Bluesound Node (2021) PS upgrade to Teddy Pardo; is it worth it?

Hi. I’ve  had improvement overall in buying a SILVER based large power cord for my Node X. 
 

Also the SCHITT LOKI MAX creates the sound most serious people are looking for in a location (in their trial and error of new decks and add-ons)… with a remote to give you adaptability to the source.
 

Update on Teddy Pardo Dual5 - 2X5 3A power supply to power both my Chord Qutest and my Node (Gen3).  Most of this is from a previous post on Head Fi.

Listening first to the impact on the Qutest, it was clearly very different from the stock switching supply. Bass was deeper and especially much tighter. Midrange and highs were more defined in time if not space. The term more “incisive” comes to mind, but at the same time more relaxed. Just better.

I then removed the internal switching supply from the Bluesound Node and installed the DC adapter supplied by Pardo. This resulted in a similar and overall more coherent performance by the Node/Qutest combination. Significantly less grain and no sibilance - none whatsoever - even on the ripped CD recordings that were troublesome for every digital front end I have owned previously.

This combination is a revelation. 16/44.1 recordings now routinely sound terrific. HR recordings are intoxicating. Different power cables that I have built have very clear and distinctive sound signatures with the Teddy Pardo/Node/Qutest combination, and those differences are more discernible than with previous DACs I’ve owned with different power supplies. The dual power supply means I only need one supply and PC for both devices. I am using the Node almost entirely as a server with my entire digital music collection on a SSD drive connected to the Node via USB. I am connecting the Node to the Qutest with a Chord Company Signature Super ARAY coax cable. 

This is the best sounding digital front end I’ve had in my system to date. I start listening on headphones or through my speakers and it is hard to stop. I had a chuckle thinking that the combination of boxes and digital cable cost as much as a decent Naim streamer/DAC that is all contained in one box, but as my son noted, this is way more fun.

kn

+1 on the LHY upgrade.  I did the same on my N130, very pleased with the results.  I have now have the N1130 feeding a Denafrips Terminator II DAC which says a lot for the company.

I did the LHY full power supply upgrade kit, $275.  LPS and board.  The PS has a nice led display of the DC volts.  Product seems to very high quality.  Easy peasy install.  I'm using the Node N130 version as a streamer only.  Noticed a definite improvement in SQ.  Better clarity in the highs and tighter bass response.  Not night and day difference but noticeable.  I would recommend checking it out. 

I have a Teddy Pardo PS and I ordered a Node X at the same time. I would say it made a difference in noise floor and overall dynamics. I have a Node 2 that I run with PD Creative PS (as mentioned earlier in this thread). I have them going into a Bifrost 2 DAC and Denafrips Pontus 12 Anniversary DAC. The most noticeable change is the stock DAC in the Node X compared to the Node 2. It’s really much better and the Node X is a really great buy on its own, at its budget price point. IMHO.

I just ordered a Teddy Pardo Dual 5V lps for my Node (2021) and my Chord Qutest DAC.  I will report back on the results.

@gladmo late to this thread.  Don’t know if you are still using a Node as a server/streamer, but I did a comparison of coax cables ranging from $40 to $1,500 between my Node 2021 and a Chord Qute HD DAC with an MCRU lps (supplying the DAC), and unfortunately I could tell a very significant difference between different coax cables.  I ended up buying a used Chord Company cable that cost as much as the Node, with zero regrets.  Looking at the general market for sources, adding an lps to support the Node is next up for me.

Sorry if this is a dumb question, but I use my Node to stream from my Vault.  Does it make sense to upgrade power supply on the Node without upgrading the Vault?  It does not appear that Teddy Pardo offers a linear power supply for the Vault, and I doubt that it has one as stock (?)

Thank you

I did the LHY filter board and 5V LPS on a new Node N130.Yes it did sound better. A bit more clarity. But it does not fix the bad USB audio out or the mediocre internal DAC.

