error blending the REL in with my mains, but no headaches. 

But the thing that got me here in the first place; playing around with the cross-over in the Node was something I really wanted to try. I tried the first connection method, because that's what REL recommend, and this seems to be the majority consensus.

I lived with this for a while, but like an itch you have to scratch, I really wanted to try the low level RCA connection, from the Node, utilising its subwoofer settings/crossover.

Found a pre-owned 5m Chord Clearway sub RCA lead from you know where, for a steal and set everything up.

I'm not going to say that the low-level connection is better than a feed direct from the amp, probably not, but I didn't set out to compare. What I wanted to explore was what effect cutting the LFs from my amp/speaker's workload would have. To me, after tweaking the REL crossover/volume settings, and getting it to blend with my mains, with a Node crossover at 80hz, the bass reinforcement I was getting just sounded great to me.

The real surprise for me (this is probably old news to most vets on Audiogon, but a fresh experience to me), was the change to what I was now getting from my Quads, obviously due to the decreased workload on my amp, and also the Quads.

To be honest, I was shocked. I won't spout a load of hyperbole, just to say, the Quads just seemed to be working more effortlessly, they sound less uptight, if that makes any sense whatsoever. Added some clarity & smoothness. I find it really difficult to vocalise this stuff while at the same time trying not to sound full of BS. Hope I've succeeded 😊

Anyway, thanks so much for everyone's thoughts and for sharing your experiences, I've really enjoyed it. Happy listening! 👂👍😊

Thanks again for the all the thoughts and insights. There have been a couple of posts which I feel could explain why I came to the conclusion I did.

@jin78 you’re the 2nd poster, I think, who has highlighted that there maybe a compatibility issue between the Node and Denafrips DACs through coax. I think someone also mentioned Alvin himself had confirmed this?

@rhljazz also made a good point on Page 1 regarding the fact that all outputs on the Node are active; so a/b’ing with ICs from the Ares II, and the Node fed in to my amp simultaneously could have been flawed, and probably was not an accurate method of comparing the two DACs.

I’m enjoying reading all the different angles people are coming from with this, I’ve gained some knowledge and insights I was previously ignorant of.

@zoophaugus you could also be accurate in pointing out I may have jumped the gun by selling on the Ares II. In hindsight, if I was armed with the knowledge the contributors to this thread have given me, I may not have acted as soon as I did.

But, 🤔 I do think at this point in time, a sub was of greater benefit to the overall sound of my system, and the Ares II paid for it £ for £. So I’m left with a little feeling of not regret exactly, but "yeah ok, maybe I was hasty"

Moving forward from this, as mentioned, my next step is to mod the Node with the Teddy Pardo kit and PSU. People who have modded their Node with this and similar 3rd party upgrades, only seem to have had positive experiences.

After this,........ Nothing! I’m going change my mindset, sit back and hopefully just enjoy what I have. I do love the fundamentals of my system; Nait 5si and Quad S2s, and of course, the recently added REL and what they give me.

Thanks again guys, very much appreciated