I found a PI 4 USB into a Denafrips Aries DAC still sounds much better. Or probably into many other mid-tier DACs from SMSL or Topping for that matter.

But it you must spend money on a Node let me suggest just buying the LHY filter board for $110. I found that once installed the Node did not sound any different with a LPS vs a wall wart so it seems the filter board was doing most of the work of improving the sound. I tried it with a $10 wall wart from Amazon that was 5V and 4A which actually surpassed the power capability of the LPS.

Hi all

Teddy Pardo has just launched its new MiniTeddy power supply, compact size, lower cost and improved performance. Works like a charm with Bluesound Node.

Creative vs Teddy pardo power supply -lol not even worthy of comparison 

Pardo is in a much higher league and competes with LPS that are 2x the cost 

replacing power cord with anything decent like a pangea sig for $100 great boost in fidelity as well as with the $50, DC cable , or their top $90 copper DC 5.5 mm-2.1 mm barrel connector great for uptone ether regen, or Sonore optical, or rendu.

PD Creative offers a package for $300 USD. which includes a low noise LPS. not sure how it  compares to the SBosster PSU?

Also, can someone describe the benefits, if any, that are achieved by using a Toslink Optical cable between the Node and external DAC?  Is there much of an improvement over using a quality Coax?

@malibu457

you can buy a complete package PSU and regulator board for the 2i far cheaper then the $575 that TP is asking.

Would you mind specifying the model and seller of the above upgrade PSU and regulator board that you are referring to?  Hopefully it works with the 2i. Thanks

you can buy a complete package PSU and regulator board for the 2i far cheaper then the $575 that TP is asking.

The TP power supply for the Node N130 is now $475 plus $70 to the US and you don’t need the PD board. It comes with a wire harness that plugs in where the Node’s ps board was and has a plate to make it look like it belongs. 

@curiousjim ah I see 😕 you can buy the boards separately. 

@painter24 

I was afraid you were going to say that.  PD doesn’t have a PSU for 110 volts. As I mentioned before, they suggested I get their board and the PSU from S Booster. 
I just can’t pull the plug. 
 

Thanks.

@curiousjim i bought this board and PSU bundle from PD Creative :

Hi @painter24 

What power supply did you buy? I’m looking at the Pardo and it’s huge.

thanks.

jd

I did exactly what cetla416 did. I ordered the brick unit with the board from Creative and the total was less than $180. I got the same good results.

Sounds like a winner and I am going to go ahead and order one today.  Have a great day.

@jetter I made the upgrade back in March, I think it was. Definitely a good few months ago at any rate, so I feel it is fully settled in now.

The cost plus import costs/VAT for the board and PSU was a little over £200 - definitely worth the outlay for me. It makes the Node a different proposition compared to an un-modded unit.

There was/is definitely more clarity, and greater opening up of tracks. To my mind, the upgrade takes the Node to what it should be. I think Bluesound had a budget/price level to stick to and the in-built SMPS is the result. 

@painter24 

Thank you for the follow up.  I am also using an external DAC with my 2i.  I know there has been some discussion regarding if the power supply upgrade is just as effective if using an external versus the built in DAC but never saw any conclusions. 

I am in the U.S. and as far as I can tell the order should be made through the Polish website. 

As your unit burns in feel free to write about further improvements.  You do think the improvements were worth the reasonable cost of the power supply upgrade?

Thanks

@jetter ​​​​​​

Hi,

I'm in the UK, so bought directly from Poland.

As for installation, it is very easy, and full instructions and pictures are included. The most difficult part was putting the damn Node back together 🙄😊. But that may be down to my big fat clumsy fingers 😜.

As for SQ improvements, there was a drop to the noise floor, music sounded more fluid and relaxed, not as "digital" if that makes sense. I do use an external DAC, but the benefits enjoyed are still present when sending the signal out to a DAC. I'm no expert, but I guess removing the in-built SMPS board is the main, beneficial factor.

@painter24 

It'll be interesting to hear about your experience installing the PD and your opinion regarding the improvements it brings.

I am going to order one, did you buy it directly though the Polish PD website or is there a US distributer?

Thanks in advance

Hi, 

Just an update. I never did buy the Teddy Pardo upgrade and LPS; I found it hard to pull the trigger due to the upgrade and LPS costing nearly as much as the Node. 

In the end I went with the PD Creative option with the Low Noise PS. 

It was a significant improvement, but of course I cannot provide a comparison of TP and PD Creative. 

@jetter 

Hey jetter,

 I sent them an email asking what power supply I needed to go with the PD Creative board for the N130 and they said they had nothing 110 volts and told me to contact S Booster. I believe the 2i is a 7 volt system, so maybe you’ll have better luck.  I’m not sure what country you in, but that’s all I know. 

All the best.

JD

@curiousjim 

PD currently doesn’t have a power supply for the US

I was planning on upgrading my node 2i using the PD Creative "Bluesound Node 2 & 2i upgrade kit – super low noise PSU + interface".  Did PD Creative tell you that the PSU above will not work in the US?

Thanks in advance

I know I’m late, but has anyone compared the PD Creative psu to the Pardo psu on the Node N130?

PD currently doesn’t have a power supply for the US and suggested I get a S Booster, so Pardo would be the easiest to get, but…

Thanks

@painter24 A few more things of note regarding my testing.  The laptop was drawing power from the battery, the coax cable from the Node is an Audioquest Forest (cheapest of their current digital coax line), and the USB board hardware in the Hermes is Denafrips in-house proprietary for optimizing the signal clean-up.  So the better USB sound I'm hearing could be primarily due to linear power from the Laptop battery plus the Hermes' USB design being exceptional.  I don't think the Audioquest coax cable is what would be holding back the Node sound.

@painter24 Similar to you, I have a Denafrips Pontus II DAC but with a Denafrips Hermes reclocker upstream, and I'm trying out a Bluesound Node 2021. Doing a streaming music sound quality comparison using high res songs on Qobuz via my laptop vs the Node, the better sound quality is coming from my laptop.  This is using the Denafrips Windows drivers and a cheap, generic USB cable into the Hermes vs coax digital out from the Node.  There's some infrequent pops and distortions on the USB connection when doing other operations on the laptop, but I like the USB sound more.  The USB sound is more natural, present, and full.  The Node has more of a sterile and constricted sound to my ear with thinner mids and bass.  No modifications to the stock PSU or power cable were made to my Node.

I'll either stick with USB or look for a different streamer with a better power supply.

@totem395 ah I see. Enjoy the Pegasus, let us know your thoughts when it arrives 👍

@painter24 

 do you have a link to Alvin's original post

It was an Email question I had sent to Alvin.

 I just ordered A Musician Pegasus made in the same factory 

as Denafrips [a long story] close model wise to the Pontus II.

Might be awhile getting here.

some thoughts reterminate the Cullen C7 to IEC for the Pardo. I use a Kimber PK-10 on my Unitiserve Pardo LPS along w Stillpoints and an ancient VPI Magic Brick. I think this is a case where the frugality of Nobosound springs may be worthwhile…

Have fun !

Just had to check; thanks @totem395 , you've disturbed my evening meal 😁.

Yep, just started a 192khz on Qobuz; the Ares is displaying 48khz X4. 

Pheeeewwww 😊 one less thing to think about 🤔

@totem395 thanks for the info; do you have a link to Alvin's original post. I wonder if that's true for the Node (2021) which is what I have, not the 2i.

I'm sure I've seen the Ares II display 192khz on respective tracks/albums on Qobuz. 

Could be mistaken though

Thanks

Just a heads up,

since the OP stated he was using an Aries II w/ the Node 2i.

This is Alvins [Denafrips] response.

"Coax pairing of the Node with Ares II, the 192khz was not able to decode. It could be matching/compatibility of the two devices. You may use OPT." 

Added a Teddy Pardo to my RME DAC and it made a noticeable improvement. What I noticed immediately was fuller deeper stage. Top end was more natural or relaxed and the bottom end is more extended. Doesn’t hurt using a quality power cord as well. I can’t imagine it will not make an improvement all around.

Just as an aside, I had a nice improvement, not night and day, but significant, by inserting a short length of optical cable between two TP Link Media Converters at the end of my run of Cat6a from my router, then a short run of Supra Cat8 with Telegarten (spelling?) connectors at each end, into the Node.

My router sits in the adjoining room, with the TV, TV service box, Sonos gear, smart lighting bridge, and few other bits and pieces. As you can imagine, not the quietest of electronic environments 🤔. This relatively inexpensive tweak, dropped the noise floor further, and "cleaned" up the overall signal.

I got this suggestion from this forum, I can't remember the contributor, but definitely worth doing considering the low cost 

Thanks for all the contributions to my OP. I think I'm going to take plunge on the TP PSU for my Node (2021). It seems to be a consensus that you would have to spend a lot more on a new streamer to see a significant SQ jump from an un-modded Node. 

Additionally, considering how well thought of TP PSUs are over on the Naim forums, I don't think there is any doubt over the quality of TP products; Naim users are pretty fanatical (in a positive way) and discerning about what non-Naim gear they insert in to their systems. 

Thanks for all your thoughts, much appreciated 👍

I also have the Cullen C7 cable. It will not be compatible with the Pardo PS.

I too, am undecided.

@ericsch 

Teddy Pardo makes outstanding power supplies. There are many threads about streaming that state the cost of high quality sound comes at a price of $2000+ . If that's true, then the Node upgrade makes sense. I'm undecided.

I've made a significant upgrade in SQ with my Node2i by adding a Cullen C7 power cord and using CAT8 ethernet from the router. Pretty inexpensive for the increased performance.

Putting $435 linear power supply into a $600 streamer is definitely a cost effective bang for the buck.  The performance is definitely an improvement.  If you look at all the music servers vendors, they will have a significant price difference between a model with switching power and a model with linear power. 

The difference between Innous Mini and Innous Zen is about $1400.  The Zen had a linear power supply and maybe an spdif output.

Melco has a $3k difference between N100 and N10 with the N10 external linear power supply being the only practical difference.

I have attached a $600 linear power supply to a $300 Tivo Bolt (DVR) and it made a huge improvement in sound quality.  Anything linear power supply you do for the Node2/2i will be an improvement.

@lowrider57

Yes, I saw that. $435 into a $600 streamer.

Do you think it is cost effective, bang for the

buck, etc.

@ericsch  I see on his website the price is higher for the Node2i. The PS regulation is different than the new Node.

@lowrider57 I wonder. I have the new Node.

The TP PS is $435. 

I'd like to add my thoughts on the stock power supply of the Node2i. My preamp died so I'm now going direct from Node to amp (using an external Dac). Still enjoying streaming Qobuz but there's a noticeable lack of bass and low-end extension. IME, this is often the case when a component lacks a decent or sizable PS. Music also lacks weight, which is something my system had when using my Audio Note linestage with its large power supply/transformer.

This recent situation has me thinking about adding the Teddy Pardo LPS with Bluesound mod. I think it may be cost effective over upgrading to a streamer in the $2000 ballpark.

@ianrmack  please do post a follow up, i have a spare Pardo and a 2i….

thx

jim

I will soon let you know.

I have a Teddy Pardo 5v LPS that I was using with a Chord Qutest. 

The Qutest was replaced by a Denafrips Pontus II so I am putting the TP LPS on my Node 2 (N130). All I had to do was order the kit and cable from TP for around $100.00 + shipping.

It arrives next week.

Rest of my rig:

BS Node 2

Denafrips Pontus II

Belles Aria Signature Integrated

Dynaudio Heritage Specials (being compared to S-40s now.)